Lavaman - Out of the money again!

[Burls]

I feel bad for Lavaman.
This is the third time in a row that he has finished SIXTH.
I hope they end his racing career after this race.
I can't help thinking that he has some sort of soft tissue or other difficult to detect injury.
He can still run, but not at the Stakes level any more.
I hope they don't put him in lower and lower races just to grind as much dough out of him as they can.
He's made over $5.2 million in purse money.
STD Racing Stable owes him a nice retirement for that.
I hope he gets it.
He still has to have some substantial Stud Fee value.
But his racing career is surely over.

Burls

[Zaf]

He's was'nt beaten badly , but He's done enough. Agree retire him.

Z

[Zaf]

He still has to have some substantial Stud Fee value.

Burls

He's a gelding.

[Burls]

He's a gelding.


Ah! Then the stud fees are out.
But he still deserves a nice retirement.

Burls

[Hosshead]

From Del Mar's *** Track
To Turf
To Artificial Cushion

Great training.
He deserves the best.
He deserves Dirt !

[onefast99]

He is telling Doug that he doesnt have the stamina like before. Maybe give him 60 days off and see what he looks like when he comes back. The people in California made him 7-5 because his story is rare in this game.

[Sailwolf]

He's was'nt beaten badly , but He's done enough. Agree retire him.

Z

At least a long vacation.

[socantra]

So Lava Man throws a couple of bad races. So what. HOTY at Hollywood Park this year. Earned 1.4 million with 2 grade ones and a major turf stakes. That means the horse is toast?

Lava Man never ran a lick outside of California, but goes into next year at Hollywood in 3rd place in lifetime earnings for a Cal bred, possibly with Noe Garcia coming back in some capacity and the benevolent ghost of Merv looking down from on high.

If the horse has physical problems, retirement might be the answer, but I'd leave that sort of decision to people like Doug O'Neil and SDK. Retirement just because of a few mediocre races is silly.

Geldings run races. Would you have retired John Henry just because he'd turned seven and thrown a bad race or two?

[cj]

They need to get the horse onto real dirt, he would still do just fine.

[Greyfox]

They need to get the horse onto real dirt, he would still do just fine.
You are absolutely right, although he did win on Hollywood's synthetic.
Unfortunately, the horse is a California bound winner and the "real dirt" is no longer at any of the major ovals in So. Cal.

[Zaf]

There's always Turf Paradise :rolleyes:

Z

[rastajenk]

Except for a brief period where he spiked some really big numbers, he's never been fast enough to win against top-level company. He was simply fortunate enough to be the best California router over an extended period of time when there weren't any other good California routers. It's not that he needed SoCal dirt, or sunshine, or home cooking; he just needed the de facto restricted races that are carded out there. And now he's cycling down to where even that isn't a winning situation.

If he gets a rest and comes back, he will still need a weak-at-the-top California contingent to become a winner again. And that's something, I would think, that most California enthusiasts should not have to hope for.

[ceejay]

You are absolutely right, although he did win on Hollywood's synthetic.
Unfortunately, the horse is a California bound winner and the "real dirt" is no longer at any of the major ovals in So. Cal.
Maybe he needs the "fair" circuit ;) .

[lilmegahertz]

Give him a break then see how he does. If he still does not fire, he could always be Kona Gold's buddy as a lead pony...at least he will still be on the track and his fans can see him.

[JustRalph]

if he can't come back, they need to turn him into an attraction to raise money for retired horses etc...........why nobody does this is something I have asked before.