Mylute wrote: ↑Wed Nov 13, 2019 1:53 pm
Have y'all heard about Green Gratto?
Buckle in. This will be long. It's from DRF.
So G1 winner
Green Gratto (Here's Zealous) retired to Total Bloodstock Farm in NY to commence stud duties in 2019.
He was apparently not able to impregnate mares. Efforts were made to combat his infertility, as is custom, but nothing would do. His current "trainer" Tamara Levey says that, from here, the following happened:
Once the partnership that owned him learned he would not be a stallion he was sent to Kentucky and put out in pasture, where it was "apparent he did not receive the best of care." His current owners, Norman and Liz Wilson, learned of this somehow and convinced his owners to let him go to their private farm in Ocala. He was "not in the best of shape" when he arrived. His owners were apparently intent on selling him in a livestock auction, which the Wilsons had to convince them to forego. Eventually, they relented when they bought Green Gratto themselves. They kept him at their farm and nursed him back to good health.
The Wilsons did another reproductive checkup on the guy to clear everything up, and he was indeed sterile. So, they gelded him. They planned to let him live out retirement as a pasture ornament, but Green Gratto wouldn't have that, as he was incredibly spirited and aggressive towards pasture mates. Tamara Levey, who trains horses for the Wilsons and has worked with them for some time, offered to let him occupy a stall and paddock at a local training center (thinking that the familiarity of the track would be nice for him). The Wilsons did but Green Gratto still wasn't happy.
Liz Wilson decided one day to throw some tack on Green Gratto and let him go out with her trainees. He enjoyed it, so they let him "train." Apparently Green Gratto's health, weight, behavior, and happiness greatly improved. They eventually let him put in a work and he became "too much to handle" on the small track. So, they sent him to Gulfstream Park West. Before doing so, they got him a complete physical and he received a 100% clean bill of health.
On November 10, Green Gratto then had an official workout, running a half-mile in 49 seconds, after which he "cooled out great." Then, news of Green Gratto's work reached social media and a natural sh*tstorm occurred. You can imagine how people are reacting to this and all the accusations thrown.
After being attacked on social media, Tamara Levy announced through DRF that they will now send Green Gratto back to the owner's farm. She said that the horse's best interest was always held first and foremost.
“I understand the fact he was a Grade 1 winner and earned $1 million, but we have no control over his résumé,” Levy said. “At no point did we have any intention of running him for a $6,250 claiming tag. We weren’t doing this looking to get rid of him. If we didn’t believe he could still run at a high level, we wouldn’t have run him. But now, because of social media, he’s going to have to go home and be deprived of doing something he really enjoys.”
Levy said she resents the fact people who have had never had contact with Green Gratto, or any idea what’s best for this horse, have basically dictated his fate.
“Old Friends and Florida TRAC offered to take him in, but, trust me, at no point since this ownership group took him in has he needed to be rescued,” Levy said.
“And he certainly wouldn’t be the only 9-year-old running here or at other tracks around the country, for that matter. I just think it becomes a dangerous road we’re traveling down when we start letting social media and people who are non-horsemen start dictating what horses we can run and which ones we cannot because they think they know better.”
