I can tell you he didn’t look anything like that at the Belmont. He looked skinny and tired. I was about 10’ from him in the paddock area and got a good look.
You can see what you want in a picture, they can be deceiving
Ok, explain this one to me please.
What exactly have they asked of this horse that is so overly demanding?
He went to Dubai in March - ok, big [edit] deal, loads of horses from around the world went to Dubai. Many of them are back racing already, some winning.
They sent him to England with a race targeted for mid June - ok, big [edit] deal. There will be horses at Ascot from all over the world. Some, many even, coming off of shorter lay-offs than his, he pretty much will have had a 3 month break.
Horses fly all over the world all the time to race. Are you not aware of that? Check out Ouija Board’s PPs sometime. Did her connections treat her like a machine?
Last year Adelaide raced at Ascot finishing 2nd in the King Edward Stakes. Two weeks later he raced in the inaugural Belmont Derby at Belmont Park, finishing a very close 2nd, he then shipped back across the Atlantic to Aidan O’Brien’s yard in Tipperary before returning to the US a month later to win the Secretariat Stakes at Arlington. He went back again across the Atlantic and raced on Arc prep day in the Prix Neil in Sep, before shipping to Australia in early Oct to win Australia’s most valuable weight-for-age race, the $3m Cox Plate… and Adelaide was a 3yo.
That is what the modern international racehorse does.
Chrome has it pretty easy.
And none of that compares to how heavily race horses once were raced.
I think he looked pretty awful when he got to England, to be honest. Dubai took a lot out of him. Compared to how he looked when he got to England, I think he looks pretty good now. But I also think he’s just built in a way where it’s easy for him to start looking tucked up. I have a friend with a horse like that (also a chromey chestnut, LOL). She eats and eats and does not have a demanding lifestyle, but even at her fattest with ribs well covered has a slim look to her.
But even with Dubai having taken a lot out of him, I don’t think he’s overly stressed, really. Stressed out and being treated like a machine would be racing every 2-3 weeks for easy money. He’s not being pounded into the ground or anything.
Speaking of dancing in the moonlight, summer solstice is coming up. Stonehenge is not far. Perhaps they can fly over for the race and the Druidic rites? Possibly without a plane?
I just don’t understand the whole mentality about this horse.
I will say, that when I saw him and Tonalist in the saddling area, I was convinced we would not have a Triple Crown that year.
I will say, that when I saw him and Tonalist in the saddling area, I was convinced we would not have a Triple Crown that year.[/QUOTE]
Agreed. Tonalist is drop dead gorgeous and beautifully put together.
And in perfect condition at the Belmont.
[QUOTE=Kim;8186334]
I will say, that when I saw him and Tonalist in the saddling area, I was convinced we would not have a Triple Crown that year.[/QUOTE]
Agreed. Tonalist is drop dead gorgeous and beautifully put together.[/QUOTE]
Tonalist was drop dead gorgeous last year. This year his roach back is so pronounced it kind of grossed me out.
I fully expected my comment on the latest picture posted on the nutbag’s page to be deleted and me possibly get banned but I think it went over their head instead. I guess some insults need to have illustrations.
Any true horseman has to look at the horse in front of him/her. I’m sure most of you are aware they all have different temperaments and response to stress levels. As has been pointed out, CC looked great in the KD, less so in the Preakness (I was surprised he won), and distinctly worn out looking in the Belmont. No surprise he didn’t win that one.
Obliviously, this is a horse that stresses more than the average winning racehorse.
Another poster said he looked bad after Dubai, before arriving in the UK. Even the new trainer commented the horse spent a lot of time sleeping at first. IMO, his connections are asking too much of THIS horse. What they are doing maybe fine and dandy for a horse with a different temperament. Again, one has to look at the horse in front of you - with your blinders off.
That page is just… nuts. I think they’re all off their rockers.
[QUOTE=rcloisonne;8187049]
Any true horseman has to look at the horse in front of him/her. I’m sure most of you are aware they all have different temperaments and response to stress levels. As has been pointed out, CC looked great in the KD, less so in the Preakness (I was surprised he won), and distinctly worn out looking in the Belmont. No surprise he didn’t win that one.
Obliviously, this is a horse that stresses more than the average winning racehorse.
Another poster said he looked bad after Dubai, before arriving in the UK. Even the new trainer commented the horse spent a lot of time sleeping at first. IMO, his connections are asking too much of THIS horse. What they are doing maybe fine and dandy for a horse with a different temperament. Again, one has to look at the horse in front of you - with your blinders off.[/QUOTE]
a horse that doesn’t hold his weight is not necessarily a stressed horse. He may just not be an easy keeper. Affirmed’ strainer had real problems with this during the Triple Crown. So much so that he scaled Affirmed’s exercise way back between the races. Should they not have sought the TC?
[QUOTE=rcloisonne;8187049]
Any true horseman has to look at the horse in front of him/her. I’m sure most of you are aware they all have different temperaments and response to stress levels. As has been pointed out, CC looked great in the KD, less so in the Preakness (I was surprised he won), and distinctly worn out looking in the Belmont. No surprise he didn’t win that one.
