European Trainer - Autumn 2010 - Issue 31

ISSUE 31 OUTSIDE COVERS4:Layout 1

20/8/10

12:31

Page 1

European Trainer ISSUE 31 – AUTUMN 2010

European

ISSUE 31 – AUTUMN 2010 £5.95

www.trainermagazine.com

THE QUARTERLY MAGAZINE FOR THE TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE THOROUGHBRED

JEANCLAUDE ROUGET

Why the Paris Province divide is just a myth

CANCER IN HORSES The different types and treatments

RECURRENT AIRWAY OBSTRUCTION Publishing Ltd

Explained in detail

LOOKING FORWARD TO

The Breeders’ Cup

ISSUE 31 INSIDE COVERS REAL:Layout 1

19/8/10

16:42

Page 1

INTRO issue 31.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

16:26

Page 1

Opinion

Giles Anderson

I can’t quite believe it, but it has been ten years this September since we first published European Trainer magazine. The magazine has evolved from its humble beginnings to being a glossy quarterly magazine focused on the training and development of the racehorse. Looking ahead to the next ten years we’ve got great plans to fur ther enhance the title and one of our imminent developments is our iPhone and iP ad app, which will be the first in a series of new ways you’ll be able to access the magazine.

The advances of technology over the last ten years have been truly amazing, but is it all good for our great sport?

Look at betting.Ten years ago betting exchanges were in their infancy. In that time they have evolved to be one of the most divisive issues in racing. Sure the betting public love them, but they have damaged racing, which simply doesn’t earn its fair share out of the exchanges. Full marks for those who came up with the idea – they were ahead of their time - but for the sport to grow we’ve got to get a mechanism in place which sees racing sharing in the pot. The rumour mills tell us that the major exchange is about to be floated on the stock exchange, and if that happens this game will be changed for ever. But who is going to stop them? Is racing really so weak that it can’t put up a fight? Look at France: the French authorities have had the balls to say no to exchanges and give a reluctant yes to bookmakers – but only if they play by the rules.

A couple of months ago the French opened up their betting markets to allow internet gambling. Of course all the bookmakers were rubbing their hands with glee at the thought of taking Euros. The French government were very clear from the start that to bet in France you had to be registered in France.

Fast forward six weeks and already the bookmakers who are operating illegally in France are going to be blocked by ISPs (internet Service Providers). If the French can do it, why can’t the UK? How can the French, who are a major player in Europe, turn round and write a law which prohibits the bookmakers from trading in France unless they are based there, playing by the rules and putting money back into France? Why can’t the UK follow suit and say that any bookmaker who chooses to move offshore simply won’t be able to accept bets from the UK? I’m told that it’s because in the UK we’re scared of European legislation! But surely the French example has now set a precedent! Something has got to be done, and fast.

Racing needs to remember that it puts on the show for bookmakers, not the other way round.

Good luck wherever your racing takes you this autumn! I

ISSUE 31 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com 01

C HEAD issue 31.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

16:28

Page 1

Chairman’s message

CRIQUETTE HEAD We have been for tunate to see some great horses since the beginning of the year and I hope that you have all enjoyed a share of success. I would par ticularly like to say bravo to Richard Hannon and Richard Hughes for their extraordinary season, they are both great professionals and deser ve their exceptional results.

M

y brother Freddy should also be congratulated for his handling of the superb Goldikova who equaled Miesque’s record of ten Group 1 wins at Deauville at the beginning of August.

The bureau of the European Trainers’ Federation held our annual meeting at Deauville at the end of August and among items on the agenda were the inclusion of new countries into the Federation. We are pleased to welcome Italy back amongst us and hope that smaller racing nations will join us. Becoming a

member of the ETF would be beneficial to even minor racing countries as it would help them to structure their industry.

I informed my colleagues at the meeting that I will not re-stand for Presidency of the ETF at the end of the year as I believe it is important that others should have their chance to take on this position. This will allow the views of different countries to be heard and I am sure that there are plenty of trainers out there with better ideas than mine!

I have thoroughly enjoyed my time as President and will remain at the service of the ETF through my role with the French Trainers’

Association. I will review the issues we have dealt with during my tenure in more detail in the next edition of this magazine, but one thing which is now clear is that in order for us to make progress in many fields, it is vital that the ETF be represented in international organisations such as the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities. Even if we had just an observatory role, without the power to vote, this would enable us to make ourselves heard and to advance on issues such as the harmonisation of racing rules.

I wish you all a happy autumn of racing and sales! I

“I have thoroughly enjoyed my time as President and will remain at the service of the ETF through my role with the French Trainers’ Association” 02 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 31

C HEAD issue 31.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

16:28

Page 2

Contents issue 31.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

20/8/10

11:40

Page 1

CONTENTS ISSUE 31

10 TRM Trainer of the Quarter

Champion Irish trainer Dermot Weld.

12 Jean-Claude Rouget

Katherine Ford interviews France’s winningmost conditioner, Jean-Claude Rouget, who has achieved all of his significant success while based in the provinces.

18 Sex allowances

Are current sex allowance weight systems fair to all, wonders Geir Stabell.

24 Nutrition and transport

Using nutrition as a tool to give horses a better travel experience, by Catherine Dunnett.

32 Gerhard Schöningh

David Conolly-Smith meets Gerhard Schöningh, a racehorse owner who purchased Hoppegarten racecourse in 2008 and has taken on the task of improving racing in Berlin.

38 Recurrent Airway Obstruction

Dr David Marlin gives us an introduction to Recurrent Airway Obstruction and to ways in which we may lessen the risk to our horses.

44 Vibration therapy

An innovative therapy that may help in injury prevention as well as healing present injuries by promoting better circulation and bone strength, by Katie Roebuck.

48 BREEDERS’ CUP SPECIAL 52 Butch Lehr Frances J. Karon meets with Churchill Downs’s longtime track superintendent, Butch Lehr.

58 Calvin Borel

Having just won his third Kentucky Derby, Calvin Borel is riding high but has never been more down-to-earth, by Frances J. Karon.

66 In Focus

Californian trainers Darrell Vienna and Eoin Harty on the synthetic v dirt surfaces debate.

72 Cancer

James Tate on the different types of equine cancer, and what options there are for treatment.

79 Product Focus 86 Stakes Schedules

Forthcoming stakes races from Europe and around the world.

24 04 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 31

32

Contents issue 31.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

16:30

Page 2

Contributors issue 31.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

16:35

Page 1

CONTRIBUTORS

Publisher & Editorial Director Giles Anderson Assistant Editors Frances Karon, Sophie Hull Design/Production Neil Randon Advertising Sales Giles Anderson Circulation Pippa Anderson Photo Credits

APRH, Thoroughbred Photography, James Tate, Fiona Boyd, BBA Shipping, Frank Sorge – Galopp Foto, Churchill Downs, Suzie Picou-Oldham, Frances Karon, Glasgow University Veterinary School, Vitafloor, Shutterstock

Cover Photograph

Frank Sorge – Galopp Foto Trainer Magazine is published by Anderson & Co Publishing Ltd. This magazine is distributed for free to all ETF members. Editorial views expressed are not necessarily those of the ETF. Additional copies can be purchased for £5.95 (ex P+P). No part of this publication may be reproduced in any format without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Printed in the European Union For all editorial and adver tising enquiries please contact Anderson & Co Publishing Ltd Tel: +44 (0)1380 816777 Fax: +44 (0)1380 816778 email: info@trainermagazine.com www.trainermagazine.com

06 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 31

David Conolly-Smith was born in Nottingham, but has lived in Germany for over 40 years and for the past 30 years has been the leading English-language racing correspondent in the country. He used to r un a bookshop in Munich, but is now a full-time freelance journalist and translator.

Dr Catherine Dunnett BSc, PhD, R.Nutr. is an independent nutritionist registered with the British Nutrition Society. She has a background in equine research, in the field of nutrition and exercise physiology, with many years spent at The Animal Health Trust in Newmarket. Prior to setting up her own consultancy business, she work ed in the equine feed industry on product development and technical marketing.

