Lukas is old school and runs his horses a lot. That they should get a "rest" is a common chorus in a day and age when horses aren't raced a lot.
It all depends what his routine and feed is. Hay and oats trainers of yore did very well and had horses who were very *fit*.
Lukas doesn't have the numbers in his stables like some who really do "throw everything up against the wall and see if it sticks." What he does do is demand that his horses are RACE HORSES. That means not spending all their time standing around in the barn.
There are always "rumors" about his heavily run horses, before races, like how they are "lame" and such........and then they get out there and run pretty well.
He has a tendency to favor real war horses, iron horses. If only the breeders could breed more of those, and give them to trainers like Lukas, racing would start to look different today.
Unfortunately, the breeders aren't breeding for stamina/tenacity/longevity. That's not really Lukas's fault. He is training 'em like he always has.
I talked to an irate owner last year who had a horse w/Lukas, really didn't like him, transferred the horse(s) to another trainer, and the horse is not doing well at all. My take on him is mixed, but I sense that if you have a real race horse, who can "take" the athletic life that is the life of a race horse, then Lukas will bring them up to snuff. If you have a horse who isn't going to make it, he is not going to coddle your horse when he already sees what he's dealing with.
There are certain breedings I wouldn't give to Lukas for sure. He does very well with horses who are strong and physically sound. If you want your horse to run 2x-3x a year, don't give it to Lukas.
