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Originally Posted by Ronnie
Why is it that when a horse loses it's time to retire him?
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Had this been his first failure to get the distance needed, you would probably have more people on your side of the argument. He's backed up badly in his most recent races. A blind man could even see that his form is in sharp decline. They've tried to shorten him up, he fires a dud. They try to lessen the quality of his foes, he fires a dud.
I think it's tough for people to remember back to just last year, when this horse was winning every G1 thrown his way. Now, he's relegated to G2's and non graded stakes, and not running to his old self's capabilities. Granted, those G1's were all in Cali, but those were the horses put in his way, and he handled them accordingly. This just isn't the case anymore. He lacks his closing kick, his bread and butter. The ability to sit nicely with a tactical trip, and then pounce on the pace setters, leaving them in his dust. When a horse of his calibur loses that, it's time to hang it up. Not enter him in any race just to gather purse money.
In his prime, the boy could run. Noone can ever take that away from him. Could't ship if his life depended on it, but that's how the game goes sometimes. When your entered in a claimer race one year and then accrue as much as he did the next few, what more can we ask of him? Here's to a great California career.