Katherine Ford was brought up in a hunting and point-topointing environment on a far m in North Yorkshire. Following a year working in a racing yard in Middleham, she studied Modern Languages at Sheffield University, with a semester studying French in Pau. After University, Katherine completed the BHB Graduate Programme in 2000, and in 2001 star ted work for the International Racing Bureau’s Paris office.

Three years later she moved to Equidia, F rance’s horseracing television channel, for which she has had the opportunity to travel to some of the world’s major racetracks, including those of Dubai, Hong Kong, Japan, several Breeders’ Cups, Cheltenham and Pardubice. Katherine currently works part-time for Equidia and as a freelance jour nalist and translator.

Frances J. Karon, is a native of Puerto Rico and graduate of Maine’s Colby College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English.

She operates Rough Shod LLC based in Lexington, Kentucky and specializes in sales, pedigree research and recommendations.

Dr David Marlin is a specialist in exercise physiology, thermoregulation, transport, and respiratory physiology. He has authored over 170 scientific papers and book chapters, and Equine Exercise Physiology. Marlin is International Board Chairman of the International Conference on Equine Exercise Physiology, editor of Comparative Exercise Physiology, and holds visiting Professor positions at the Universities of Bristol, Nottingham, and Oklahoma State. He works as a consultant to the racing industry, the British Equestrian Teams, the FEI, and the Inter national League for the Protection of Horses.

Katie Roebuck is an NCTJ journalist who began her career at The Sporting Life in 1993. She then spent ten years working in television news – culminating at BBC News as a senior spor ts news producer. More recently Katie was south west correspondent for Farmers Guardian newspaper; she became a freelance jour nalist at the start of 2009 and is regularly writing for equestrian and farming publications.

Geir Stabell, founder and Editor of Globeform has worked with many leading publications which include; The Sporting Life, Paris-Turf, Blood-Horse, Racing World, Ridsport and the Irish Field. He was also international handicapper to the Racing Post for seven years,where he introduced European style ratings in Nor th America, Australia, Japan and Hong Kong. He has also worked as a TV presenter & expert guest in Scandinavia and USA .

James Tate BVMS MRCVS qualified as a veterinary surgeon from Glasgow University and his career started with mixed practice in Cumbria. He is from a family steeped in horseracing. His father, Tom Tate, is a dual purpose trainer, his father-in-law, Len Lungo, is a National Hunt trainer, and his Uncle, the legendary Michael Dickinson, has just retired from the training ranks. James is cur rently the resident senior vet for leading flat trainer Mark Johnston, a position which he has held since the star t of 2006.

Contributors issue 31.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

16:35

Page 2

EFT REPS issue 31.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

21:25

Page 1

EUROPEAN TRAINERS’ FEDERATION AIMS and OBJECTIVES of the ETF:

a) To represent the interests of all member trainers’ associations in 3Europe. b) To liaise with political and administrative bodies on behalf of European trainers. c) To exchange information between members for the benefit of European trainers. d) To provide a network of contacts to assist each member to develop its policy and services to member trainers.

ETF REPRESENTATIVES Chairmanship:

Criquette Head-Maarek Association des Entraineurs de Galop 18 bis Avenue du Général Leclerc 60501 Chantilly FRANCE Tel: + 33 (0)3 44 57 25 39 Fax: + 33(0)3 44 57 58 85 Email: entraineurs.de.galop@wanadoo.fr

Vice Chairmanship:

Max Hennau FEDERATION BELGE DES ENTRAINEURS Rue des Carrieres 35 5032 - Les Isnes BELGIUM Tel: Fax: +32 (0)81 56 68 46 Email: max.hennau@mobistarmail.be

GERMANY

Vice Chairmanship:

Jim Kavanagh IRISH RACEHORSE TRAINERS ASSOCIATION Curragh House-Dublin Road Kildare-Co.Kildare IRELAND Tel: +353 (0) 45 522981 Fax: + 353 (0) 45 522982 Mobile: + 353(0)87 2588770 Email: irishrta@eircom.net www.irta.ie

SPAIN

NORWAY

Erika Mäder Jentgesallee 19 47799 Krefeld Tel: +49 (0)2151 594911 Fax: +49 (0)2151 590542 Mobile: +49 (0)173 8952675 Email: trainer-und-jockeys@netcologne.de

Mauricio Delcher Sanchez AZAFRAN, 5- 3ºM MAJADAHONDA 28022 Madrid Spain Tel: +34 (0)666 53 51 52 Email: mdelcher@hotmail.com

CZECH REPUBLIC

UNITED KINGDOM

Jan Demele CZECH JOCKEYS AND TRAINERS ASSOCIATION Radotinska 69 Praha 5-Velka Chuchle 150 00 Contact: Roman Vitek Mobile: +42 (0)606620591 Email: drvitek@email.cz

Rupert Arnold NATIONAL TRAINERS’ FEDERATION 9 High Street - Lambourn - Hungerford Berkshire RG17 8XN Tel: +44 (0)1488 71719 Fax: +44 (0)1488 73005 www.racehorsetrainers.org

ITALY

Ovidio Pessi U.N.A.G. Via Montale, 9 20151 Milano milano@unag.it paolapezzotti@libero.it tel. +39 02 48205006 mobile: +39 348 31 33 828

08 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 31

Treasureship:

Maria Lamm Dåntorp, 136 50 Haninge Sweden Tel: +46 (0)8500 20938 Fax: +46 (0)8500 25250 Mobile: +46 (0)70 7560 769 Email: ml@marialamm.se

Sven-Erik Lilja Eventyrveien 8, 1482 Nittedal Norway Tel: +47 (0) 67 07 14 12 Mobile: +47 (0) 91 12 88 96 Email: svelilja@nokab.no

SWEDEN

Fredrik Reuterskiöld Swedish Trainers Association South Notarp 3228 S-243 92 Hoor Tel: +46 (0)413 55 00 65 Fax: +46 (0)413 55 04 95 Mobile: +46 (0)70 731 26 39 Mr Claes Björling Swedish Trainers Association North Karlaplan 10 115 20 Stockholm Sweden Mail: worldracing@hotmail.com Tel: +46 (0)8 662 46 79 Mobile: +46 (0)708 756 756

EFT REPS issue 31.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

21:25

Page 2

TRM issue 31.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

16:46

Page 1

Dermot Weld (left) and jockey Pat Smullen after Bethrah’s victory in the Irish 1000 Guineas

The TRM Trainer of the Quarter award has been won by Dermot W eld. Weld and his team will receive a selection of products from the internationally -acclaimed range of TRM supplements worth €2,000, as well as a bottle of select Irish whiskey .

TRM Trainer of the Quarter

DERMOT WELD

10 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 31

TRM issue 31.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

By Sophie Hull

F

ROM his Rosewell House base, just yards from the Curragh, Dermot Weld has left his mark on racing all over the world, winning major races on four different continents. The former Champion Amateur Jockey took over from his father Charlie in 1972 after also assisting TJ Smith in Australia, and has since reached milestone after milestone, including becoming the winningest trainer in Ireland.

He is the only European trainer to have won a leg of the American Triple Crown (Go And Go took the Belmont Stakes in 1990) and is also the only international trainer to have won the Melbourne Cup twice (with Vintage Crop in 1993 and Media Puzzle in 2002) – this has earned him the distinction of being portrayed by Brendan Gleeson in The

16:47

Page 2

Cup, the story of jockey Damien Oliver, which has just finished principal shooting.

Closer to home, the winner of several Champion Trainer titles (both in terms of prizemoney and number of races won) has won all five Irish Classics – Blue Wind was the first of a long list when winning the 1981 Irish Oaks (she also won the English equivalent). An uncharacteristic dearth of European Group 1 wins from May 2006 to May 2009 is a small glitch in a glittering career, and the stable has since had successes in several Group 1 races, from the Tattersalls Gold Cup to the Pretty Polly Stakes.

