Smanjemanje - AGAIN

FFS - they're still running him

www.formgrids.com/subscriber/fgRaceCardG...-03-02,Flamingo,6,ZA

if he is enjoying racing i don't see the problem.

I agree,but only as long as he enjoys it

Ok, this could spark an interesting debate.

When should a halt be called on a horse's racing career then?

In the mid 80's a former Zim champion, Strike It Rich, won what was then known as the Transvaal Cesarewitch. The next day, ex racing journalist Duffield jnr, scribed in the newspapers calling for a ban for 10year old horses. I thought at the time what a pathetic article and deduced he was crying from his pocket before I puked over his newspaper.

Smanjemanje's last outing was cringe-worthy, punishing ride and was going nowhere!

Pas de Quoi was still winning at the age of 8, as was Pocket Power.

The Americans had a very famous horse called Kelso, who raced until he was 9.

Joey Ramsden ran Omaha Beach till he was 10 and Mike Stewart raced Copa de la Rey until he was 11.

The famous William Penn raced until he was 12.

I'm sure there are lots more, but those are just a couple that spring to mind.

I'm not criticising any of the above. Just wondering what the general opinion is.

One cannot dictate how people should treat their horses (other than in cases of neglect or cruelty). However, considering that it is a public sport and that it is supported / funded by public money, it therefore follows that public perception is pretty important.

So it is interesting to ask what the general opinion is on how long horses should run.

Golden Loom ran when he was past 10 years old
Nhlaveni

top horses but gelded.

each horse will have a different story including Smanjesmanje.

Is the horse physically sound?
has the horse recovered from major illness or surgery?
is the horse not crazy?
did the horse race as an early 2 year old?
is it a filly/mare
is it a stallion/gelding
does is suffer pre/during or after the race and each time needs time for recovery?
will he make a good jump/other horse
these issues might not even be an 8 year old only might refer to younger horses.

with Smanjesmanje the original owner seems to still be involved. i am sure if the horse does not run well ongoing they won't persevere

i don't see the difference between smanje smanje running in Kimberley and Astro news running PE.

In years gone by i remember top FERARRIS horses finishing their careers in PE. Celtic Fire - Met/July level horse.

just a shame this horse has ended up running down here, in an ideal world he'd be in a big lush paddock eating carrots.

To think it was a poor ride that stopped him being a legend !!

There was a jumper running the other day in the UK at an elderly 17

Top equestrian horses are said to peak at 10 etc etc

Ps I heard there was no sign of his Cornell collar on his first run in Kimb

Bob Brogan wrote: just a shame this horse has ended up running down here, in an ideal world he'd be in a big lush paddock eating carrots.

To think it was a poor ride that stopped him being a legend !!

Bob, if you're talking about his July 2nd i have to disagree
How about a brilliant ride by the winners jock?
Or beaten through jockey's inexpierience at that level?....this was[still is] my opinion

And then you have the 9yo Cavalryman who shattered a hindleg at Meydan last night. Seemingly sound and happy leading up to the race, by all acounts. And now he is no longer with us, after being euthanased at the Dubai Equine Clinic. They had attempted lifesaving surgery, but in the end they could not save him.

It can happen at any time. One can understand keeping a sound horse, with fair form in training and racing past what is the norm. But to keep plugging on with a horse with *publicly known* issues that can affect his performance, and in fact welfare, that is just not on. The Cornell Collar has been officially removed, according to the NHA vets. However, with the recent rule changes with regards to the Cornell Collar, the horse will never be allowed to race with it again. He ran 2nd in the July wearing the Cornell Collar. That should tell you everything you need to know here. The horse was under severe pressure just 600m into his last race, which in my opinion means that he had dorsally displaced his soft palate, closing his breathing space, and thus compromising his performance quite considerably. All I can hope is that the welfare of this special horse is not being compromised.