Concern (MD) -- Amazing Horse, Did you Know Him?

[PeteyPie]

Concern (MD) by Broad Brush, died last year in March and I was surprised at how little information was out there. He was such an exciting race horse and I just would like to hear more about him.

Does anyone have any websites, links, or information about Concern? How about personal stories or insights? I am wondering specifically what was his problem in the breeding shed because my impression is that it wasn’t just a matter of the quality of his get, but my impressions might be wrong. Do you have opinions about mares he could have or should have been matched with?

How he was in his final years? Did he die naturally or was he put down after medical problems? I have read the easy-to-find links from the Maryland Thoroughbred Hall of Fame page and the BloodHorse article about his passing, as well as other stuff which is similarly easy to access through Google searches, like these articles:
http://mdthoroughbredhalloffame.com/cms/index.php/the-horses/class-of-2014/concern
http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/108432/bc-classic-winner-concern-dies-at-24

I really like this horse and was shocked to find so little about him. There is not even anything about him on the Oklahoma Equine Research Center’s website or facebook page, at least nothing I can find, although one of their vets gave a nice quote in the BloodHorse (and other articles) about his easy temperament.

Besides the fact that he was an incredibly exciting race horse to watch, Concern stands up well to his contemporaries in the mid 90s. Here are a few. I just selected a few stats:

Equibase…Lifetime…Last Year
Speed Fig.…Earnings$…Raced…Name of Horse
137--------- $3,079,350----1995------Concern
137-----------2,481,760----1995------Holy Bull
133-----------2,347,671----1994------Tabasco Cat
133-----------9,999,815----1996------Cigar
127-----------3,185,610----1995------Bertrando

[dressagetraks]

I saw him win the BC Classic in 1994, the one year I went personally to the BC. Awesome racing all day, from Flanders and Serena’s Song dueling through the stretch on. Coming up to the Classic, everybody I heard in the crowd was talking about Tabasco Cat. Nobody mentioned Concern. I simply could not favor a horse named Tabasco Cat. Stupid reason for rooting against a horse, I know, but I just think they need a name that doesn’t sound like a joke. I was against Big Brown in his TC bid for the same reason.

So looking for another horse to favor in the program for that race, I kept looking at Concern. No specific reason that I could put my finger on; others had more impressive credentials. But it sounded like a good name for a race horse. A workmanlike name. So I spent my $2 for Concern.

He made the race worth watching. I remember watching him come on as they approached the line and hoping he would make it. I’ve seen greater horses, but I’ll always have a fond memory of him.

[PeteyPie]

His Arkansas Derby performance gives me goose bumps every time I watch it.

[Highflyer]

We had a client who had a number of really nice looking babies by him, but only one actually amounted to anything-- Class Concern, who was a winner on the flat and over fences and then went on to event through Advanced (as Buenos Aires").

[Laurierace]

This is sort of a pretty pony comment, but he really stamped his get, especially their heads. I could spot one a mile away. I was disappointed he didn’t do more as a sire, he was awesome.

[vineyridge]

Didn’t he sire an Eclipse steeplechaser about five or six years ago? Good Night Shirt? He did. I just checked.

I seem to recall a rumor that he was difficult in the actual breeding shed and that was why he got sent to Oklahoma.

[PeteyPie]

[QUOTE=vineyridge;8828957]
Didn’t he sire an Eclipse steeplechaser about five or six years ago? Good Night Shirt? He did. I just checked.

I seem to recall a rumor that he was difficult in the actual breeding shed and that was why he got sent to Oklahoma.[/QUOTE]

Difficult can mean so many things. It sounds like code for aggressive, but he could have been like Broad Brush; a selective breeder. I just forayed onto the internet trying to find where I had read that Broad Brush was picky in the breeding shed. I can’t find anything, but for sure he produced many fewer foals than his top-rated contemporaries.

I wonder what difficult means.

[Texarkana]

I cared for and foaled out several mares who were bred to him. I don’t ever recall hearing about shed problems, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything. I saw him in person in the past and he seemed nice to be around.

The main problem, it seems to me, is that the foals weren’t very competitive on the whole. His AEI was only 0.96.

If his foals were more valuable, any stallion manager on the planet would have found a way to deal with any supposed difficulties.

I was a huge fan of Good Night Shirt. Watched him win the Iroquois more than once!

[HeyJealousy]

I can’t recall which race it was, but the announcer call of “There is cause for Concern!!” still gives me goosebumps and chills.