Although Weld is predominantly known as a Flat trainer, his National Hunt horses have also performed consistently over the years, particularly Ansar, who won the Galway Hurdle in 2001 and the Galway Plate in 2004 and 2005. Rare Holiday also added the 1990 Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham

to Weld’s impressive haul.

His skill in both disciplines was particularly evident at the Galway Festival this year, where he finished the meeting with eleven winners for the first time, having previously finished with ten winners on five occasions. This year’s record was achieved when Masdar took the bumper on the Saturday.

He has been made an honorary member of the Galway Race Committee to mark his contribution to the festival over the years – he first won there in his first year as a licensed trainer, 38 years ago – an appointment he describes as “a great honour”.

2010 has been a rewarding year for Weld and his team so far – in his own words: “The horses are healthy and have been running well” – and with undoubted big-race entries to look forward to this autumn, both on the Flat and over jumps, there may well be more to come! I

ISSUE 31 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com 11

roguet issue 31.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

16:51

Page 1

PROFILE

JEAN-CLAUDE ROUGET Going the extra mile

Jean-Claude Rouget is not a man for moderation. At the top of his game for over two decades, he broke the record of number of wins per season with 178 successes back in 1991 and has not relinquished his place as winningmost French trainer since. But the trainers’ title is not decided on number of wins, and racing’s archives are not filled with winners of “egg and spoon” races on country tracks. For Rouget, success means Classic victory and topping the trainers’ championship. Good things come to those who wait. By Katherine Ford

I

N 2009 the floodgates opened and the handler sent out a barrage of topclass performers from his base in the South West of France to conquer the prestigious Paris prizes. After years of

12 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 31

knocking at the door and seeing favourites losing their unbeaten tags in the Longchamp and Chantilly Group 1s, Rouget tasted Classic glory for the first time as Elusive Wave beat her stablemate

Tamazirte to victory in France’s 1,000 Guineas, the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches.

This hors d’oeuvre quickly became a feast when another Rouget charge, Le Havre, took second in the colt’s equivalent. Even

roguet issue 31.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

16:51

Page 2

JEAN-CLAUDE ROUGET

better was to come as Le Havre went on to lift the Prix du Jockey-Club (French Derby) and the fillies recorded another one-two in the Prix de Diane (French Oaks), this time thanks to Stacelita who finished ahead of Tamazirte. French racing channel Equidia’s footage of Jean-Claude Rouget witnessing this Chantilly Classic double shows the pure ecstasy he felt at the time; on the film the pressure lifting from his shoulders after achieving his long sought-after goal is almost tangible. A year on, the excitement has diminished but the pride will never fade. “To win a Classic was a major accomplishment for my career. I’ve been training for 32 years and some of my colleagues have won these kind of races after just one, two, or three years in the business. I think that the longer you have to wait, the more special the victory feels.”

Classic victory is even sweeter for Rouget as, combined with a first trainers’ championship, it finally and undeniably vindicates his belief that the great Paris/Province divide is just a myth. “Being champion trainer had been my goal since the 1980s. I wanted to prove that the English system, where trainers based the length and breadth of the country can have a Classic stable, also applies in France. I had set myself this challenge when I bought my yard in Pau. I couldn’t move, and indeed I had no desire to move to Chantilly, and so the challenge started there, through hard work and consistent results. Little by little, prestigious owners gave me their confidence. As the quality of our horses improved and we kept the same high work standards, the results gradually followed to reach Classic level.”

Putting Pau on the map Traditionally, the French racing system has been a two-tier operation. The Classics were reserved to powerful Chantilly yards housing blue-blooded thoroughbreds belonging to elite owners, while the more bread-and-butter operations training further afield were regarded with disdain.

Rouget was the first to break this taboo in 1994 when Millkom arrived at Longchamp after a trademark provincial preparation, racking up six wins at the local tracks of La Teste de Buch, Bordeaux le Bouscat, and Toulouse. Millkom cruised home in the Group 3 Prix de Guiche and then went on to stun the Parisians with victory in two Group 1s: the Prix Jean Prat and Grand Prix de Paris. Later in the season he became Rouget’s first representative in the Breeders’ Cup Classic but did not appreciate the dirt surface and finished last.

Millkom capped his racing career with success in the Grade 1 Man o’ War Stakes at Belmont Park, still under Rouget’s care.

More important than his trio of top-level wins was the symbol of what they

Jockey Christophe Soumillon talks to trainer Rouget about his ride on an Aga Khanowned horse

represented, and Rouget has an almost toldyou-so attitude as he remembers, “Millkom really made me believe in my project and finally convinced owners that it was no harder to produce Group horses in the provinces than in Paris. For me it was a huge source of pride to have been proven right. You’ll have to ask the Parisians what they thought about it!” The Parisians had been beaten at their own game, and after 2009’s timely reminders of Rouget’s talents, he will never again be underestimated.

Today Jean-Claude Rouget is no exception to provincial success on centre stage. Provincial racing and training has earned respect across the board and the likes of fellow “palois” François Rohaut, HenriAlex Pantall, and Eric Libaud from Western France and Deauville-based Yves de Nicolay have all contributed to disproving Chantilly’s exclusive claim to classicism.

When Rouget took out his trainers’ licence in 1978, Pau was renowned as a winter jumps destination, and this is still the case today as the racecourse holds a twomonth festival each winter while Auteuil is closed. The mild climate which allows jumps action to take place with the stunning backdrop of the snow-covered Pyrénées mountains was a major factor for Rouget. “I hate cold weather and love the sunshine. In between stints learning the trade in Chantilly and with Paul Cole and Ian Balding in England, I had the opportunity to work for my father who sent a string down to Pau for the winter meeting.

I spent three winters there and felt quite at home. I liked the region and decided to make Pau my base.”

Following the example of his father Claude, who put another provincial training centre, Senonnes in Western France, on the

ISSUE 31 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com 13

roguet issue 31.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

16:51

Page 3

PROFILE

racing map, Jean-Claude Rouget was undeterred by the distance from the prestigious Parisian racecourses. Pau and its surrounding area are renowned for their rich gastronomy, fine wines and quality of life, and after a difficult start the trainer has not looked back. “It was very tough in the early stages. For a start off I was labelled a jumps trainer, like my father. I had more jumpers than Flat horses and had to wait about seven years before attracting my first Parisian owners. But the jumpers were very successful; at the time we won one race in four with just a small string of around 30 horses. ” Jean-Claude Rouget was already able to boast an exemplary strike-rate which has followed him in his Flat activity, but was also combining quality with quantity under National Hunt rules and even won his local Gold Cup, the Grand Steeple-Chase de Pau, on three occasions in the 1980s. However, Rouget admits he is no tough guy and he cried enough with his jumpers in 1992 when his Flat string had grown to 60 horses. “The injuries involved in training jumpers were just too difficult to bear for me and I know that jumps handlers know exactly how I felt.

I’m tough, but not that tough and not tough enough to make a career out of jump racing.

I’m fortunate enough to have a stable of decent Flat racers and it is certainly more agreeable.”

An all-round grounding 2009 was a year of contrasts for JeanClaude Rouget, and his accomplishments on the track paled into insignificance in November when his father tragically died of a heart attack after attending his first lot one morning in Senonnes. During his 80 years, Claude Rouget had built up a reputation as a great all-round horseman, successful in 300 races as an amateur under both codes, a breeder at the Haras de Cheffreville in Normandy, and trainer of almost 1,900 winners. “His influence was primarily one of wisdom. At his side, I learnt all the phases of this profession, from breeding to training,” remembers the son who has certainly done his father proud. With his father, Ian Balding, and Paul Cole as mentors, JeanClaude Rouget had plenty to inspire him but he also recalls a more personal, handson influence. “I also learnt a lot during my sporting career as a middle-distance runner from the age of 15 to 20. I really equated my experiences to those of the horses, both for preparation and recuperation. I believe that in sport recuperation is as important, if not more so, than the preparation.”

