Stallion News

[carole]

Bad year for stallions. Silver Train has died en route to Pennsylvania from Brazil: colic.

http://www.thoroughbreddailynews.com/in ... ertID=3321

RIP. Choo Choo.

This isn't a stallion but he sure would have been one day:

PIPING ROCK, winner of the Horris Hill Stakes, was put down on Monday after suffering from a severe colic, with owner Godolphin describing it as "a terrible loss".

Godolphin had recently purchased Piping Rock from previous owner/breeder Bob McCreery and he was set to be the only horse trained for the owner by Richard Hannon jnr in his first season next year.

Unbeaten in three starts, Hannon jnr had considered Piping Rock to be a Classic candidate and the son of Dubawi was as short as 20-1 for the Qipco 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket on May 3.

Hannon jnr said: "The vets did everything possible for Piping Rock but very sadly there was nothing they could do to save him.

"Piping Rock hardly came off the bridle when winning all three of his races and showed in the Horris Hill Stakes that he was a genuine 2,000 Guineas contender so it is very sad to lose such a good horse."

Simon Crisford, the Godolphin racing manager, added: "We had great hopes for Piping Rock and our thoughts are with the staff at Richard Hannon's yard. He is a terrible loss."

Colic sucks so much

[Vandalay]

Wasn't there a a well known stallion in the 40's named Piping rock?

[sweettalk]

see, i said this earlier. what's with all the sudden colic cases? i know it can strike any horse any time, but there sure seems to be a HUGE influx of these cases lately.

[tonno100]

sweet-talk…there are far, far, far more stallions that started out with low stud fees and proved exceptional stallions!

exactly, whixh was why i asked. LOTS of surprisers at stud - tapit was a big one. solid race horse but not the second coming, started out at a low fee with meh expectations but look at him now. so i was looking for a stud that raced like a god and sired little mini gods, just to see how many there were. bernerdini was the only one that came to mind.

Then interestingly, the top turf stallions of recent times have often been those that were the top racehorses - e.g. Galileo and Deep Impact.

Though, there are obviously still plenty of top-class racehorses who flopped, grass just seems a little bit more consistent in producing top stallions.

[sweettalk]

sweet-talk…there are far, far, far more stallions that started out with low stud fees and proved exceptional stallions!

exactly, whixh was why i asked. LOTS of surprisers at stud - tapit was a big one. solid race horse but not the second coming, started out at a low fee with meh expectations but look at him now. so i was looking for a stud that raced like a god and sired little mini gods, just to see how many there were. bernerdini was the only one that came to mind.

Then interestingly, the top turf stallions of recent times have often been those that were the top racehorses - e.g. Galileo and Deep Impact.

Though, there are obviously still plenty of top-class racehorses who flopped, grass just seems a little bit more consistent in producing top stallions.

thus perpetuating my gigglestorm at america's general aversion to turf.

[second_glance]

New Year's Day will stand for $12,500.

[Miss Woodford]

New Year's Day will stand for $12,500.

Insane.

[bare it all]

New Year's Day will stand for $12,500.

For that amount or less, you could go to Afleet Alex, Big Brown, Giralomo, Even the Score, Point Given...

[RuffiantoRags]

That does seem a bit high for a freshman sire that retired do to unsoundness. He wouldn't attract me if I were in the business.

[second_glance]

Animal Kingdom is back in the USA! In his new stall at Jonabell:

[TBird]

I'm going to see him on Sunday. I can't wait.

[mimi6920]

Is there an open house on Sunday?

[TBird]

Is there an open house on Sunday?

I believe that Darley's Open House takes place during the January sale.

[Ridan_Remembered]

It's wonderful to see Animal Kingdom back home in Kentucky.

If there are any people here who are familiar with stallion management, does it disturb a stallion to be shuttled back and forth between time zones? Do they need to re-acclimate to their new surroundings before the start of the breeding season? What are some of the considerations involved in shuttling stallions? This is one aspect of the industry I know nothing about, so would enjoy and appreciate any information.

[BaroqueAgain1]

All I know is that changing surroundings, with new smells, sounds and sights, is going to disturb an animal like a horse, which generally are creatures of habit.
Maybe some stallions thrive on the challenge of "new territory" to lord over...and some don't. That might play a factor in who shuttles, and who doesn't.
I do wonder if the stress, plus strange feed and water, has played a factor in the cases of colic we keep reading about.

[mariasmon]

I think a farm like Darley, that shuttles stallions to its own properties in Australia, can ensure a continuity in the standard of care. Not that I am trying to imply that the stallions who shuttle to different farms or other countries experience poor care. But the differences in the environment and way of doing things will likely be more noticeable, at the very least.

Many farms also have a staff member travel with the stallion(s). They may not stay with him/them the entire breeding season, but at least someone who knows the stallion will be with him during the journey. I know the stallion manager at Vinery Australia has traveled back to the US with More Than Ready, Big Brown and Congrats in recent years, so it goes both ways. It may not make any difference, but it can't hurt.

[Northport]

I think a farm like Darley, that shuttles stallions to its own properties in Australia, can ensure a continuity in the standard of care. Not that I am trying to imply that the stallions who shuttle to different farms or other countries experience poor care. But the differences in the environment and way of doing things will likely be more noticeable, at the very least.

Many farms also have a staff member travel with the stallion(s). They may not stay with him/them the entire breeding season, but at least someone who knows the stallion will be with him during the journey. I know the stallion manager at Vinery Australia has traveled back to the US with More Than Ready, Big Brown and Congrats in recent years, so it goes both ways. It may not make any difference, but it can't hurt.

Sheikh Mohammed also owns an Fly Emirates (which I am pretty sure does all of the transport of his horses) which would be a huge benefit in the travelling of his horses, re. how many people are able to be with the horses during the flight and that kind of thing

[second_glance]

Big fan fave in NY: The Lumber Guy retired to Keane Stud

http://www.drf.com/news/lumber-guy-reti ... d-new-york

[tachyon]

Looks like Henny Hughes was probably fortunate to wind up in Japan. I doubt he'd have booked full in KY, even though he has sired some talented horses like Beholder and Asia Express.

Asia Express' trainer Takahisa Tezuka has just mentioned the BC (Classic) as his horse's possible goal.
The undefeated 2yo champion colt in Japan (he will be voted so in several days) seems to have many options this year. He had won two dirt races impressively before he romped in the G1 Asahi Hai Futurity on turf.

Tezuka said; ''We won't go to Dubai (UAE Derby) on tapeta (he may not love). The Kentucky Derby would be great. But that option is unrealistic as he will have to earn some points in the stakes races in the US to qualify for it.
He might kick off his sophomore campaign in one of the turf races here. But if he can win the Unicorn Stakes (dirt) at Tokyo in June, we would consider pointing him to Santa Anita. He is a US-bred, graduate of the sales over there. So I would love to see him run in the states.''

This is quite off-topic here.
But it will be great if some of Henny Hughes babies will return to the states.

[Northport]

That would be terrific if he came to the US to race! We don't see a lot of Japanese runners, let alone any on dirt. Kudos to the connections for even considering it.