Thoroughbred Logic, Presented by Kentucky Performance Products: A ‘Good’ Race Record, Part IV — The Warhorse
Today we’re talking about the warhorses — those incredible athletes that have made more than 50 starts.
Welcome to the next installment of Thoroughbred Logic. In this weekly series, Anthropologist and trainer Aubrey Graham, of Kivu Sport Horses, offers insight and training experience when it comes to working with Thoroughbreds (although much will apply to all breeds). This week ride along as Aubrey shares her logic on what constitutes a good race record for an off-track Thoroughbred.
In the racing world, a “warhorse” is a runner who has left the start gate 50 or more times. Even a quick search on google tells you that not only do these horses have to be fast, but also they have to be sound and gritty. In a world where most horses are retired before they reach 20 races, it is no surprise that one who doubles-and-then-some that number is in an entirely different league.
I have a very soft spot for warhorses. And, in general, if one is done running and needs somewhere to go, I’ll do what I can to bring it in, regardless of resale value. By the time they reach 50+ races, many are a bit older and somehow simply being eight or nine years old ages them out of the standard resale market. That logic befuddles me, but alas, it is what it is.
Gibbs (Muntij) who ran 72 times just made his way back to my string of horses. We’re getting him fixed back up, starting with his feet. Photo by author.
Here’s the thing — these horses have remained sound enough to run more than 50 times. Never in any second careers will they match that level of stress on their body. Often their legs are “cold and tight,” meaning there is no swelling, no active lumps and bumps that show the progression of unsoundness, actively irritating bone chips, or soft tissue injuries. Anything that may have happened in the earlier part of their career is largely irrelevant by the time they get to 50 runs.
Let’s take the knees for example. If a horse has knee chip removal (and a maybe a proper six week break in their record) and only runs one or two more times during their three-year-old year, the concern *MAY* be that they might not hold up to the pounding of the track and that knee might continue to chip, swell, or generally impede their racing. Usually in those cases, a lower level career is encouraged. However, should they have chip removal and then run another 37 races on those knees, I would be willing to gamble that those knees are not going to be much of an issue in the future.
So when I read the race record on a war horse, I read it a little more forgivingly than I would a younger runner with fewer starts. The sheer fact of their completing this many races earns them their let down, any required maintenance and chance at a second career. BUT when I am reading these records, I am looking for similar things to the 30+ race crowd: Why did they run that long? How were they run at the end of their career? And why did they stop running?
Wolf (Louisiana Moon), who ran 63 times, learning how to hack out and remain relaxed on his own in the woods. Photo by author.
Just like the other records, I look for patterns. Is this horse running consistently one time a month for the season at the tracks that that trainer seems to favor? Or did they get claimed later in their life and go from reputable tracks and that once-a-month schedule to every two weeks at less-than-fantastic establishments and lower-level races?
Frankly, I get pretty damn angry when I see a horse who made very little money passed around for the last part of their racing career coming in with less and less earnings and slower speed figures. In situations like this, it looks like a trainer is just trying to eke out that last bit of money from of the horse. I have a whole lot of words for those folks and those situations, none of which would fly to publish here.
Here’s a race record that makes me want to put my fist through a wall. While Study Habits (Artie) didn’t quite make the 50-race warhorse cut off (he ran 46 times, so close enough), he provides a great example. And he is a lovely creature that I had the honor of getting to sort out and send along to one of the world’s best homes (he’s now a successful and spicy whip horse for Myopia Hunt with Sarah Jacobson).
Study Habit’s race record and running history. Screenshot from Equibase.com
What I see in this record is a horse who was never particularly fast and who never made much money — under $25,000 for 46 starts makes me shake my head and wonder WHY???? But, even as he dropped to only making a couple of hundred dollars per start, he was still run on a tight every-two-week schedule at Mountaineer during his career’s sunset. I’ll leave my expletives about this off the record.
Sarah Jacobson and Artie (Study Habits) out with Myopia Hunt Club last year. Photo by Shawn Tinkham Photography.
On the other hand, there is Gibbs (Muntij). Gibbs was owned by the same set of folks for most of the second half of his career. The big bay horse with a big soft eye apparently not only knew his job and did it well, but also he remained pretty fast for most of the nine years that he blasted out of the start gate, reaching a speed figure of 80 (which is still pretty fast, but nothing to wager the house for) again during his last set of starts.
Gibb’s (Muntij) race record covering his 72 starts. Screenshot from Equibase.com
In the end, his older owner thought Gibbs might want to keep going, but on his 72nd start, he balked at loading and sat back in the gate. Gibbs made it clear he wasn’t interested in racing any more. And through Jen Ruberto and her connections, Gibbs made his way to me. He’s a long story for another day involving many people and many big hearts, but this warhorse is back in my barn now, and I am more than happy to meet his nicker and kind eye each morning.
Gibbs rocking around during his restart back in Georgia earlier this year. Photo by the Kivu Team.
Back on track… what can you assume about a warhorse?
While I would love to say that you can assume that they are fully sound, really, I’d rather people just assume that they are mentally and physically tough. They’re often pretty sound, but if they’re not perfect in their body or legs, it’s fair to assume that they are gritty and capable of running through any issues. And if they were any good at these races they ran so many times, we can also assume that they probably have a huge competitive drive.
I have seen folks make the assumption that warhorses make easy-going lower level horses… some absolutely do. But that same mental and physical toughness that allowed them to run that much taught them to love the game. Some take a while not only to let their bodies down, but also to slow down that need for competition — relax the need for a serious job enough to become a quiet riding horse.
Seeker (Hot To Seek Her) ran 50 times making just shy of 200,000. This handsome redhead took a while to fully let down mentally and physically and is now rocking around as a teen’s barrel horse in Alabama. Photo from a few years back by the Kivu Team.
In my experience, warhorses shuffle themselves into two categories:
- Those who are so grateful to be done running.
- Those who are irritated that you took their job away from them.
The former group make for solid citizens and often (after enough let down time) pretty uncomplicated restarts. The latter tend to take a little more time to convince them that the job they are attached to is no longer available to them. Learning to go slow sometimes takes a minute and a decent, patient trainer.
But the great thing about the warhorse is that while they come with over 50-races of baggage, I haven’t met one who isn’t willing to take that same heart and effort and put it towards a different set of people and a second career. These well-run kids have made killer fox hunters, eventers, dressage horses, and like Seeker (Hot To Seek Her, photo above) some have gone into Western careers such as barrels and ranch/trail.
Wolf (Louisiana Moon) showing off his post-track moves in Bath, NY. Photo by Sarah Hepler.
To end, I’ll tie this up with a quick ode to Wolf (Louisiana Moon). This compact bay sports car made nearly $180,000 in his 63 starts. When I looked at his breeding (Malibu Moon x a Ghostzapper mare), his build and his legs, I jumped at the opportunity to bring him into my barn. His first ride proved how ridiculously athletic he was — he was coiled like a spring, but as he relaxed, that insanely talented movement began to come to the surface. It might have taken about nine months for him to properly let down his brain and body and realize how to horse, but now this athletic chunk is gearing up for a real bid at a second career in either fox hunting or eventing. Technically he is for sale — like most horses in my barn — but I won’t be sad if this snapping turtle of a horse and I live out our next 15-20 years together.
So folks, enjoy the record reading. And if you have a warhorse, give them some extra peppermints — there’s no doubt they earned them.
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