The recipe works and Rouget is currently well on his way to a major milestone which demonstrates the efficiency of his operation. “I won my 4,000th race in 2005 and might well make it to 5,000 before the end of this year.” He adds, “It’s not a goal in

14 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 31

Rouget welcomes back 2009 Prix du Jock ey Club winner Le Havre and Christophe Lemaire

“A lot of my horses don’t cost a lot, but they’re good! If the training isn’t effective then there’s no point in buying good horses.” itself but is amusing! What is important is to improve our ratio of winners to runners.

This season we’re at one winner for every 3.2 runners which is fantastic when we’re racing at such a high level.” These winners come in the four corners of France and with a 1,500km round trip from Pau to Paris, Rouget’s string of horseboxes really clock up the miles. The journey to Chantilly takes nine and a half hours with minimum stops and the horses always arrive at least 24 hours before a race and leave the following morning at the earliest. A couple of extra days of recuperation time are allowed for

horses which have undergone long journeys. The one exception to long journeys with a quick turnaround time is Deauville, where Rouget always sends a powerful team for the summer meeting, as do many of his contemporaries from Pau, Chantilly, and elsewhere.

In the 1990s, Rouget experimented for a couple of seasons with a satellite yard in Chantilly but is categoric in his dismissal of this organisation. “Some owners put pressure on me to try it and I had the opportunity of employing an assistant trainer following the death of François

roguet issue 31.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

16:51

Page 4

roguet issue 31.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

16:51

Page 5

PROFILE

Boutin so I took a second yard in Chantilly in 1996 and 1997. The horses didn’t run better and I felt I was wasting my time spending a morning in Chantilly watching 25 horses when there were 150 more in Pau which I couldn’t see. France Galop rules say that a satellite yard cannot have more than 25 horses and I was also faced with problems such as not having the right horses to gallop together and my staff not wanting to leave their friends and family in Pau to move to Chantilly. For me there was no advantage in having a satellite yard.”

Today he has three separate yards at the Domaine de Sers training centre in Pau, housing a total of 200 horses. “It’s just a question of being organised…” he comments. After years of to-ing and fro-ing across France by road, rail and air, Rouget has now enlisted the help of a Maisons-Laffitte colleague to avoid the constant travel. “Trainer Didier Prod’homme saddles a lot of horses for me during the week at Parisian tracks. I just make the journeys for weekends and important races. I watch the rest on the television and I see more on Equidia than I do when I’m at the track.”

Jean-Claude Rouget has come a long way since struggling to find suitable owners willing to trust a trainer in unfashionable Pau. Today, his list of patrons is as prestigious as it is eclectic and now includes two of Europe’s most important bloodstock operations. The Aga Khan joined Rouget in a continuity move when buying the ensemble of Jean-Luc Lagardère’s racing and breeding empire in 2005 and Sheikh Hamdan al Maktoum chose to send a group of youngsters to Pau for the 2010 season. “This was certainly on the strength of the excellent results last season. These two very prestigious owners have been a great boost to the stable.”

The stable has quickly repaid the confidence of Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum with Joanna, bought from Italy after her juvenile season, who has won three Group contests this season as well as placing third in the French 1,000 Guineas. This year, Rouget won his first Group 1 for the Aga Khan when Behkabad, who is now being aimed at the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, won the Grand Prix de Longchamp on Bastille Day Numerically, one of Rouget’s biggest backers is American Joseph Allen, and he has also shared great success with fellow transatlantic visitor Martin Schwartz, who travelled to Paris to see Elusive Wave capture the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches last year and then acquired Prix de Diane heroine Stacelita, who was to pick up the Prix Vermeille in the stewards’ room after the misfortunes of Dar Re Mi. While Allen is an owner-breeder, Schwartz is willing to shell out significant sums for ready-to-race,

16 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 31

“I keep all my old sales catalogues and look back at horses which I didn’t buy and which have gone on to do well” proven individuals, but Rouget also has a remarkable record with horses bought for little more than peanuts at public auction.

“A lot of my horses don’t cost a lot, but they’re good! If the training isn’t effective then there’s no point in buying good horses.” Literato gave Rouget his first British Group 1 victory in the Champion Stakes in 2007 after costing just €40,000 at Deauville the previous summer on behalf of French Minister of Defense Hervé Morin.

Future Group 1 Prix d’Ispahan winner Never On Sunday ended up in Rouget’s stable after being led out of the Deauville ring unsold at €30,000; Group 1 runner-up Oiseau de Feu was bought for only €30,000; while Jockey-Club hero Le Havre was acquired for €100,000, relatively little in Classic terms.

As in his training, Rouget operates a meticulous approach at the sales, combining attention to detail with an inborn eye for a horse. “Having an eye for a horse is something you can’t explain. It’s an ability I possess and I have developed over the years through observation.” Rouget keeps a close eye on conformation, which he considers more important than pedigrees, but also constantly refers to his own library of archive catalogues to

improve his analysis for the future. “I keep all my old sales catalogues and look back at horses which I didn’t buy and which have gone on to do well. I consult the notes I took at the time to understand what I did and didn’t like about the youngster.” The trainer often buys himself, without the support of bloodstock agents and advisors.

He has cut down on his activity in American sales due to the omnipresence of dirt performances on the pages, and although he appreciates Newmarket, where he has “always bought good horses”, he recognises the huge advantage of buying at home to benefit from the French-bred bonus system.

As Deauville’s August sale approaches, Rouget will be as busy as ever juggling his stable in Pau, racing in Vichy, Normandy, Paris, and elsewhere, as well as visiting his shortlist of yearlings for the sale on the studs. However even though he has finally been acknowledged as a fashionable, classic trainer, he is unlikely ever to forget his roots and the loyalty of those who supported him when times were tough. “I still have a lot of loyal longstanding owners who are just as important as the more prestigious ones. They have become friends and will always remain with me.” I

roguet issue 31.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

16:51

Page 6

weight for age issue 31.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

16:53

Page 1

RACING

Weight allowance – do fillies and mares get a raw deal?

How many would disagree if I said that the weight-forage scales currently being used in horseracing is full of flaws? How many would disagree if I said that these scales, meant to give horses of different ages an equal chance, in many cases do exactly the opposite?

Quite a few, I suspect, since I heard no protesting voices after looking into this matter in a previous Trainer article. Protesting voices are not in short supply in horseracing circles. So, will there be any when I share the essence of my more recent ponderings that the current system of filly and mare allowances leaves a lot to be desired? Let’s find out, says Geir Stabell

L

IKE the weight-for-age scales, the filly and mare weight allowances in pattern races differ in different racing jurisdictions. That in itself is quite bizarre. As an example, a three-yearold filly racing against three-year-old colts in the US gets a 5lb weight pull, while if she meets older males she gets only a 3lb weight pull. As with so many regulations within horseracing, there is a glaring lack of consistency.

The idea behind a sex allowance is that a filly or a mare is not as strong as a colt or

18 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 31

gelding. Thus, the ‘weaker sex’ is given a weight pull when they meet males in championship races. Often the sex allowance is 3lb (1.36kg) but not always.

Some races offer females a 5lb sex allowance (2.26kg). Most handicappers agree that 2lb equals about one length over a mile and if so, 3lb equals 1.5 lengths, while 5lb equals 2.5 lengths. As we can see, races framed with a 5lb filly and mare allowance thus give the fairer sex about one length better terms than races with a 3lb allowance.

Let’s take a look at some of these

discrepancies. While the King George at Ascot offers female runners a 3lb sex allowance, the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp offers a 3.3lb allowance (1.5kg), the Hong Kong Cup a 4lb allowance, and in Dubai, a 5lb allowance.

These differing weight terms should make the trainer of a high-class filly think long and hard about where to ship, if he decides to let her have a crack at the boys in international races. Many of these contests produce close finishes and one or two pounds can make all the difference.

