Forty Niner

[TBird]

He looks terrific for his age.

[BaroqueAgain1]

Yes...and, at his age, it's terrific that he's still with us. <3

[Izvestia]

What a grand old man he is. He looks wonderful, thanks for posting!

[tachyon]

Happy birthday Forty Niner (32yo) !!!



at JBBA Shizunai
photo: Shigeyuki Yusa
https://www.facebook.com/shigeki.yusa/p ... 7575075061

[mariasmon]

That is a fantastic-looking 32YO horse. Glad he's still with us and doing well.

[Treve]

Fantastic! Happy Birthday Forty Niner.
He looks healthy and happy, may it be so for many more years to come.

[BaroqueAgain1]

Forty Niner has clearly been cherished and spoiled. His excellent condition (at 32?!) shows why IMHO the aged, pensioned stallions in Japan should be left in Japan...not hauled thousands of miles to a strange environment (Kentucky).

[Squally]

Forty Niner has clearly been cherished and spoiled. His excellent condition (at 32?!) shows why IMHO the aged, pensioned stallions in Japan should be left in Japan...not hauled thousands of miles to a strange environment (Kentucky).

Cause Silver Charm, War Emblem, Geri, Creator all looked so terrible at Old Friends. How long was Gato del Sol at Stone? 10 years? I think we all know you don't like Old Friends by now.

[BaroqueAgain1]

I think we all know you don't like Old Friends by now.

That's inaccurate. I don't just like Old Friends; I LOVE the work they do with retired racehorses.
What I am not a fan of is transporting aged stallions such long distances merely for the sake of us humans getting to see them in Kentucky. If the horse is cherished (like Forty Niner) and the quality of his care is not about to nosedive, he doesn't need to be moved. IMHO, taking him away from the only home and the caregivers he has known for many years, and putting him through the stress of a very long ship, isn't in the best interests of the horse.

ETA: Creator? Isn't Creator standing in Japan ATM?

[shortlead]

So good to see the old man looking so well at his age! I wish all could be loved and cared for like this guy!

[BlindLucky]

ETA: Creator? Isn't Creator standing in Japan ATM?

The "original" Creator, by Mill Reef

[BaroqueAgain1]

Gotcha. Horse names...crazy dey make you.

[serenassong]

Forty Niner has clearly been cherished and spoiled. His excellent condition (at 32?!) shows why IMHO the aged, pensioned stallions in Japan should be left in Japan...not hauled thousands of miles to a strange environment (Kentucky).

Cause Silver Charm, War Emblem, Geri, Creator all looked so terrible at Old Friends. How long was Gato del Sol at Stone? 10 years? I think we all know you don't like Old Friends by now.

Not sure if it was Forty Niner or not , but there was at least one stallion that they did not move because of his age that OF tried to repatriate.

[Squally]

ETA: Creator? Isn't Creator standing in Japan ATM?

The ORIGINAL Creator, the first horse Old Friends brought back from Japan. With Sunshine Forever? You know, the one who lived into his 30's there? Oh, don't let their success stories get in your way.

[Squally]

Forty Niner has clearly been cherished and spoiled. His excellent condition (at 32?!) shows why IMHO the aged, pensioned stallions in Japan should be left in Japan...not hauled thousands of miles to a strange environment (Kentucky).

Cause Silver Charm, War Emblem, Geri, Creator all looked so terrible at Old Friends. How long was Gato del Sol at Stone? 10 years? I think we all know you don't like Old Friends by now.

Not sure if it was Forty Niner or not , but there was at least one stallion that they did not move because of his age that OF tried to repatriate.

Michael Blowen really wanted to bring Arazi home but decided not to because of his age. And I do agree that if a horse is happy and SAFE, keep them where they are. But the reality of the horse world (not just the Thoroughbred world) is that when they aren't useful anymore, people tend to not want to keep paying for them. Heck, I've owned my own horse now for 9 years because she was 19 and broken and the owner "couldn't afford to keep her." Personally, I think if Old Friends hadn't wanted War Emblem, he'd have had some sort of "paddock accident"or colic and been quietly put down. Lots of people WILL do the right thing. But not all. And this isn't about Japan. It's just my own observations about the horse world in general.

