http://www.stonestreetfarms.com/2016/07/24/rachelsvalentina/
Surprised they didn't continue with her through Saratoga.
I'm guessing that the fact she is Rachael's only female offspring and to continue the line, she was retired. I hate to see them retired early, but in this case it makes some sense.
They can't breed her until next year so the timing is strange. Pletcher probably doesn't think she's able to be competitive with the top fillies going forward.
Quote from: curtis on July 24, 2016, 08:22:24 AM
They can't breed her until next year so the timing is strange. Pletcher probably doesn't think she's able to be competitive with the top fillies going forward.
I wonder if she may have had some subpar workouts and the decision was made to retire her. If anyone follows her please fill us in.
My (purely amateur) take on the decision is that her connections could see that her heart wasn't in the game anymore.
She's a talented filly but she seemed to have shown a growing disinclination to run all out in her last couple of races. I've observed that when a filly or mare decides that they no longer want to go along with all the aggravation of being a racehorse, there is very little a trainer can do about it. ;)
They could have given her more time off but, even if her works were good, I suspect that when she broke from the gate in an actual race, she would have been putting in a half-hearted effort. So, her connections probably saw no point in risking injury to a filly whose pedigree is one-of-a-kind.
Quote from: BaroqueAgain1 on July 24, 2016, 12:13:34 PM
My (purely amateur) take on the decision is that her connections could see that her heart wasn't in the game anymore.
She's a talented filly but she seemed to have shown a growing disinclination to run all out in her last couple of races. I've observed that when a filly or mare decides that they no longer want to go along with all the aggravation of being a racehorse, there is very little a trainer can do about it. ;)
They could have given her more time off but, even if her works were good, I suspect that when she broke from the gate in an actual race, she would have been putting in a half-hearted effort. So, her connections probably saw no point in risking injury to a filly whose pedigree is one-of-a-kind.
Yours might be a "purely amateur" observation, but it's a really good one. I think back to the great Lady's Secret. She made it very clear when she had enough...even bolted in her last race. Sigh, when Eugene Klein decided to sell Lady after her career was over, how I wished I was wealthy enough to buy her.
Quote from: Zenyatta on July 24, 2016, 10:11:53 AM
I wonder if she may have had some subpar workouts and the decision was made to retire her. If anyone follows her please fill us in.
She had not worked since before the Mother Goose.
I don't think she tailed off this year. She beat Carina Mia and Cathryn Sophia in the Ashland, however she didn't win the race. I think she needs more time between starts and they rushed to get her in the Kentucky Oaks. I also think 8.5f was the max distance she was going to succeed at. She would have probably benefited from a confidence booster, in Allowance company, but no one does that anymore. Kudos to Stonestreet for racing her, I believe some owners wouldn't have because of the circumstances with her dam.
Anyway, I wish her a happy retirement.