When the French-trained mare Pride

weight for age issue 31.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

16:53

Page 2

WEIGHT ALLOWANCE

won the Hong Kong Cup in 2006, she beat the colt Admire Moon by a nose while enjoying a 4lb allowance. If they had met in France, she would have been carrying 0.7lb less and probably won by more than half a length. If the race had been run in Dubai, on the other hand, Pride would have been carrying 1lb more and would, perhaps, have lost by a narrow margin. Like the Hong Kong International races, the Japan Cup is staged with a 4lb sex allowance, and last year Vodka took full advantage of this weight-pull to beat the horse Oken Bruce Lee by a nose. Run the same race in England, and would the result have been reversed?

Moving on to North America, we find an allowance of 5lb being used for the three Triple Crown races. The best example of a filly benefitting from this generous weight pull is Rags to Riches, who beat the colt Curlin by a head when they clashed in over a mile and a half in the Belmont Stakes.

When we get to the Breeders’ Cup Series, however, all race conditions clearly state: “fillies and mares allowed 3lb.”

So, while three-year-old fillies are thought to need a 5lb sex allowance to be competitive against males of their own age in May and June, they are only handed a 3lb sex allowance when racing against older males in the autumn. Let’s establish these facts at the back of our minds and take the next step on this interesting thought journey.

To get to the bottom of this subject one needs to start with the obvious question: why have these sex allowances been put in place? The accepted explanation is that fillies and mares are lighter animals and not as strong as the males. The weight they carry ought to be a bit lower to be fairer in relation to their physical build and bodyweight.

This appears to make sense, but what puzzles me the most is that the sex allowances are exactly the same over all distances. At Royal Ascot, if a filly runs in the King's Stand Stakes over 5 furlongs (1,005 metres), she will have the benefit of a 3lb allowance, the same as if she runs in the Ascot Gold Cup at 2½ miles (about 4,022 metres). In other words, the Gold Cup is four times as long as the King’s Stand. If the sex allowance is meant to compensate for the fact that fillies and mares are lighter than males and therefore given a weight-carrying task that (compared to bodyweight) is equal to the weight task given to males, why then are these sex allowances not adjusted in relation to distances?

Another question is: how did one come up with 3lb as the correct sex allowance in one part of the world, yet 5lb in another part? I am not all that interested in which is the right allowance here (or the less wrong if you like), I am simply wondering how on earth one (and who) came to the conclusion that the sex allowance should be in this region. Why three, four, or five pounds? Why not nine, ten, or eleven, for example?

Looking at the riding weights relative to the bodyweight first, a good place to find relevant information is Hong Kong, where the weight of each runner is published on racedays.

How much less do the females weigh, compared to their male rivals? This is individual of

ISSUE 31 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com 19

weight for age issue 31.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

16:53

Page 3

RACING

French-trained mare Pride wins the 2006 Hong Kong Cup, beating the colt Admire Moon by a nose with a 4lb allowance

International races can give us a rough guide. In the 2009 Hong Kong Mile, Alain de Royer-Dupré ran the three-year-old filly Sweet Hearth, whose raceday weight was 973 pounds. The heaviest male in the race was the eight-year-old Egyptian Ra, a gelding weighing in at 1,185 pounds, and the lightest male in the 14-runner field was the four-year-old colt Alexandros at 987 pounds, just 14lb (6.3kg) more than Sweet Hearth.

Taking the two extremes (Egyptian Ra and Alexandros) out of the equation, we are left with 11 males whose average weight was 1,090 pounds.

Performing the same exercise for the Vase and the Cup (the Sprint had no female runners) we get these results for all three races combined: Average weight, males (28 of 32): 1,082 pounds Average weight, females (5): 965 pounds

In 2008, the corresponding figures were:

Average weight, males (24 of 26): 1,089 pounds Average weight, females (2): 1,035 pounds

Hong Kong International 2008 and 2009 combined Average weight, males (52): 1,085 pounds Average weight, females (7): 1,000 pounds

Vodka took full advantage of a 4lb se x allowance in the Japan Cup beating Ok en Bruce Lee by a nose

The lighly-built colt Alexandros ran in the Hong Kong Mile at Sha Tin in 2009 while physically weighing little more than the fillies on the same card

course. Some mares weigh more than some males. Take a look at Zenyatta. Her size and strength indicates that she should indeed be conceding weight to many of the boys. Look at the Godolphin trained colt

20 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 31

Alexandros, a lightly-built male, whose weight was very close to the fillies’ weights when he ran at Sha Tin last year.

This will be far from a scientific study, but the last two years of Hong Kong

Interestingly, only one of these females, Daryakana, won her respective race; the others came in 4th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 13th, and 14th.

A larger sample would be better but at least these figures give us an indication; they show that the average filly/mare weighs about 85 pounds less than the average male.

Put another way, the average filly weighs about 92% of the weight of the average male (1,000 = 92.1% of 1,085).

Taking these figures and comparing them to the sex allowances, we see that these allowances do not correspond to horses’ bodyweights. In the Group Ones at Sha Tin, fillies and mares carry 122 pounds and males carry 126 pounds. 122 pounds equals 96.8% of 126 pounds.

Mathematically, there is a discrepancy of 4.7% here (96.8 - 92.1), and it is favouring the males.

The average weight of the fillies and mares running in the 2009 Hong Kong Cup races was 965 pounds (89% of the average male) and, to keep this study simple, we can say that on average a filly or mare weighs 90% of a colt/horse/gelding.

Using 90% as a guide, if the sex allowance is to be relative to the bodyweights of the horses, the females should be carrying only 113 pounds (just under 90% of 126lb). It may be hard to believe that a 13lb sex allowance would be more accurate than a three, four, or 5lb sex allowance but how do we know that it

weight for age issue 31.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

16:53

Page 4

weight for age issue 31.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

16:53

Page 5

RACING

The size and strength of Zenyatta indicates that she should concede weight to many of the boys

“If the sex allowance is meant to compensate for the fact that fillies and mares are lighter than males, why are these sex allowances not adjusted in relation to distances?” wouldn’t be? One thing is certain: 13lb is a lot closer to a figure reflecting the differences in body weights than 3lb is.

The question is two-fold: Are the sex allowances correct, or at least near correct; and, whatever the allowances should be, should they also vary over different distances?

Let us go back to the question of sex allowances over various distances. The reasoning behind giving the females a weight allowance is that they are not as

strong, and will thus find it harder to carry weight over a distance of ground. Surely, if this is right, such a sex allowance should increase with longer distances. Over the years, we have all observed sprinters managing to win under high weights while in staying races the high weights become more of a burden. From my days working in Scandinavia, I remember quite a few stakesquality sprinters winning open handicaps carrying over 70kg (154 pounds!) though no trainer would run a horse in a staying

FILLIES AND MARES, BREEDERS’ CUP 1984 – 2009

Examining the record of fillies and mares at the Breeders' Cup, where the sex allowance is 3lb, this study disregards the Classic, as only four fillies/mares have taken part in the race. We’ll instead analyze open Breeders’ Cup races that have had a fair shar e of female runners: the Sprint, Mile, and Turf.

BC SPRINT – 6 furlongs (short distance) 34 starts, 3 wins (8.5% winners-to-runners) 1st: 3; 2nd: 8; 3rd: 0 (31.4% in the money)

BC MILE – 8 furlongs (medium distance) 37 starts, 7 wins (18.9%) 1st: 7; 2nd: 3; 3rd: 2 (32.4%)

BC TURF – 12 furlongs (long distance) 35 starts, 2 wins (5.7%) 1st: 2; 2nd: 4; 3rd: 3 (25.7%)

These figures indicate that a mile may be the best trip for a filly or mar e to run against males at current sex weight allowance terms, though bear in mind that outstanding back-to-back winners Miesque and Goldikova account for four of the seven wins for the fair er sex in the BC Mile. If those two had come to the Breeders' Cup just once each, the in-the-money stats above would show that the shorter the distance, the better the chances ar e for fillies and mares. While over 30% of all females taking a shot at the boys have finished in the first thr ee in both the Sprint and the Mile, that figur e drops to under 26% when we look at how female runners have far ed in the Turf.

22 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 31

race under such a weight.

