BC Controversy - Polydream

[horses4courses]

KHRC vets deemed that Polydream was lame on Friday, and scratched her from BC Mile.
French trainer Freddy Head does not agree.
Twice a winning rider on Miesque, and trainer of triple winner Goldlikova,
he was outspoken in his criticism on how this was handled.

It’s a disgrace. You think I’m taking a horse to America that’s not ready to run? She trots in an awkward way because she has offset knees.

https://www.racingpost.com/news/fred...up-mile/352055

[Immortal6]

I feel that as the trainer, if you know the horse trots awkwardly, maybe alert the track veterinarians to this when you arrive and give them ample time to look over the horse and investigate your claim of "offset knees".

I will never complain when a vet errs on the side of caution when scratching a horse they deem to be lame.

[SeaHorseRacing]

Gutting to read that. I know many won’t agree but I genuinely thought she was one of the biggest value horses at the entire meeting.

[castaway01]

Originally Posted by SeaHorseRacing

Gutting to read that. I know many won’t agree but I genuinely thought she was one of the biggest value horses at the entire meeting.

She was the morning line favorite, albeit at 5-1.

[chadk66]

If kept quiet this would have been an easy fix. Vets should have indicated to head they were concerned about whatever it was. Let's just say left front knee or left from limb somewhere. If he Head disagreed they should have obtained a thermal imaging device and looked her over. This was an extremely costly endeavor for the owners and when a horse is totally unknown to these vets they should have afforded him at least that much.

[Tom]

Stupid move by vets and stewards both.
Irony such classy races being run at a classless track.
CD

[Suff]

Industry Pressure & TV Money Pressure likely at play.

Betting on Animals is dancing on the head of a pin.....

Allowing a horse that has an awkward trot that can be perceived as lame is HIGH Risk....LOW reward.

Animal Rights advocates are crawling all over the place. NBC & Others have millions at risk.

[Spalding No!]

Originally Posted by chadk66

If kept quiet this would have been an easy fix. Vets should have indicated to head they were concerned about whatever it was. Let's just say left front knee or left from limb somewhere. If he Head disagreed they should have obtained a thermal imaging device and looked her over. This was an extremely costly endeavor for the owners and when a horse is totally unknown to these vets they should have afforded him at least that much.

The BC Veterinary panel inspects horses in the presence of their respective connections multiple times in the days leading up to the actual races. In addition to stall-side exams, each horse is observed under tack during morning training. In that respect, it wasn't really necessary to "comply" with Freddie Head's request to watch her gallop on the track...the vet panel had already been watching.

As far as the costly endeavor of bringing the horse over for the BC, all the nomination and entry fees are refunded in the event of a veterinary scratch. Where the connections might have lost out was in the shipping fees, as the BC allots a "traveling award" to out of state/international shippers. I think the horse is required to actually start in the race to receive this award. ($40,000 in the case of a foreign shipper).

In addition: Far be it from me to second guess a legendary trainer, but if the horse has knee issues ("offset", "not perfect" per the trainer) he took a bit of a risk breezing the horse a spirited 1/2 mile only 2 days before the race, especially considering it came over a surface she wasn't familiar with and wasn't going to be racing over (i.e., the Churchill Downs main track).

[Tom]

Sounds like she always has those knees - why would working her be a risk is she always does?

Sounds like he wanted them to see her on the track and they refused. Like they had more important things to do....probably had to get their wives new hats for the big day. Maybe talk to Bobby Flay about a new Derby Dog for next year.

[Spalding No!]

Originally Posted by Tom

Sounds like she always has those knees - why would working her be a risk is she always does?

These reason poor conformation (of which offset knees is but one example) is undesirable is because it predisposes the horse to arthritis (and other physical conditions) which often manifests as pain and lameness. There is no cure for arthritis, it's a degenerative process.

I would guess Freddie Head knows how to manage such a horse. At the same time, he's probably also aware that such a horse is at its worst soundness-wise in the immediate timeframe following a race or a workout...hence the "risk" he took (i.e., that she wouldn't pass a physical inspection).

That's not to ignore the more important risk of a major or even catastrophic injury, of which poorly conformed horses are more susceptible than ones with ideal conformation.

Sounds like he wanted them to see her on the track and they refused. Like they had more important things to do....probably had to get their wives new hats for the big day. Maybe talk to Bobby Flay about a new Derby Dog for next year.

Again, the vet panel watches each horse train every morning leading up to the BC races. They didn't miss her training. Perhaps Freddie Head was asking for one more day of training but I would guess the also-eligible situation precluded the granting of any special considerations to Freddie Head that were not extended to all other horsemen.

[chadk66]

visibly watching horses isn't the end all be all. if he was that persistent they should have done testing such as x-rays, ultra sound etc. I've had horses that were 100% sound that traveled like broken down mules. And nobody has even came forward with what the proposed ailment even was. If that horse was lame prior to breezing the half he wouldn't have breezed the horse a half. If that horse was lame after the breeze it would have been very easy to find the issue more than likely. Like I said, it would have taken two minutes with thermal imaging to find it. And I'd bet there were several on the back side.

[Spalding No!]

Originally Posted by chadk66

visibly watching horses isn't the end all be all. if he was that persistent they should have done testing such as x-rays, ultra sound etc. I've had horses that were 100% sound that traveled like broken down mules. And nobody has even came forward with what the proposed ailment even was. If that horse was lame prior to breezing the half he wouldn't have breezed the horse a half. If that horse was lame after the breeze it would have been very easy to find the issue more than likely. Like I said, it would have taken two minutes with thermal imaging to find it. And I'd bet there were several on the back side.

You're presuming no testing was done. It's quite possible that it was or at least requested (perhaps Freddie Head declined to comply).

You're also presuming that the specific ailment was "very easy to find", which despite what you say is often not the case even in the presence of an obvious lameness, hence the need for the very diagnostic techniques you mentioned: x-rays, ultrasound...not to mention more advanced ones and blocking with local anesthetics. Furthermore, simple thermography, which can only measure surface temperature (and not internal structures), certainly does not trump any of these more advanced tests.

[chadk66]

Originally Posted by Spalding No!

You're presuming no testing was done. It's quite possible that it was or at least requested (perhaps Freddie Head declined to comply).

You're also presuming that the specific ailment was "very easy to find", which despite what you say is often not the case even in the presence of an obvious lameness, hence the need for the very diagnostic techniques you mentioned: x-rays, ultrasound...not to mention more advanced ones and blocking with local anesthetics. Furthermore, simple thermography, which can only measure surface temperature (and not internal structures), certainly does not trump any of these more advanced tests.

so was any testing done at all?