Interesting tweet that came across my feed this morning:
Brian Zipse
@Zipseatthetrack
Statement from Peter Miller (excerpt from press release) … “I am sorry to announce that Stormy Liberal will be leaving our barn to continue racing under another trainer. Both my veterinarian and I believe the horse should be retired.”
Need more info.
Off to look for it…
Peter Millers facebook page has all the info you need
in a nutshell. Peter Miller is adamant the horse should be retired and is not sound to run. They even went through the effort to try and retire him to old friends. Ownership wants to keep the horse running and yanked him from Millers barn. Millers Veterinarian also agreed the horse should be retired. Peter went on to comment that after claiming the horse for 40k, winning 2 BC races, and an Eclipse award; one would think that would be enough
snaffle, as usual, your version is missing some vital details.
Here’s the BloodHorse story: https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-rac…f-peter-miller
It’s a shame that one co-owner bowed to the wishes of the other, even against his better judgement. But it sounds as though Hartunian took the money and ran. 
Difficult situation now for majority owner. If he does run the horse and something happens, even if it has nothing to do with the reason why Miller wants to retire him, it will all fall on his head.
What ‘majority’ owner (unless you would consider a sole owner a majority owner which they are in a way)? It appeared to me that the horse was co-owned by Rockingham Ranch and David A Bernsen LLC. David Bernsen wanted him to keep racing, Rockingham Ranch/Gary Hartunian (and Peter Miller and Stormy Liberal’s vet) felt Stormy Liberal should be retired. David Bernsen had an option to buy Hartunian out so Stormy Liberal is now, as it appears to me, owned in entirety by David Bernsen who moved the gelding to David Scalon in Florida.
Peter Miller was not the only one who wanted to retire Stormy Liberal and, in any case, would have no real say in the matter as he was a trainer and not an owner.
Not much that Hartunian could do given the difference in opinion on the horse’s racing future and the ability for Bernsen to buy out Rockingham Ranch. What is unclear is if Rockingham Ranch/Hartunian had the same option and, if so, why did they not try, or they did try and could not meet the option buyout price.
Given what I’ve read, I’d be on the side of Hartunian/Miller/vet and retire Stormy Liberal. He’s 7 having compiled a very respectable record (12-10-4 from 37 starts) and winnings of over $2.2M after being claimed in October 2016 for $40,000.
If you look at Equibase’s earning stats… Stormy Liberal’s best years by far were 2017 and 2018 before tailing off in 2019 (hence the retirement “plan”).
halo, perhaps for me your wording was a bit confusing in the use of majority owner. IMO, if anything were to happen to Stormy Liberal, there should be nothing on the head of Hartunian/Miller/vet as they all wanted to retire him but were not in a position to make that happen.
I paraphrased Peter Millers statement which read as follows:
For Immediate Release:
I am Sorry to Announce that Stormy Liberal will be leaving our barn to continue racing under another trainer. Both my veterinarian and I believe the horse should be retired. In fact, we had already started inquiring for him to retire to Old Friends so he could live out his days in comfort and good care, and allow visitors to enjoy him up close.
It is very rare to claim a horse for 40k, win two Breeders Cup Races and earn the prestigious Eclipse Award. It is my professional opinion that he has given and accomplished enough. While the owners certainly have every right to make these choices, I respect that, I would like the record to show that I was not in favor of this decision,
Stormy has been very special to our team, and to me. We will miss him and hope for the best.
here was my post:
Peter Miller is adamant the horse should be retired and is not sound to run. They even went through the effort to try and retire him to old friends. Ownership wants to keep the horse running and yanked him from Millers barn. Millers Veterinarian also agreed the horse should be retired. Peter went on to comment that after claiming the horse for 40k, winning 2 BC races, and an Eclipse award; one would think that would be enough
Let is also be known that Peter Miller was set down by the CHRB board and fined for prohibited drugs being found in Stormy Liberal’s system (Bute)
Perhaps there is bad blood here.
But still… greedy ownership. Sad for the horse.
No! He should not race.
It is astonishing how some people can display such outstanding ignorance and greed.