Using 1,600 metres as a starting point, we’ll say that a filly should be given a 4lb sex allowance, which is accepted to be relative to her physical ability (comparative to a colt) to carry weight at speed over 1,600 metres. As the filly runs the race from start to finish she burns a certain amount of energy. Everyone agrees that she would burn less energy without a jockey, but how much more energy does she burn if she carries four pounds more? And how much more energy would she burn if she ran further?

I know exactly what I am trying to say here but I am not at all sure how best to say it. Here's an attempt: The core of the matter is how 4lb more or less affects the performance of a Thoroughbred over various distances. It hardly makes common sense to say that the effect will be the same over five furlongs as it is over two-and-ahalf miles.

If I carry a rucksack weighing 20 pounds over a mile, I will burn a certain amount of energy. If I carry the same sack over four miles, wouldn’t I burn four times as much energy? And, if the sack one day weighs 24 pounds, how will this affect me? The obvious answer is that I will be burning more energy carrying a heavier sack, and this difference in energy consumption will be greater the farther I go. How much I feel the weight is directly relative to how much energy I have left. At the outset when I have plenty of energy, the sack feels light and is not much of a burden. By the end of a long walk, it feels many times heavier, simply because I have much less energy and I now feel tired.

Why should this be any different for a horse? A filly, with a lighter body and (assumably) less energy to burn than a colt, will be at a greater disadvantage against the colt the further these horses run.

If the four pounds we are using as an example is correct over 1,600 metres, the sex allowances should probably be 8lb over 3,200 metres (4lb x 2), 6lb over 2,400 metres (4lb x 1.5), and only 2.5lb (4lb ÷ 1.6) over 1,000 metres – and so on.

I am not assuming that 4lb is the correct sex allowance to use over a mile or over any other distance, nor am I assuming that the French are closer to a fair system when allowing fillies and mares just over two pounds in the Arc than the English are when allowing females three pounds in the King George, both run over 2,400 metres. What I am assuming, however, is that these allowances, wellestablished and tradition bound though they may be, may not have been very well thought through. In these days of working to harmonise racing rules, perhaps the subject of sex-related weight allowances should be on the agenda. I

weight for age issue 31.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

16:53

Page 6

transport issue 31.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

16:57

Page 1

NUTRITION

Can nutrition give horses that first-class travel experience?

24 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 31

transport issue 31.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

16:58

Page 2

TRANSPORT

ISSUE 31 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com 25

transport issue 31.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

16:58

Page 3

NUTRITION

While transporting horses by road to the local racecourse or by air to another part of the world is now a routine affair, the end result can still be stressful enough to have a detrimental effect on a horse’s health and performance on the racetrack.

Catherine Dunnett Bsc, Phd looks at ways nutrition can help the horse have a more comfortable experience.

T

RAVEL, whether by road, air, train, or sea, is a routine experience for most horses in training. For some, travel may be limited to relatively short journeys by road to race meetings within the UK, whilst other horses globetrot around the world to participate in race meetings in Europe, the Middle East, the USA or Australasia, and others may spend a proportion of the year in training in another part of the world. Whilst travel is a much less arduous experience for horses these days, it can still be a relatively stressful experience and can have a detrimental impact on their health and subsequent performance. The digestive, respiratory, and immune systems are placed

under significant pressure during particularly long periods of travel, and colic and respiratory infection, including shipping fever, are of a particular concern.

Maintaining hydration is a particular target when travelling horses One of the main issues for travelling horses is maintaining hydration, as they can lose significant quantities of both fluid and electrolytes during travel, mostly as a consequence of sweating. Whilst horses may not necessarily appear to be sweating profusely, the sweat reflex kicks in early to help cool the body in response to any increased environmental temperature and/or humidity, as well as being a

In some cases, you may want to hyper hydrate your horse with water from a nasogastric tube

26 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 31

physiological response to stress. This is apparent from the raised heart rate and haematocrit (red blood cell volume) that is observed in travelling horses. Loss of fluid in sweat is generally exacerbated by reduced water and feed intake during the period of travel, which may result from feed management or may be self-limited by the horses themselves.

A stabled horse would normally consume about 6-7 litres of water per 100kg of bodyweight per day, so for the average horse in training this is about 30-35 litres, although it will vary between individuals.

The amount of fluid loss during travel is apparent if horses are weighed prior to and at the conclusion of their journey. Horses have been known to lose between 1.5-2.5% of bodyweight following racing combined with short-to-moderate journeys. It may take anywhere between several hours to days to re-establish normal hydration, and horses will often self-limit water intake following travel, which slows the rehydration process. Providing water on an ad libitum basis helps to avoid dehydration; however, this is not always possible during travel and scheduled water breaks during longer journeys have to be relied upon. As yet, the technology for on-board automatic watering systems in horse boxes or on planes is not as far as I am aware available and so manual watering is relied upon.

There is a minimum legal requirement to offer water to horses every 6-8 hours during commercial transportation within the EU. The normal practice amongst racehorse transporters exceeds this minimum requirement. In racing, it is also normal practice, especially where long journeys are considered, to pre-load or hyperhydrate horses prior to prolonged travel with the use of saline drips or water by nasogastric tube.

Kevin Needham of BBA Shipping says “as a rule we would not be running a box for more than about four hours without stopping and offering water. The driver’s hours regulations help us here in that drivers cannot drive for more than four and a half hours without taking a 45-minute break. In practice, the vehicles tend to stop far more frequently; e.g. Newmarket to Dover for a ferry is only about two and a half hours: offer water, cross channel, offer water again and you are in Paris or Deauville in a further three and a half hours. It also depends on the weather and when it’s hot or humid they are more likely to stop more frequently to water. Each truck has a temperature sensor in the back which relays the temperature to the driver so that he knows how warm the air is in the horse area.”

There are also a number of feed-related strategies that can be used to encourage water intake before, during, and after travel.

transport issue 31.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

16:58

Page 4

transport issue 31.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

16:59

Page 5

NUTRITION

Kevin Needham of BBA Shipping

“As a rule we would not be running a box for more than about four hours without stopping and offering water” Kevin Needham As there is a relationship between fibre intake (expressed as NDF, or neutral detergent fibre) and water intake, maintaining adequate fibre consumption is important to help prevent dehydration.

Plenty of forage before travelling will ensure that a reservoir of water and electrolytes in the hindgut is available to help offset fluid and electrolyte losses during travel. Succulents such as carrots and apples and other feedstuffs with a high water content such as soaked sugar beet or ‘mashed’ feeds are also beneficial both prior to and following transportation.

Digestive function is compromised by sudden dietary change Travelling horses can also have a significant impact on the digestive tract: gastric

28 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 31

ulceration, colic, scouring, and laminitis are all potential complications. This is largely due to the inevitable change in feeding management during transport. Extended periods of time without forage, or equally inadequate amounts, can increase the risk of gastric ulcers and can certainly exacerbate any existing ulceration. Research has shown that journeys of just four hours repeated over three days can increase hyperkeratosis and gastric ulcer scores. The use of prophylactic anti-ulcerogenic medication such as omeprazole during prolonged travel, where medication and doping rules are not an issue, seems logical. However for those horses that are racing within the timeframe of recommended withdrawal of this medication, this is clearly not an option.

The use of supplements with proven efficacy in maintaining gastric health may be

beneficial in this scenario in combination with ad libitum forage. However, as the effect of such supplements is likely to be relatively transient, they need to be fed ideally several times a day similar to normal feeding. Care should also be taken with the repeated use of electrolyte paste, as these can exacerbate pre-existing ulceration when administered very frequently.

Maintaining a healthy microbial balance throughout the digestive tract during travel is the key to avoiding some of the digestive issues mentioned above during travel. It has been shown that during transport the microbial balance in the gut is altered, probably in response to stress as well as the material change in feed management and feeding behaviour. A dehydrated horse will draw more water from the gut, which if depleted due to inadequate water and

transport issue 31.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

16:59

Page 6

transport issue 31.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

16:59

Page 7

NUTRITION

may result in scouring following travel.

There is evidence to show that live yeasts (saccharomyces cerevisiae) and prebiotics are beneficial to digestive function.

