Racehorse TALK

Ascot I wasn't there I'm only going on what I was told,but I'm as certain as I can be with my memory it was said at the fall of the hammer on tv so I'm sure everyone would have known at the sale.

Sounds like we are discussing semantics.  What does "fail the vet" actually mean.  That someone is willing to part with that amount of money with full disclosure on a serious flaw is difficult to believe. 

Will watch its future with interest.

I suppose that's why we rarely see a vet owning a racehorse.  Probably hard to please.  If I was an obstetrician there would probably be a lot of babies I would recommend the parents try to return and seek a refund.  I have seen a lot of ugly people in my time LOL.

Ascot I have just been told they think it failed because of throat troubles so I expect an op is thought to fix that problem so that's why the gamble,for me tho no throat no breathe properly.

You can ask for a horse to be scoped after you buy it at an Auction and if it fails the scope you can cancel the sale immediately, that is one fault I would not accept, I am very wary about backing a horse that I know has had a throat Operation, more often than not they are not as good after the op, even the winner of the Kensington First Command isn't as good now as he once was, and he is a sprinter, wind is infinitely more important to any horse that you are hoping to get over more than 1000 metres!! the slightest scar in the wind will create a Vortex like effect and limit the Oxygen that can be pumped where it is needed, you need a Micro Surgeon or one bloody good vet to operate without even leaving a scar! that is my opinion anyway!

Thanks for all that.  Well it is a given that the air supply has to be perfect for the level of exertion we ask horses to achieve.   

I wouldn't buy a horse that was a roarer as a yearling however dont forget So You think had breathing problems, was a roarer, and had the same op before he even started his race career and 2 cox plates and another 6??? I think Group 1 wins is not bad

Perfectly ready, Toorak Toff,  another couple that spring to mind that had the op and then still won. And yes maybe thier best days are behind them but that could be other factors also.
The problem is the old op only had about 20-30 percent success rate, but with new technology they are up to about 75 percent success rate.

Its a hard game. You can pick the most perfect horse with conformation, x rays , scope and the thing has no ticker and still can't run.

If you see Bel Espirit , his legs are on backwards. It is the most amazing thing to see. Didn't stop him from winning and winning big and also being the sire of the worlds highest rated champion mare.

He was bought by sheeds and the crew for around $9000 because he had these defective knees.
$2 Million in prizemoney later, the gamble worked great for him.

Knuckle Conformation is more about the "engine" than the legs, which are very important but the horse has to have the engine first, a horse with perfect legs can't run if the engine is faulty but a horse with great Conformation can run on imperfect legs, that is not to downplay the importance of the legs etc faults are all about what you have to pay for a horse, if the asking Price is a $mill you want perfect legs, if it is reduced to $9,000 you are more likely to take the risk as you have probably got a bargain if the legs hold up, it also depends on what the problem is as well, no fault is desirable but some are managable

Maybe So You Think would have been even better if he hadn't needed a wind operation, maybe it came against him in the last Furlong in the Melbourne Cup, who knows??

Of course you can quote plenty of horses who have had a wind operation that was successful, I have had a few myself(on my horses) some were successful others were not quite so successful but if I was looking at buying a horse and found it had a wind problem that needed an Operation I would certainly think twice about it