Saw that. A bit bummed at the recent retirees that won’t be in the BC Classic. I know some were soundness but some, like Good Magic, didn’t seem to be soundness.
Sometimes I sit on the sidelines and scratch my head 
I am guessing Good Magic was injured in his last start but they are refraining from saying anything. I’m guessing it is something that would’ve required the rest of the year off. Instead of doing that, the option to take the money and run was there
Either that or Good Magic was honestly burnt out and needed time off. Instead of giving him time off; they took the money and the stud deal
There is no incentive for people to keep racing their horses this year past 4 and 5 years. The market of paying 1,000,000 for yearlings is creating that. People dropping millions on yearlings and 2 year olds want return on their investment ASAP. Too much risk in keeping them in a job on the track when the massive stud deal is on the line.
The thing to suffer from a system like this is soundness and durability in the breed. The industry is creating its own monster now. The top end of the business is getting more extreme while the bottom end of the industry is flat lining
Look at the Keeneland Sept results. Sure the book 1 horses sold well; book 1 is only for those with pocket change to blow. But scroll down to Sessions 9-13. Perhaps the catalog pages are not as sparkly but still a lot of good, solid horses in those pages. Many of them bargain buys and by nice stallions. So while Keeneland is touting all these gains this year, the real picture of the industry is in the Sessions 8-13 where horses are selling for $2k - $40k. How many consignors are eating their shirts on those sales??? But the industry has created this for themselves. Racing stallion prospects through halfway of a 3 yr old year and retiring. In 3 or 4 years these retirees will be shipped off to Korea or disappear like Shanghai Bobby just did.
I know people have their own beef with California Chrome’s connections but can we just take a moment and thank them for campaigning him through his 5 year old year and retiring him when the horse actually said he was done. All the while the horse stayed sound and healthy and happy. This is the type of stallion breeders should be patronizing. One with longevity and soundness. But they won’t because he’s not the type of stallion for a boutique market.
Yet another bites the dust… Irish War Cry has been retired and will stand at Northview Stallion Station in MD, fee TBA.
Hasn’t raced since mid June when he was pulled up in the Stephen Foster Hcp at CD after struggling with the heat.
snaffle1987 you do make some valid points.
Got my fingers crossed at this point that Firenze Fire will continue to be pointed to the BC either Sprint or Dirt Mile both of which give him a one turn effort which is appearing to be his forte.
At least IWC has a legitimate reason…he was diagnosed with Thumps which severely affected him running in hot or humid weather which most of the big races are run in for spectator benefits. He has not been the same since that diagnosis and I am guessing it has progressed with age when the workload on his body increases. Always liked him. Hard trying horse, good pedigree, he will be great for east coast breeders.
Curious about his diagnosis of “thumps”. Is this something that can be passed on genetically? Do they know what causes it or what other health concerns may come up in horses that are affected by it?
snaffle1987, didn’t realize it was thumps just saw the articles that mentioned “problem with heat”.
I agree that with IWC, retiring to the shed was probably the best option (just seems that recently a spate of the 4-5 YOs heading to the shed pre-BC.)
I also really liked IWC. Decent record on the track with decent pedigree. That he’s going to MD tells me they think he’s a better fit regional and that has to be one of the tough choices combined with who’s actually offered to stand a colt.
They all can’t stand in KY for sure Mid-Atlantic, FL, CA to me would all be good regional choices if it really looked like KY wasn’t really interested.
Yes, he has Thumps… a Diaphram flutter disorder caused by dehydration due to lack of fluids and an electrolyte imbalance. The most prominent one being Blood Calcium. This is why he DNF and was vanned off after his last race and was pulled up in extreme heat. They knew there was a problem prior to that race as he was exhibiting signs during training. Nothing the horse can do to fix that… his body just could not operate under severe exertion. There are things you can do prior to a race to try an minimize the risk/problem but it doesn’t always work considering the amount of stress the body is under during a race. They tried cutting back on his Lasix dosage to help. IWC training was manageable in cool morning workouts when temps did not rise. But he could not sustain workouts in florida or when the weather turned to summer in the northeast. Graham Motion talked openly about IWC’s thumps and the affect it had on the horse.
Thumps is common in horses who exert a lot during work: endurance horses, racehorses etc. And it is usually caused by an underlying condition ( electrolyte imbalance) that can be treated. BUt when you’re giving racehorses Lasix at the track, its causing them to lose body fluids which further hurts a horse with thumps (causing them to lose more key electrolytes). Perhaps IWC would’ve made a better comeback if they took him off Lasix all together.
Sure, thumps could be caused by a genetic problem that causes a horse to have low blood calcium but it’s mainly caused by dehydration, loss of fluids, lack of electrolytes in the body which are key to muscle and nerve function
Most of these top horses have soundness issues by their 3 yo year. They run so hard and so fast that eventually it takes its toll. Thank goodness most of them have owners who would rather retire them than chase a few more win circle photos.
Thanks.
I had read previously that they knew he had issues with training/racing in warmer weather.
I just wasn’t sure if thumps was an actually diagnosis or a laymen’s term for something else. I’ve never heard the term before.
that says something for the TB breed now doesn’t it???
If there are solid stats that back up the statement, maybe