However, whilst their use in travelling horses seems logical, there is little research to support this.

Have plenty of water on hand to hydrate your horses

forage intake, may increase the risk of impaction. Retaining normal fermentation in the hindgut is therefore also important to help maintain water balance in the body.

Recent travel is repeatedly cited as a significant epidemiological factor in the occurrence of colic. One of the most important factors in reducing its likelihood is to avoid sudden changes in the diet.

Practically, high-starch concentrate feeds are actively avoided during extended travel, which is important as the risk of colic is significantly increased in horses fed highconcentrate diets. However, a sudden change to an exclusively forage-based diet can be a stressor and so a gradual shift away from concentrate feeds towards forage in

30 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 31

the days preceding prolonged transport is sensible. Also, if the source of forage can be kept consistent, this is ideal as simply a change in forage batch or type can increase the risk of colic.

The use of digestive aids such as probiotic yeasts or bacteria or prebiotic supplements has been advocated for travelling horses. Disruption to the normal balance of bacteria within the gut has certainly been shown to occur during transport and the opportunistic growth of pathogenic bacteria including Salmonella sp can be an issue. The stress of transport can result in Salmonella carriers starting to shed the bacteria in their faeces. This is obviously a health risk for travelling companions and

Susceptibility to disease can be heightened during travel Stress during short periods of transport is most often short-lived and may actually heighten immunity. However, chronic stress in horses in training contributed to by regular transport or long-haul journeys can lead to suppression of the immune system, making them more susceptible to disease. Respiratory disease is a particular issue for travelling horses and there are numerous factors that contribute to its prevalence: Contact with other horses Poor-quality forage Reduced tracheal mucocillary clearance, as a result of a prolonged period in the ‘head up’ position Increased exposure to respiratory allergens, irritants or noxious gases such as ozone, ammonia or carbon monoxide Nutrition does certainly not currently hold all of the answers to support immunity, but there are a number of useful herbs and micronutrients where there is some rationale for their use prior to and after travel. Antioxidants such as vitamin C and the amino acid glutamine have some evidence to support their inclusion in the diet to maintain immune function. Herbs such as Echinacea, fed for a transient period, may also be useful.

Probiotics and Omega-3 fatty acids also have some merit. However, to put this into context, there is very little work that has been carried out to investigate the role of diet in relation to immune function in horses, and so these suggestions are largely unsupported by scientific literature.

In summary, good preparation for travel is essential in order to minimise any sudden dietary changes. Provision of water and forage is very important, and forage should be as clean as possible in microbiological terms. As horses may self-impose water and feed restriction during travel, it is important to re-establish normal feeding and drinking behaviour as soon as possible on arrival.

Flavoured water can be used to encourage intake, although plain water should also always be offered as an alternative.

Concentrate feeds of any consequence should be largely avoided immediately before, during, or immediately after travel.

However, minimal quantities of low-starch feed may be needed to allow useful antiulcerogenic supplements, probiotics, electrolytes, or other potentially useful additives to be fed.

transport issue 31.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

16:59

Page 8

schoningh issue 31.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

17:04

Page 1

PROFILE

GERHARD SCHÖNINGH The white knight of Hoppegarten

32 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 31

schoningh issue 31.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

17:06

Page 2

GERHARD SCHÖNINGH

ISSUE 31 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com 33

schoningh issue 31.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

17:06

Page 3

PROFILE

Hoppegarten racecourse went up for sale in 20 07 and, after 18 months of lengthy negotiations, it wa s bought by London-based financier Gerhard Schöningh. Regarded as the saviour of Hoppegarten, Schöningh aims to return the famous old racecourse to its former pre-war glory and to attract as many West Berliners through the turnstiles as he ca n.

By David Conolly-Smith

34 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 31

T

HE racecourse at Hoppegarten, about 10 miles east of Berlin’s city centre, was built by the Union-Klub, an organisation based on the British Jockey Club whose members were Prussian aristocracy, landed gentry, and rich industrialists. The official opening on May 17th, 1868 was attended by the Prussian King Wilhelm I and his chancellor Otto von Bismarck. The Union-Klub had excellent connections and the track soon became the leading racecourse and training centre in Germany. With the exception of the Derby, which has always been run at Hamburg, all the German classics, as well as such prestigious events as the Union-Rennen and Goldene Peitsche, were run here. The race meetings at Hoppegarten were not only major sporting events, but also an essential part of the Berlin social scene. The First World War did little to change this; when the Nazis came to power in 1933, they installed a new organisation to replace the Union-Klub, but Hoppegarten continued to thrive with huge crowds and excellent racing.

This all changed with the Second World War. Until 1943 things went on as usual, but the racecourse and its infrastructure were badly damaged in 1944-5. Worse was to come, as after the war Hoppegarten found itself behind the iron curtain, first in the Soviet Zone and then in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). It was difficult for visitors from the more affluent West Berlin to reach the racecourse, and it became virtually impossible after the wall went up in 1961. The East German authorities subsidised racing to a certain extent, although everything had been nationalised and the track and the training centre were run on socialist principles.

A new era began when the wall came down in 1989. The first reaction was euphoria. Over 30,000 racegoers attended the famous Deutsch-Deutscher meeting in March 1990. Sponsors arrived with buckets full of money: the Swiss cigar manufacturer Zino Davidoff sponsored a race to celebrate German unity with a massive DM 520,000 in prizemoney. That race’s first running, in October 1991, was won by Sheikh Mohammed’s George Augustus, trained in Ireland by John Oxx and ridden by Johnny Murtagh. BMW supported the grandlynamed Europa-Championat, worth DM 700,000.

The euphoria was short-lived. Western sponsors soon withdrew as economic growth in the ex-GDR was much slower than expected. The situation was exacerbated by the fact that nobody knew who actually owned the property, which had been taken over in 1946 by the communist regime. It was administered by the “Treuhand,” the government-run

schoningh issue 31.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

17:07

Page 4

GERHARD SCHÖNINGH

Hoppegarten is attracting good crowds and quality racing as well as catering for the younger racing fans (right) and owners alike (below right)

institution to dispose of state-owned land in the former German Democratic Republic.

Various race clubs were formed, but all fell by the wayside. Even the old Union-Klub, by now feeble and decrepit, staked its historical claim and took over for a while, but declared insolvency in 2006. The situation was desperate. The facilities were rotting away, the training centre had shrunk alarmingly, prizemoney was down to minimal levels. In 2007, only five race days were held.

By this time, the BVVG, the successor to the Treuhand, had taken command and was actively looking for a private owner to take over. The racecourse was for sale, and advertisements were placed in the national press. This was also remarked upon in the racing press, and one of those who heard about it was the London-based financier Gerhard Schöningh, the white knight who came to the rescue of Hoppegarten. deleted bit about Sleeping Beauty Schöningh, now 48 years old, spent his childhood in the Rhineland town of Krefeld.

His parents were architects, with no interest in racing. However they lived close to Krefeld racecourse, and from an early age Gerhard used to hang around there, fascinated by the racetrack and training centre, the glamorous sport and the betting side as well. “I was able to study racing from all angles,” he says, “even ending up as a steward there, the youngest in Germany.”

In 1984 he went to Bristol University to read economics and politics. He liked the

ISSUE 31 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com 35

schoningh issue 31.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

17:07

Page 5

PROFILE

English way of life, went racing a lot, and after graduation moved to London, working for Flemings and then joining Baring Asset Management in 1993, specialising in smaller European companies. In 1998 he set up his own business, Ennismore Fund Management, with Barings colleague Geoff Oldfield. Shöningh says, “We were working mainly from home, and on a shoestring at first.” They had their own ideas about investment, and “we were pretty successful,” he now says laconically.

He sold out to his partner at the end of 2006 and found himself a rich man. At around the same time, he heard about the possibility of buying Hoppegarten. “I had been to Hoppegarten before – on a visit organised by the North German Owners’ Association in 1989; despite the run-down atmosphere, I was tremendously impressed.

