Sigh You 8th race breakdown at Aqueduct

[onefast99]

The number 1 horse Sigh You broke down headed for home in the 8th race today. This horse has been beaten by over 111 lengths in its last three dirt races. This one is perplexing to me as the horse clearly is out of form and dislikes the dirt track. The horse seems to like the turf so why not put him away for the winter instead of racing him on a surface he dislikes? Also it seems he has had 60 days between races a few times and today got a weight relief going at 113.5#'s. Combine that with the trainers poor stats and it just adds to the mystery of why this horse even stepped foot on the track today.

[kenwoodallpromos]

The number 1 horse Sigh You broke down headed for home in the 8th race today. This horse has been beaten by over 111 lengths in its last three dirt races. This one is perplexing to me as the horse clearly is out of form and dislikes the dirt track. The horse seems to like the turf so why not put him away for the winter instead of racing him on a surface he dislikes? Also it seems he has had 60 days between races a few times and today got a weight relief going at 113.5#'s. Combine that with the trainers poor stats and it just adds to the mystery of why this horse even stepped foot on the track today.
Was the trainer trying to steal a race at long odds?

[Bobzilla]

Thankfully it was later reported rider Sheldon Russell was up and walking around.

Moments ago I raised my shot glass filled with JD in a toast to SIGH YOU. Though I didn't hear it reported I have to assume that SY is no longer with us after viewing the incident from different angles. I agree that SY's more competitive efforts had been on grass over the last three years. He did catch a NYSB N2X field napping last winter going gate to wire, beating Taking the Redeye among others, after a race in which he had been defeated by 57 lenghts. Pat Kelly is a good horseman and SY did show quite a few decent works leading up to today's race. As a regular New York player I have a special place in my heart for those NY Breds we see every few weeks giving it their all, often in the OC25/N2X condition and during the winter months in Ozone Park, the STOPBLUFFINGS and TYPHOON TYCOONS of the racing world. Though the trend is to malign this group of hard nosed bangers, to me they're old school and make for interesting and profitable races. They race all the time and run themselves into condition, often surprising when they do win. I love these guys, they're my buddies. Though I've seen many breakdowns in all the years this sport has been my passion, as Andy stated on yesterday's NYRA simulcast, I don't want to get used to seeing these unfortunate events.

[Steve 'StatMan']

Sigh You was running a pretty decent race up to the point of breakdown, was only about 1-1.5 lengths off the lead through much of the race through the 2nd turn, then seemed to slow a little (tiring, sore?) then broke down. Not sure if is left-front action was a little to the left, not quite a paddle but I haven't done a lot of body/leg action work to know for sure. Seemed to happen at about the same spot as yesterday's spill, except SY stayed upright (painfully) while decellearting, the jockey fell off and rolled to/under the rail, and thanfully the field was able to avoid striking both of them. The horses behind him were at least 2-3 lengths back, that had to help a bit as well to avoid them.

[onefast99]

Was the trainer trying to steal a race at long odds?
I am wondering how "accurate those workouts are". Getting beaten by 59 lengths and 26 lengths in his past two races shows me the horse is unfit to run.

[Grits]

A nice tribute to this runner, Bobzilla, a really fine post. I imagine there are many others who feel exactly the same.


Thankfully it was later reported rider Sheldon Russell was up and walking around.

Moments ago I raised my shot glass filled with JD in a toast to SIGH YOU. Though I didn't hear it reported I have to assume that SY is no longer with us after viewing the incident from different angles. I agree that SY's more competitive efforts had been on grass over the last three years. He did catch a NYSB N2X field napping last winter going gate to wire, beating Taking the Redeye among others, after a race in which he had been defeated by 57 lenghts. Pat Kelly is a good horseman and SY did show quite a few decent works leading up to today's race. As a regular New York player I have a special place in my heart for those NY Breds we see every few weeks giving it their all, often in the OC25/N2X condition and during the winter months in Ozone Park, the STOPBLUFFINGS and TYPHOON TYCOONS of the racing world. Though the trend is to malign this group of hard nosed bangers, to me they're old school and make for interesting and profitable races. They race all the time and run themselves into condition, often surprising when they do win. I love these guys, they're my buddies. Though I've seen many breakdowns in all the years this sport has been my passion, as Andy stated on yesterday's NYRA simulcast, I don't want to get used to seeing these unfortunate events.