[Northport]

So Shadai, probably the 3rd largest stallion operation in the world with 29 world class stallions, owned by 3 brothers who have three of their own separate breeding farms with hundreds of the most valuable broodmares in the world, resting on several thousand acres, would have had the Derby/Preakness winner and successful sire (if G1 winners to runners has any merit) quietly euthanized if Michael Blowen had not stepped in? Because Shadai couldn't spare resources to care for the horse - who already lived in his own barn on the property to help cope with what they thought were territorial and/or insecurity issues.

This is to say nothing regarding the fact that popular pensioned breeding stock and retired geldings owned by the brothers are sent to Northern Horse Park, aka Japan's Kentucky Horse Park, where they can be visited by fans and cared for until they pass.

I can maybe get if it isn't about Japan, but to compare War Emblem and Shadai to a lame riding horse and a person who can't afford it anymore, or any horse that isn't of use to it's owner - it's a little ridiculous. There are dozens, if not hundreds of articles that are easily accessible about Shadai, the Yoshidas, the JBBA, and modern bloodstock in Japan. You can say it's not about Japan, but you need some better evidence that actually involves the organization in question before deciding that a horse's life is in any remote danger.

I am a big fan of Old Friends and its mission, but I am with Baroque on this one. These stallions that get brought back from Japan have been in outstanding care of Shadai and JBBA twice as long, if not more, than they were ever in America. The facilities at OF cannot hold a candle to those in Japan, and to quarantine a horse, ship it, quarantine it again, etc. then not have it cover a test mare so have it gelded (in War Emblem's case) just so fans can take photos with it... who is benefitting from all of this?

/rant

Sorry, but this whole Old Friends descending from the heavens and saving Japanese stallions from an almost certain death is getting tiring.

[BaroqueAgain1]

Thank you, Northport. You said it better than I could.
I'm pretty sure that the stallions in Japan aren't ever going suffer Ferdinand's fate (or some fabricated colic ), but I wish I knew more about the stud farms in places like Turkey and Korea, which have acquired many of my favorite stallions (like Rock Hard Ten and Colonel John) over the last decade.
Are their operations as well known or transparent as, say, Shadai? Have any pensioned stallions been returned from Turkey or Korea?

[Retrospectiv]

So Shadai, probably the 3rd largest stallion operation in the world with 29 world class stallions, owned by 3 brothers who have three of their own separate breeding farms with hundreds of the most valuable broodmares in the world, resting on several thousand acres, would have had the Derby/Preakness winner and successful sire (if G1 winners to runners has any merit) quietly euthanized if Michael Blowen had not stepped in? Because Shadai couldn't spare resources to care for the horse - who already lived in his own barn on the property to help cope with what they thought were territorial and/or insecurity issues.

This is to say nothing regarding the fact that popular pensioned breeding stock and retired geldings owned by the brothers are sent to Northern Horse Park, aka Japan's Kentucky Horse Park, where they can be visited by fans and cared for until they pass.

I can maybe get if it isn't about Japan, but to compare War Emblem and Shadai to a lame riding horse and a person who can't afford it anymore, or any horse that isn't of use to it's owner - it's a little ridiculous. There are dozens, if not hundreds of articles that are easily accessible about Shadai, the Yoshidas, the JBBA, and modern bloodstock in Japan. You can say it's not about Japan, but you need some better evidence that actually involves the organization in question before deciding that a horse's life is in any remote danger.

I am a big fan of Old Friends and its mission, but I am with Baroque on this one. These stallions that get brought back from Japan have been in outstanding care of Shadai and JBBA twice as long, if not more, than they were ever in America. The facilities at OF cannot hold a candle to those in Japan, and to quarantine a horse, ship it, quarantine it again, etc. then not have it cover a test mare so have it gelded (in War Emblem's case) just so fans can take photos with it... who is benefitting from all of this?

/rant

Sorry, but this whole Old Friends descending from the heavens and saving Japanese stallions from an almost certain death is getting tiring.

This

THIS

10x THIS!

[CoronadosQuest]

https://www.facebook.com/shigeki.yusa/p ... 5736809578

A video and photos of Forty Niner from earlier today! He looks seriously amazing for the age of 32!

[Starine]

Thanks for sharing that. He really does look terrific for his age.