Obliviously, this is a horse that stresses more than the average winning racehorse.
Another poster said he looked bad after Dubai, before arriving in the UK. Even the new trainer commented the horse spent a lot of time sleeping at first. IMO, his connections are asking too much of THIS horse. What they are doing maybe fine and dandy for a horse with a different temperament. Again, one has to look at the horse in front of you - with your blinders off.[/QUOTE]
I agree. As crazy as the nutter fan-girlzs are, I don’t think CC’s people are in the right place. He IS tucked up and looks dehydrated in a lot of pictures. Personally, I can’t stand what I read about his people - they’re so dysfunctional on a business/management and sportsman level. It’s hard for me to be unbiased because of it - when I see an article about CC, I honestly think to myself, ‘what now?’
[QUOTE=rcloisonne;8187049]
Any true horseman has to look at the horse in front of him/her. I’m sure most of you are aware they all have different temperaments and response to stress levels. As has been pointed out, CC looked great in the KD, less so in the Preakness (I was surprised he won), and distinctly worn out looking in the Belmont. No surprise he didn’t win that one.
Obliviously, this is a horse that stresses more than the average winning racehorse.
Another poster said he looked bad after Dubai, before arriving in the UK. Even the new trainer commented the horse spent a lot of time sleeping at first. IMO, his connections are asking too much of THIS horse. What they are doing maybe fine and dandy for a horse with a different temperament. Again, one has to look at the horse in front of you - with your blinders off.[/QUOTE]
Obviously this is a horse that stresses more than the average winning racehorse?
Not hardly. You keep telling everyone here to “look at the horse in front of you” but I’m not sure you really know what you are looking at. CC does not strike me as a horse that stresses that much more than other horses, in fact he looks like he probably handles stress a lot better than most horses. Watch him before a race, he never washes out or really gets hot, not on the walk over, not in the paddock, not in the post parade, not in the gates. He’s a cool customer throughout the process of every race.
Watch any of the footage of him back at the barns, do you ever see him pacing his stall? Do you ever see him fidgeting anxiously and squirming when being hand walked, grazed, or bathed? No. Losing weight and getting a little tired after shipping a long distance to a race is bound to take something out of him. Being tired once every few months won’t kill him.
Like I’ve said, I think this plan is stupid whether the horse wins or not, but asking a horse to race every three months or so isn’t really asking a whole hell of a lot.
just read those loonies’ latest post on that Facebook page. Somehow I think their supplier gave them locoweed instead of dope cuz the crazy is just getting stronger.
So many ASSumptions about Perry Martin, and those idiots just seem to wanna dump on him because they got a lovefest going for Steve Coburn. Surprised the page hasn’t been shut down by Facebook about now.
Idiots. Because y’know, the best way to keep news coming about a horse is to try and libel the majority owner. They don’t get it, do they.
[QUOTE=Angelico;8187112]
Obviously this is a horse that stresses more than the average winning racehorse?
Not hardly. You keep telling everyone here to “look at the horse in front of you” but I’m not sure you really know what you are looking at. CC does not strike me as a horse that stresses that much more than other horses, in fact he looks like he probably handles stress a lot better than most horses. Watch him before a race, he never washes out or really gets hot, not on the walk over, not in the paddock, not in the post parade, not in the gates. He’s a cool customer throughout the process of every race.
Watch any of the footage of him back at the barns, do you ever see him pacing his stall? Do you ever see him fidgeting anxiously and squirming when being hand walked, grazed, or bathed? No. Losing weight and getting a little tired after shipping a long distance to a race is bound to take something out of him. Being tired once every few months won’t kill him.
Like I’ve said, I think this plan is stupid whether the horse wins or not, but asking a horse to race every three months or so isn’t really asking a whole hell of a lot.[/QUOTE]
Yeah, those people are complete crazy!
Do marathoners look GQ ready after completing 26.2 miles in just over 2 hours? No way. Not even the Kenyan superstars do.
oh please.
[QUOTE=rcloisonne;8187049]
Another poster said he looked bad after Dubai, before arriving in the UK. Even the new trainer commented the horse spent a lot of time sleeping at first. IMO, his connections are asking too much of THIS horse. What they are doing maybe fine and dandy for a horse with a different temperament. Again, one has to look at the horse in front of you - with your blinders off.[/QUOTE]
But when I look at the horse now (not just the photo in this thread but photos and video of him training and working and hanging out, over the last month), I think he looks fine, if not better than he did in the US even. I think he’s naturally a little bit waspy waisted, but he seems to have put on some muscle, and looks healthy and content.
I don’t think he’s going to win in England, and maybe there’s not a “point” to being over there, but I do think it’s been good for him.
I had to laugh at the comment that said something along the lines of “look how the sky is always gray and cloudy in all his pictures. It’s no wonder he’s so depressed.”
:lol:
Anthropomorphize much?
No, the horse doesn’t owe anybody anything, but asking a racehorse to run a race every few months is not exactly unreasonable … And I’m quite sure they have the means to properly care for horses over in the UK.
May 7 2015
he looks fine to me
http://www.paulickreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/California-Chrome-Newmarket-April15.jpg
