Summer Bird Retired
 

Stud Fee? Tree Fiddy

What a great move taking the horse from Ice! :rolleyes:

That's too bad.

What an odd statement

I don't think I can say, "he's done enough".

I was anticipating a QR and SB re-match

HUH?

This proves he really wasn't 3yo champ last year.

lol
 

lol he was, the longer the race the better he is, but if he fracture something is gonna be very hard for him to run.... :tro:

:tro:






Leader in the Clubhouse for 'Post of the Year'..

There is plenty of blame to go around in this story, but Tim Ritchey doesn't deserve an ounce of criticism. The horse hadn't been doing well at all coming back from the surgery, and just didn't heel well enough to run back. So taking the horse from Tim Ice has no bearing on the ending of the Summer Bird saga.

The Jayaramans were lucky to come up with Summer Bird in the first place, as his breeding was a complete accident, and Ice did a tremendous job with him crafting a 3yo Championship. It was the decision of the meddling and difficult couple to run in the Breeders' Cup and in Japan, both against Ice's wishes, and they are 100% responsible for the outcome. And at the same time, Ice was also 100% responsible for having been fired by them.

The net result is that the Jayaramans, who have been in racing a long time got a big horse, and Tim Ice, who was just starting out, got a jump-start on a career. Summer Bird was a nice horse who was very pleasant to be around, and carved out a darned notable spot for himself in racing lore with the Belmont-Travers-Gold Cup triple.

He is far from a throw back from yester year.

Well said Steve.

I said it at the time, I hated the trip to the Japan, it's too bad I would have loved to have seen him crush Quality Road road again this year.

A healthy Summer Bird would have been lucky to finish 3rd in the Met Mile yesterday. Now, going 10f against Quality Road is a different story. To that I would say just because a horse cannot go 10f as well as 8f does not make them "not great."

Second that.

At a mile, agreed.

So it's OK to make all kinds of excuses for Summer Bird losing to Rachel but none are allowed for QR losing to SB?

NT

What is so odd about my statement? Without inside information, it was hard to see why Ice deserved to lose this horse after what he had done with him. Then for the horse to be retired before he even made a start for Richey just seemed to me to make it a pretty silly move by the owners.

from DRF:Summer Bird retired with hairline fracture

"There's no soundness problem," Jayaraman said. "He was supposed to start breezing last week, but we took an X-ray and he has still has a tiny hairline fracture that never healed completely. He's not lame and he's been galloping a couple of miles every day. But we had consultations with some veterinarians, and they all suggested it's safer not to put him through the rigors of training and it's safer to retire him as a stallion."

Enjoy the Bird

Belmont



Working for the Haskell



At the barn



Jockey Club Gold Cup

I refuse to accept that Summer Bird is no better than a desperate length the better than Munnings at 1 1/8. Rachel won the race, the credit is hers, she will have that on her resume for now and when she retires. But there is no way anyone will ever convince me SB ran his best race that day.

Spot on...

Any idea on how to get a hold of them?

i agree, hes a 10 furlong or more horse. rachel is a 9 furlong horse or less. he was coming off the belmont and had the travers in his sights. so what he got second in the haskell, as if thats an embarrasment. people here gave me crap when i said it. but, i think rachel wanted no part of summer bird and quality road in the travers...so they went woodward at 9 furlongs against much weaker horses. oh yeah, its sounds like history and this and that. in reality who is better quality road and summer bird or macho again and bullsbay. its funny weeks later macho could not come within a quarter mile of quality road and summer bird at 10 furlongs. its too bad he had to retire because as 4 yo's both quality road and summer bird would of been a good match up. why don't they race rachel against quality road...at any distance....she can beat him.....lol

Don't forget that JImmy Jerkens lost Quality Road because he would not bend to Evans "do whatever you have to do just win mentality"... Why do you think Q.R. went nuts in the starting gate at the breeders cup.Keep in mind Pletcher was DQ'd for a positive in a previous Breeders Cup and would do anything at any time to keep his winning %.

Judging by the way she has run this year and how she gamely held off Macho Again and Bullsbay, JJ and SA ducked correctly last yr. Can't blame them for that, I just wish people would stop making them out to be the great sportsman they pretend to be...

All options are open, when she gets her fitness level back up to last year's level. OMG...:rolleyes:

You forgot to mention the great DaTara in the Woodward.Asmussen didn't win over 600 races last year by accident. He knows where to place his horses and most of all he knows where to place the needles.

Here I figured you would be so excited that you can now breed yourself to Summer Bird! but nooooo... gotta hate on the 2009 HOY some more! ;)

never let the truth get in the way of a good story

Just ask the Owners of Unptowncharleybrown, they will give you all the inside information you want. Charley was in Ice's barn for a Short short time before Kiaran got him.

It was an odd statement because the fact that he was retired has no relation to SB being transfered to a new trainer. The horse broke his leg in Tim Ice care and for some reason the owners decided to change trainers thereafter.

His pedigree is suspect for soundness . He was pushed too far at his age .

I have to clarify myself Travis from my statement yesterday, though I believe Quality Miler would have the advantage at a mile over Summer Bird. I don't think there would be anything lucky if Summer Bird finished 3rd in the Met Mile this year if indeed he would have finished 3rd. I think if you look at last year's JCGC he was right there at the 1/4 pole with Quality Road, with the way he was improving by using more cruising speed he would have been a handful for any horse in the Met, he certainly shouldn't be taken lightly. I'm pretty sure he is the only horse to beat QR twice in his career, we can't forget that.

Beautiful photos.

Should There Be Race at Belmont renamed after Summer Bird?
 

1. Yes
2. No

They should rename the Jockey Club Gold Cup after Summer Bird.

You don't think so? The N.Y triple, I would have to think they will have no choice but to. Even With Anticipation has a race named after him.

No Point Given race

Does Easy Goer have a stakes race named after him? I don't remember seeing one...if he doesn't then surely Summer Bird doesn't deserve one...