Important to note that neither Peter Miller nor his vet have opined anything other than that Stormy Liberal is due for retirement. Nowhere have they said the horse is unsound or is a tragedy waiting to happen if he isn’t retired RIGHT NOW.
I’m sort of inclined to agree with Miller and the horse’s 2019 record indicates that he’s past his peak. But I think it is a little too soon to crucify the owner for being heartless and cruel.
Yes, my mistake. Wording was was wrong, I meant his sole owner. Brain didnt connect to fingers.
I’ll keep this simple. The answer to the question asked in the post is no, he shouldn’t run. He’s done enough. For whatever reason he had a lousy year in 2019 and he has proven that he was a better horse than that.
No matter how much they may have wanted to, they can’t “ try to retire the horse to OF” if they don’t own him.
Too bad, think we ask too much of them sometimes, especially when they start having to drop down in class again and again. But not my choice to make.
There’s a little more to Hartunian’s side of the story than Paulick initially reported. Whether this quote was deliberately omitted to fan some flames and righteous indignation I do not know, but here is what Gary Hartunian had to say:
“I felt that after the Breeders’ Cup race with World of Trouble—and it was one of the most competitive races that I’ve ever seen in the stretch where two giants were just going at it—I think it took the life out of Stormy Liberal,” Hartunian said. "I don’t think he was the same horse after that. He beat a horse that went on to destroy everything in his way after that.
“Peter wanted to retire him and I wanted to retire, but I have full confidence that David will do the right thing by the horse. He is a great guy. It wasn’t the storybook ending that I would like to have seen but it was about my partner wanting to get an evaluation of the horse other than what Peter had said. David will do the right thing by the horse.”
Where has Peter Miller stated that Stormy Liberal isn’t racing sound? Unless you’re taking the Bute overage in September and extrapolating, which amounts to no more that speculation and assumption on your part.
Regardless, Bernsen plans to have the gelding thoroughly assessed by a vet in Florida.
Now that Bernsen’s side of the story is beginning to be uncovered, this is looking more and more like a low class move by Peter Miller. According to a statement published in the Paulick Report, Bernsen has removed 18 horses from Miller’s care leading up to this and my experience says that given the status of Stormy Liberal, Miller is probably afraid that another trainer will turn the horse’s performance around. Interesting to learn what the evaluation by a new team of vets will uncover.
why else would a veterinarian advise that the horse be retired. if the vet is saying the horse needs to be retired from racing I am leaning towards he has a leg issue and the vet is concerned for his well being
On the flip side; Bernsen says that he will get a full work up on the horse before deciding if he will retire him… so he just bought out a partnership on a gelding for a large sum of money with the likelihood he’s on a one way trip to Old Friends? Sorry, that makes zero sense to me. Mark my words; Bernsen bought out the partnership to continue racing the horse. He may get a full work-up and a little vacation in Florida but Stormy Liberal isn’t on his way to Old Friends any time soon.
Why would the other owner, the trainer, and the vet all side with retiring him and letting him go enjoy life in the green pastures and one person, one partner decide to hand over chump-change for a gelding who hasn’t been himself for some time now. he bought out the other owner in order to change course and see if a change in scenery/trainers will make a difference.
I think Hartunian (Rockingham) is about the biggest nutcase on the California racing circuit but I think his comments about Stormy are heartfelt and honest. He believes the horse is past his peak, has not been himself, and has done enough on the track. He is right in that the horse was owned in partnership and the second owner has the right to buy him out.
If they decided to argue over retiring the horse vs racing him; a lawyer would’ve advised to disperse the partnership at a sale. this would mean the horse would likely continue racing and end up in the hands of someone who might not care as much. Hartunian did the right thing, I think, with allowing the horse to stay with Bernsen if he knows he will take care of the horse.
The gelding has 37 starts under his belt. He will be 8 this year. He has earned 2.2 million, an Eclipse Award, and 2 Breeders Cup Championships. He did not win a single race in 2019 (Placed 2nd twice and 3rd three times). I guess I don’t understand the logic behind continuing to run an 8 yr old with that many starts on his resume and also those successes. What left is there to prove or gain? Let him have a second career doing something awesome.
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