Repole Stables - Transparent

[menifee]

Horse was a nice 3 year old. Won the Curlin stakes at the Spa. Ran 4th in the Pennsylvania Derby. Horse beat A.P. Indian. Since running some career beyers, he has slowly been going down hill in the claiming ranks. Claimed from Jacobson for 32k by Repole he was placed in a 12500 claimer in February, 2017. He ran second and was vanned off. The claim was voided.

He showed up today (5/23 - Race 9) in a 5000n1y at Parx at 2/5. Worst 2/5 in history. He ran second to a 3/32 80-1 shot.

This just looks really bad for the game. Repole spends a lot of money and I appreciate what he has done for the game, but is $5000 really worth it. It just looks bad for the game and it is bad for the horse. He should not be racing anymore.

[AltonKelsey]

Nice price on the winner, not sure how easy it was to have at the route distance, but in a field like that , nothing is 80-1.

I notice the pitiful chart comments compared to NY as well.

[VeryOldMan]

He was DQ'ed from 1st in the Curlin Stakes back in 2013 and was placed 5th, FWIW.

[menifee]

Originally Posted by VeryOldMan

He was DQ'ed from 1st in the Curlin Stakes back in 2013 and was placed 5th, FWIW.

Thanks - I did not see that.

[Spalding No!]

Originally Posted by menifee

Horse was a nice 3 year old. Won the Curlin stakes at the Spa. Ran 4th in the Pennsylvania Derby. Horse beat A.P. Indian. Since running some career beyers, he has slowly been going down hill in the claiming ranks. Claimed from Jacobson for 32k by Repole he was placed in a 12500 claimer in February, 2017. He ran second and was vanned off. The claim was voided.

He showed up today (5/23 - Race 9) in a 5000n1y at Parx at 2/5. Worst 2/5 in history. He ran second to a 3/32 80-1 shot.

This just looks really bad for the game. Repole spends a lot of money and I appreciate what he has done for the game, but is $5000 really worth it. It just looks bad for the game and it is bad for the horse. He should not be racing anymore.

Horse was purchased as a yearling for over $700K and was campaigned by Godolphin for the better part of his career. They gave him a year off after the 2015 Pimlico Special, gave him one chance and right into mid-level claiming in 2nd comeback start. Washed their hands of it and predictably picked up by someone who loves to try and revitalize "back class" horses.

Coincidentally, at the time this horse was dumped for $12.5K in February (after placing for $32K) and vanned off, he was being conditioned by Linda Rice. Just a few weeks later, this board blew up when Rice sent out multiple graded stakes winner Kid Cruz for a $40K tag and watched him rupture his tendon and get vanned off. There was a debate about whether Rice would play such risky games.

Transparent's plight slipped through the cracks back then, but if it had been brought to light at the time it surely would have ended any such reservations with a bullet.

[PhantomOnTour]

I think he ran in the Pimlico Special a few years ago, maybe 2015 ?

[onefast99]

Since none of us know what the reason was for him being vanned off and none of us are privy to any health records on this horse it is tough to put anyone under the bus since the horse passed the state vet and was permitted to run. As we all know these horses with back class run all over the country against minimal competition towards the end of their career. Its the last guy who has him when he ends up breaking down that gets publicly admonished and beaten up for doing the wrong thing!

[FrankieFigs]

Even though he was beaten by an 80/1 shot, so were 9 other horses in the field. And it wasn't like he was completely out of it; he ran well enough to finish 2nd by a neck.

While there are times to question the intent of trainers sending horses out to run instead of caring for their welfare, this isn't one of them.

[Rise Over Run]

Originally Posted by FrankieFigs

Even though he was beaten by an 80/1 shot, so were 9 other horses in the field. And it wasn't like he was completely out of it; he ran well enough to finish 2nd by a neck.

While there are times to question the intent of trainers sending horses out to run instead of caring for their welfare, this isn't one of them.

C'mon, this is Repole running a horse for $5k at Parx. He has solid stock, it's like he is asking to get a black eye over this.

Tries to dump for $12k at Aqueduct, doesn't work because of the van off, so let's try for $5k at Parx. He's so bad looking that not a single trainer/owner at Parx put in a slip for him. Heck, even Linda Rice, who's winning at like 70%+ outside of NY bailed and he was transferred to Scott Lake.

[Fager Fan]

Originally Posted by Rise Over Run

C'mon, this is Repole running a horse for $5k at Parx. He has solid stock, it's like he is asking to get a black eye over this.

Tries to dump for $12k at Aqueduct, doesn't work because of the van off, so let's try for $5k at Parx. He's so bad looking that not a single trainer/owner at Parx put in a slip for him. Heck, even Linda Rice, who's winning at like 70%+ outside of NY bailed and he was transferred to Scott Lake.

I agree with this. If you can't get a horse claimed at a respectable figure, then you're better off retiring the horse. Just from a financial aspect, he's more expensive to train than retire. More importantly, you risk something going wrong with him physically, then you're not only saddled with what could be thousands in vet bills but a horse who now is unadoptable, at least for a period of time if not forever. You have to know when to cut your losses.

This is all provided that the horse is sound. If the horse is not sound, and his life and the life of the rider and everyone else in the race is being jeopardized, then this is far more than just a financial matter but one of ethics.

[onefast99]

Originally Posted by Fager Fan

I agree with this. If you can't get a horse claimed at a respectable figure, then you're better off retiring the horse. Just from a financial aspect, he's more expensive to train than retire. More importantly, you risk something going wrong with him physically, then you're not only saddled with what could be thousands in vet bills but a horse who now is unadoptable, at least for a period of time if not forever. You have to know when to cut your losses.

This is all provided that the horse is sound. If the horse is not sound, and his life and the life of the rider and everyone else in the race is being jeopardized, then this is far more than just a financial matter but one of ethics.

Yes Mike has no idea what to do here, hopefully he reads this thread and then does the "right" thing. Not picking on you but the guy is good for racing and racing needs more like him!

[Dahoss9698]

Originally Posted by onefast99

Yes Mike has no idea what to do here, hopefully he reads this thread and then does the "right" thing. Not picking on you but the guy is good for racing and racing needs more like him!

He might be good for racing but this was not a good thing to do. Its okay to separate the two.

[onefast99]

Originally Posted by Dahoss9698

He might be good for racing but this was not a good thing to do. Its okay to separate the two.

So he has lost the right to race the horse in a non competitive field? Do we have any information from some of the forums "insiders" as to what is wrong with the horse or why he was vanned off in NY? Did the track vet miss something here? If the horse scratched and was lame or he was put on a vets list and somehow ran, then I would be saying hey Mike do the right thing, but until we get the whole story putting this guy on trial for something similar to jay walking is wrong.

[Dahoss9698]

Originally Posted by onefast99

So he has lost the right to race the horse in a non competitive field? Do we have any information from some of the forums "insiders" as to what is wrong with the horse or why he was vanned off in NY? Did the track vet miss something here? If the horse scratched and was lame or he was put on a vets list and somehow ran, then I would be saying hey Mike do the right thing, but until we get the whole story putting this guy on trial for something similar to jay walking is wrong.

With all due respect, since you think he's good for racing, you're going to give him a free pass regardless of what he does.

The dudes a billionaire, does he really need to drop a horse for 5k at Parx? A horse that had the claim voided last time because the horse was vanned off.

Do you seriously not see why this looks bad? If the guys that are "good for the game" are doing this what are the guys that aren't doing?

[PaceAdvantage]

Originally Posted by Dahoss9698

If the guys that are "good for the game" are doing this what are the guys that aren't doing?

Pretty damn good question when you think about it.