Letruska

[Tom]

What a dismal race today.

[the little guy]

Originally Posted by Tom

What a dismal race today.

I hate to say this, but this is why people retire horses.

We want them to stay on the track, but sometimes it backfires.

[Tom]

So much for my Bulldog Hanover/ Letruska double!

[1st time lasix]

A great racehorse. She apparently has lost her desire. Time to breed her I guess.. . (War Front…Into Mischief, ….Frankel,….Medaglia D’Or.). and make millions …. C

[stlseeeek]

you expected better?

she's been bad in past 2 going in, especially at the distance, speed to push her, and you expected her to win?


that exacta was stealing. 3 horses to push lead, and the 2 to pick up the pieces for 2nd.

[azeri98]

She should be done racing. Time to do the right thing. She can't beat the best anymore. Now add Nest into the picture

[cj]

Originally Posted by the little guy

I hate to say this, but this is why people retire horses.

We want them to stay on the track, but sometimes it backfires.

In her case it really didn't cost them much right as a mare, other than possibly one foal? Or am I missing something?

[the little guy]

Originally Posted by cj

In her case it really didn't cost them much right as a mare, other than possibly one foal? Or am I missing something?

One foal would have been worth more than this year:-) I would also assume she is insured.

[cj]

Originally Posted by the little guy

One foal would have been worth more than this year:-) I would also assume she is insured.

Right, I'm sure they lost out, but with a female it is usually worth the risk.

[metro]

Distaff is trending to a short field with a forgone conclusion.

[GMB@BP]

Originally Posted by metro

Distaff is trending to a short field with a forgone conclusion.

I assume you mean Malathaat?

[classhandicapper]

Horses are athletes. They only have so many races in them before they start feeling the physical and mental effects of all the travel, hard training, and tough races. Horses may vary, but they all accumulate minor injuries and eventually wear down and go off form. Lestruska is worn down.

The same thing happened to Rachel Alexandra.

On the flip side, Zenyatta was handled with much less shipping and without searching for the toughest spots available. Even though she wasn't the same mare at 6 that she was at 4, she should could still be trained up to close to a peak effort at 6 after 20 starts.

The industry may have overshot a bit with all the spacing and shorter campaigns we have now. But horses like Letruska were not unusual years ago. A lot of horses that started early in the year at GP or in CA that had long tough campaigns would wear down and go off form by the end of the year, sometimes even if they were given a short freshener. Since most connections consider the BC races as the long term goal now, they are way more careful to not reach that point too soon.

It's a balancing act between trying to have a great campaign but without squeezing the lemon dry.

[classhandicapper]

Originally Posted by GMB@BP

I assume you mean Malathaat?

Nest could have something to say about that.

[metro]

Originally Posted by classhandicapper

Nest could have something to say about that.

Malathaat more battle tested which makes her the one to beat imo. Nest has basically just been running against the clock, but her figures speak for themselves and the pace dynamics would benefit her.

Clairiere obviously the better of the two Asmussen's, just have to question training up to the race. I can't buy into Society's Cotillion.

That leaves Search Results another training up to the race as the only other one to really consider.

Letruska shouldn't run, neither should Secret Oath who just isn't this class.

I doubt Shug would want to go this path with First to Act.

Should any from the West Coast even bother?

Army Wife and Played Hard could seemingly round out the field, the latter benefiting a bit from a pace stand point if Letruska doesn't go.

Still shapes up as a very good race just a short field.

[classhandicapper]

Originally Posted by metro

Malathaat more battle tested which makes her the one to beat imo. Nest has basically just been running against the clock, but her figures speak for themselves and the pace dynamics would benefit her.

Clairiere obviously the better of the two Asmussen's, just have to question training up to the race. I can't buy into Society's Cotillion.

I've been a Malathaat fan since the beginning, even when she had some critics early on because her "figures" didn't break out yet. Normally, I prefer the older more seasoned horse/mare over the 3yo. So this would normally be an automatic for me. But to me it looks like Nest is arguably a better 3yo than Malathaat was. I think the gap (if there is any) is not as large as usual and could be closed by BC day. But I agree with your premise. I'm not sure what to do with Clairiere. Everyone jumped on the Clairiere train after she beat Malathaat, but I think those two are very close even if you toss the last race because she acted up a but prior to the race.