Recent injuries point out how fragile thoroughbred racehorses are
As you watch the pretty horses running at Del Mar and Saratoga, keep in mind that the fragility of the thoroughbred racehorse was never more evident than the bad news of this past week.
Three Eclipse Award champions from last year, California Chrome, Lady Eli and Main Sequence have all been sidelined due to various ailments.
California Chrome is the most high profiled of these three superstars. Last year he won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness on his way to Horse of the Year honors.
However, things have not gone so smoothly this year. After a terrific second in the world’s richest race, the Dubai World Cup, he was sent to England to compete in the Prince of Wales Stakes.
A bone bruise forced California Chrome to miss the race.
Then he was shipped to Arlington Park to prepare for a run in the Arlington Million. He suffered a bruised cannon bone so he will miss that race and possibly never race again.
I believe in Karma. The racing gods have not treated this horse kindly since co-owner Perry Martin overruled partner Steve Coburn and trainer Art Sherman. His ambitious plans for this summer, in particular taking Sherman out of the equation, have not panned out.
Coburn has since sold his share, but the future remains uncertain at best for California Chrome.
Lady Eli has won all six of her starts and established herself among the best turf fillies of this generation.
Trainer Chad Brown told the Daily Racing Form that Lady Eli stepped on a nail while walking back to the barn after winning the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks.
The injury has caused her to develop a case of laminitis in her two front feet. Laminitis can be life threatening to a horse. Horses have to constantly stand plus they are notoriously bad patients.
Lady Eli will receive the best of care, but every day becomes a guarded moment. The connections are not concerned whether she races again; they just want her to fully recover.
Main Sequence was champion turf male last year under trainer Graham Motion. After a suspiciously poor finish in the United Nations at Monmouth Park, a post race exam showed a tendon tear in the 6-year-old gelding.
He has been retired even though an injury like that is not career ending. The remedy is time and his owners, the Niarchos family, decided Main Sequence has done enough.
Main Sequence retires with nine career wins and $3.4 million in earnings.
These are three examples of how a perfectly healthy racehorse can go bad in the snap of a finger. At times we think it would be easy and fun to be in the shoes of a Bob Baffert or a Todd Pletcher and train million-dollar horses.
But with that privilege comes enormous responsibilities. And constant worries. What if a horse colics in the middle of the night? Or spikes a fever and gets sick?
In reality it’s a job full of stress, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
CONTESTS — Just a final reminder that the South Point Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge qualifier is on Saturday. The top two finishers will earn a $10,000 free roll to the BCBC at Keeneland on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1. Also, the Gold Coast Summer Classic is next July 23 through 25.
Richard Eng’s horse racing column is published Friday in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. He can be reached at rich_eng@hotmail.com. Follow him on Twitter: @richeng4propick