Quote from: Zenyatta on July 10, 2016, 12:48:53 PM Stark, did Tribal Fighter change ownership? I saw this happen today with a stakes winner, Royal Sony, who left the Pletcher barn, and now under new owner/trainer he's been gelded. Granted, his performances have been subpar but I think the barn change may have hastened his equipment change.
That was a great guess, one I hadn't thought of, but a quick check of the records indicates the syndicate Little Red Feather has been at the controls from the beginning.
Well, another romp, this time at even money. The plans are to jump into stakes company, The Real Good Deal July 27th @ Del Mar.
I'm not suggesting any conspiracy theory nor am I reminding anyone that reporting geldings has been an inexact science in California over the years, but when you look at this guy's PPs in a few weeks, you'll see the debacle first time out, then the heavily bet successes the next two times, almost like he's a different horse, almost like he'd been gelded after his inaugural spin around the oval, hmmmm
I can get it. No interest in him as a stallion. The offers they had, if any, were less than he could run for as a handicapper. They opted to geld him, make him easier to handle without all those hormones mucking things up, and continue running him.
My guess is a reporting error after his first start. So Billy Koch and Co. got 7/5 on him instead of 4/5 in start 2. If you won't say it Stark, I will.😉
Quote from: curtis on July 11, 2016, 11:28:39 AM My guess is a reporting error after his first start. So Billy Koch and Co. got 7/5 on him instead of 4/5 in start 2. If you won't say it Stark, I will.😉
Bingo! We have a winner!!!
It'll be really obvious when looking at the PPs after the three races are in the books. They added blinks in start #2 and gotten terrific results as compared to start #1. And we're to believe then they decided to geld him, makes zero sense. But it does make sense they did everything after the dreadful first attempt, congrats on the noted improvement.
On TVG yesterday, they said one of their reporters asked the trainer why Tribal Fighter had been gelded despite the win. He said the colt was very anxious and nervous before a race, and they decided that the equipment change might help mellow him out...which it apparently has.
Quote from: BaroqueAgain1 on July 11, 2016, 11:40:46 AM On TVG yesterday, they said one of their reporters asked the trainer why Tribal Fighter had been gelded despite the win. He said the colt was very anxious and nervous before a race, and they decided that the equipment change might help mellow him out...which it apparently has.
And Tribal Fighter (living up a bit too much to the Fighter part of the name, maybe) wouldn't have been the first colt to be gelded for that kind of thing. Imawildandcrazyguy comes to mind, and he was good enough to come in 4th in the Kentucky Derby.
Quote from: Catalina on July 11, 2016, 02:59:05 PM And Tribal Fighter (living up a bit too much to the Fighter part of the name, maybe) wouldn't have been the first colt to be gelded for that kind of thing. Imawildandcrazyguy comes to mind, and he was good enough to come in 4th in the Kentucky Derby.
All true, but very seldom is anybody gelded AFTER a lights-out winning performance in their 2nd career try.
After a first race where you finish a dismal 10th beaten 20 lengths, yep that's a logical decision to do it then.
And just to add to Billy's coup, why in the world was this horse bet down to 7/5 after that poor first showing, I'd love to know the morning line if anybody has it?