[jognlope]

Sigh You has had some success in years past. I got teary watching that performance, struggling like that, then breaking down, too sad.

[atlasaxis]

I am wondering how "accurate those workouts are". Getting beaten by 59 lengths and 26 lengths in his past two races shows me the horse is unfit to run.

Pat Kelly is as honest a trainer as you will EVER find and will not race an unfit horse.

[samyn on the green]

The breakdown was unfortunate but to throw Kelly under the bus as a low percentage butcher is not right. Kelly is a hell of a horseman. This is the first time one of his has broke down in a race that I can remember and he starts hu8ndreds of hor lses in New York every year. HE isn't the type to run a horse into the ground, he is known for his older sound horses. Look at some of his older horses like Evening Attire, Riskaverse or Naughty New Yorker. The number 1 horse Sigh You broke down headed for home in the 8th race today. This horse has been beaten by over 111 lengths in its last three dirt races. This one is perplexing to me as the horse clearly is out of form and dislikes the dirt track. The horse seems to like the turf so why not put him away for the winter instead of racing him on a surface he dislikes? Also it seems he has had 60 days between races a few times and today got a weight relief going at 113.5#'s. Combine that with the trainers poor stats and it just adds to the mystery of why this horse even stepped foot on the track today.

[salty]

I am wondering how "accurate those workouts are". Getting beaten by 59 lengths and 26 lengths in his past two races shows me the horse is unfit to run.

How is getting beaten by 59 lengths and 26 lengths unfit to run? Please explain.

As far as I saw he was running a pretty good race for a horse that has lost that bad. Almost right up with the leader, who was a huge speed horse that had just put up two 90 beyers in his last two races. If he was unfit why wasn't he at the back of the pack in the last part of the 2nd turn?

[onefast99]

How is getting beaten by 59 lengths and 26 lengths unfit to run? Please explain.

As far as I saw he was running a pretty good race for a horse that has lost that bad. Almost right up with the leader, who was a huge speed horse that had just put up two 90 beyers in his last two races. If he was unfit why wasn't he at the back of the pack in the last part of the 2nd turn?
I am looking at his past performances, they are horrendous on the dirt. One win last year on the inner vs this type nw2. I am not throwing any trainer under the bus at all. Someone brought up the 6 works in the past 5 weeks, my take on it, and I am allowed an opinion, is that this horse should of been on a farm awaiting the re-opening of the turf course where he did 99% of his best work.

[onefast99]

The breakdown was unfortunate but to throw Kelly under the bus as a low percentage butcher is not right. Kelly is a hell of a horseman. This is the first time one of his has broke down in a race that I can remember and he starts hu8ndreds of hor lses in New York every year. HE isn't the type to run a horse into the ground, he is known for his older sound horses. Look at some of his older horses like Evening Attire, Riskaverse or Naughty New Yorker.
No where did I ever call this trainer a butcher so please dont insert words that you want to see. Evening Attire and Naughty new yorker are two of my favorite horses, and they ran on the surface that was best suited for them. Sigh You didnt.

[ryesteve]

This horse has been beaten by over 111 lengths in its last three dirt races. Combine that with the trainers poor stats and it just adds to the mystery of why this horse even stepped foot on the track today.Not a fair assessment. His last race was in open company and he set ridiculously fast early fractions before quitting. Under those circumstances, beaten margin is irrelevant. The race prior was over a wet track that he might not like (given the 2/2/08 race) it was his first race back off a 2 month layoff, and his early pace splits were the fastest in his PPs. Again, plenty of reasons for him to quit.

So here he is in this race... dropping in class, getting the rail, with the only other threatening speed coming from post 9. If the horse had instead won at a huge price (or even completed the exacta with the huge chalk), you'd have people trying to redboard THAT, instead of trying to redboard the breakdown.

[onefast99]

Not a fair assessment. His last race was in open company and he set ridiculously fast early fractions before quitting. Under those circumstances, beaten margin is irrelevant. The race prior was over a wet track that he might not like (given the 2/2/08 race) it was his first race back off a 2 month layoff, and his early pace splits were the fastest in his PPs. Again, plenty of reasons for him to quit.

So here he is in this race... dropping in class, getting the rail, with the only other threatening speed coming from post 9. If the horse had instead won at a huge price (or even completed the exacta with the huge chalk), you'd have people trying to redboard THAT, instead of trying to redboard the breakdown.
Fair assessment.

[jotb]

Sigh You's last race was back on Jan 2 and then he was entered back on Feb 21, (same race as yesterday) and Feb 26 (AOC35KNW3L) and he was scr. for both races. He showed a publish work on the 22nd and the 27th of Feb. Kelly did almost the same thing with Bar Harbor 5 yo (scr. on the Feb 15th and then worked on Feb 16th). Kelly has another horse by the name of Will Never Bend (7yo). He had entered this horse for a race on Nov 30th. He came out of the race for Nov 30th but worked on Nov 30th. He enters him right back for Dec 4th but comes out of that race as well. He then works him on Dec 6th,15th, and 23rd. Will Never Bend runs on the 27th and comes in 7th.

When Evening Attire (10yo at the time) ran his last race on 7-19-08, Kelly had worked 4 times before that race. He worked on 6-20, 6-28, 7-4, and 7-11. Evening Attire's prior race was on 6-6-08 where he finished 2nd in the Brooklyn Handicap at the distance of 12.0F. Evening Attire no doubt was a special horse for Kelly over the year's and Kelly did a great job with him. Unfortunately, not every horse is the same. I believe at times Kelly has a tendency to overtrain when it comes to some of his older horses.


Anyway, I was wondering if anybody here noticed Sigh You's 1/2 mile time on Jan 2. I thought that was a pretty quick 1/2 mile time of 46.72 at 8.3F Does anybody have a pace figure for that race and how does it compare to other races at that distance on the inner in 2008 and 2009?

Thanks,
Joe

[cj]

It is easy to criticize when you aren't paying the bills. One thing is certain, this horse wasn't paying any of them.

I see no reason in the PPs to think this horse was unsound. He raced regularly for 3 years straight, hardly the sign a horse is fragile.

[cj]

The pace for the race at 6f, Beyer style, was 104 by my calculations. I don't do 1/2, but if I did, I would imagine it was quite a bit higher. I am guessing this, but the race completely fell apart figure wise late.

[onefast99]

It is easy to criticize when you aren't paying the bills. One thing is certain, this horse wasn't paying any of them.

I see no reason in the PPs to think this horse was unsound. He raced regularly for 3 years straight, hardly the sign a horse is fragile.
based on his previous 3 starts I would of put the horse on a farm after doing a thorough exam medically and especially of his airway. $22 a day for the farm vs $80 a day for the trainer plus extras for a horse that has run just about as bad as any that age isnt a difficult decision to make. I have gone thru this same thing in 2006 with a bad claim off of TP, the trainer said hey one more then we can put him on a farm, that one more was his last race.

[eastie]

if the kid Russel had let him go to the lead instead of choking him and make him tug , this wouldn't have happened. For this guy, who came out of wicked speed duels not to be in front with that 48 half, from the rail is disgraceful. he peels off 47 halfs with ease. Just because he tired after being in races that went way to fast early, does not mean he is not fit. Once the jock stops riding, does it matter how many he gets beat ?...So Sheldon, how do you let the nine hoss beat you to the lead, and why were you choking him down leaving him with poor action ?

[onefast99]

if the kid Russel had let him go to the lead instead of choking him and make him tug , this wouldn't have happened. For this guy, who came out of wicked speed duels not to be in front with that 48 half, from the rail is disgraceful. he peels off 47 halfs with ease. Just because he tired after being in races that went way to fast early, does not mean he is not fit. Once the jock stops riding, does it matter how many he gets beat ?...So Sheldon, how do you let the nine hoss beat you to the lead, and why were you choking him down leaving him with poor action ?
Interesting angle, but it seems this horse gets wrapped up on early a lot.