It is without a doubt the best racecourse ever built in Germany.” He had time on his hands and money in the bank; what could be more natural than buying a racecourse?

He sent off to the BVVG for the documentation regarding the track, and there began some long and protracted negotiations. “They were professional sellers,” he says now, “and were determined to get the best deal.” It was soon clear that he was the favoured candidate, but it took 18 months of serious haggling before the deal was finally done; the contract was signed on March 28th, 2008. The exact purchase price has never been revealed, but is known to be in the region of 3 million euros. For this, Schöningh received 207 hectares (about 520 acres) of land, basically consisting of the racecourse with its buildings, almost all of which are listed and therefore protected; a large amount of woodland; and the training track at Bollensdorf. Deleted bit about course

36 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 31

having to stay open.

“Hoppegarten was an ideal opportunity.

The absence of good management in the years since reunification had resulted in many mistakes being made, but the “hardware” was largely intact and could be upgraded without enormous investment.”

His first task was to renovate the racecourse buildings and restore them to some of their earlier lustre. In this he has already been extremely successful; Hoppegarten, which I remember from previous visits as dowdy and dilapidated, is now bright, cheerful and colourful. “A lick of paint, fresh flowers – these were not expensive, but made a huge difference. I am happy to put money into improvements, but I am always aware of the costs and do not believe in rushing headlong into major investments.

Everything has to be thought out in advance and planned carefully. I made no big promises and I think people realised that changes have to be made gradually.”

He sees his main task in attracting more racegoers, especially from West Berlin. “2.3 million people live in West Berlin; for almost half a century they had no access to thoroughbred racing, so many of them have forgotten – or never knew – how attractive racing is as a leisure activity. I would like to get racegoers from all classes of society, from VIPs to ordinary punters.” The VIP area in the clubhouse is probably the best in Germany, and he has also built an owners’ and trainers’ lounge with excellent facilities – something sorely lacking at most German racecourses. “I have been racing a lot at the top tracks in Britain and France and have taken my ideas from them. No rocket science is involved in providing these facilities.” But for the ordinary racegoer as well everything has been much improved, with a refurbished grandstand, clean toilets,

an attractive beer garden, and plenty of stalls for food and drink. “We have taken the catering in-house and I am happy to say that we now make a profit on this.”

“Berlin is a big city and there are plenty of other sporting events in competition to us, so we have to market ourselves properly.”

Shöningh has succeeded in building up a good relationship with the Berlin press and does a great deal of radio advertising: “the most cost-effective.” He is also making a major effort to attract more sponsors, big brands in particular. “The facilities for sponsors here were poor, but we can now offer a highly attractive package. The aim is to get mass appeal, and I think we are on the right way.” Certainly the improvement has been marked: in 2009 betting turnover at Hoppegarten was up by 30% and the gate by 25% on the previous year, and in 2010 there has been further significant progress on both fronts.

Obviously the object is to return Hoppegarten to its former glory. Schöningh is a realist and knows that it is impossible to restore its pre-war primacy. Almost all of the leading owners and trainers and their horses left Berlin for the west after the war, and are now well established in Cologne, Munich, or wherever. However, Hoppegarten is well on the way to being once again regarded as a leading track, featuring top races and attracting big crowds.

“Hoppegarten is for me both a business opportunity and a labour of love. I am not expecting to make a quick profit, but do hope to be able to break even, and I am satisfied with the progress made so far.” He measures this by the attendances, the betting figures, and the hospitality and catering divisions, all of which have done well.

Despite the claims of Hoppegarten on his time, Schöningh has other business interests and still lives in London, in a Knightsbridge flat. He “commutes” from London to Berlin for races and other meetings. When in Berlin, he stays in a hotel near the racecourse.

He is also involved as an owner. “My first horses in Britain were trained by Henry Cecil, and he is still my main trainer. We get on very well, he has a great sense of humour, and we go to the sales together. I like to buy a couple of yearlings every year, either at Newmarket or Baden-Baden, and prefer fillies, as I think they keep their residual value if they have a good pedigree. I tend to go for slow-maturing staying types, as I find these usually offer better value.”

Most of the horses, which run under the Ennismore Racing banner, are in partnership with friends. “At the moment I have six horses with Henry – three twoyear-old fillies, two three-year-olds, and one older horse. I also have a horse in training in France with Mikel Delzangles, and one here

schoningh issue 31.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

17:07

Page 6

GERHARD SCHÖNINGH

in Germany, Doggerbank, a four-year-old filly with Torsten Mundry. She was with Cecil last year, but we sent her to Germany, as she is well-bred, being by Oasis Dream, and we were hoping to get some black type – in which she has already been successful.”

He has no horses trained at Hoppegarten as yet, but “once we have made some more progress, I would love to have some horses of my own trained here.”

The plan is to breed from the fillies later on. He has one broodmare at present, the Monsun mare Brisk Breeze at Cliff Stud, but Doggerbank and some of the others will also end up there. “I try to look for value with my yearling purchases; Doggerbank at 90,000 guineas was my most expensive purchase, while Channel Squadron, who won on his debut for Cecil, was a bargain at 50,000 guineas, being an own brother to Septimus.”

Whenever possible, he goes racing to watch his horses run, but his other commitments – notably Hoppegarten – sometimes prevent this. “Hoppegarten is now uppermost in my mind and I am continually looking for ways to improve things there. I am prepared to invest whatever is necessary, as long as I can see that tangible results are being achieved, as is the case so far.” The racecourse has certainly improved in every respect in Gerhard Schöningh the two years since he took over; it is almost a fairy tale and Hoppegarten can be regarded as the Sleeping Beauty who was waiting for Prince Charming to come and wake her up.

Schöningh has no children of his own – and as he puts it simply, “Hoppegarten is my baby now.” I

“Hoppegarten is for me both a business opportunity and a labour of love. I am not expecting to make a profit, but do hope to be able to break even, and I am satisfied with the progress made so far”

ISSUE 31 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com 37

RAO issue 31 new.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

VETERINARY

38 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 31

19/8/10

17:12

Page 1

RAO issue 31 new.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

17:12

Page 2

RAO

Recurrent Airway Obstruction in racehorses

R

AO is the most recently adopted term and describes what happens to affected horses, namely that they experience intermittent episodes of blockage (obstruction) of the smaller airways deep in the lung. This obstruction is caused by the muscles around the airways constricting and closing the airways down, and also by over-secretion of mucus which blocks the airways. This is very similar to what happens to someone having an asthma attack although RAO probably shares more similarities with “farmers lung” than asthma as far as the causes.

The term equine COPD became less favoured about 15-20 years ago as it caused confusion with human COPD. The latter is a condition brought about by smoking, and whilst a fair few owners, trainers, and jockeys may enjoy a cigarette, horses don’t.

What brings on an “attack” in a horse with RAO? RAO is an allergic disease in which affected horses have an overreaction to things normally present in their environment, such as pollens, moulds (in particular Aspergillus species) and forage mites. Interestingly, a study from the University of Berne published in 2009 showed that the most common positive reaction (around 75% of tests) was to mite allergens rather than moulds. At some stage RAO horses have been “sensitised” to one or more of these allergens, so called because they produce an allergic reaction. This allergic reaction can lead to almost immediate signs of disease which are typical of RAO, including coughing, nasal discharge, increased mucus in the airways, increased lung sounds, increased respiratory rate and effort (this is where the term “heaves” comes from, describing the heaving effort of the chest and abdomen as the horse struggles to move air into and out of the lungs, and the development of

The old name for it is “broken wind,” we used to call it COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), the Americans refer to it more commonly as “heaves,” and the most recent term that was adopted by vets and scientists who were studying it is Recurrent Airway Obstruction (RAO). Many of these terms are still in common use, and different groups of people involved with horses will possibly recognise the different terms for what is exactly the same condition.

By Dr David Marlin

Nasal discharge is one of the typical signs of RAO

ISSUE 31 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com 39

RAO issue 31 new.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

17:12

Page 3

VETERINARY

abdominal muscles as a result of the extra effort to breathe – the “heave” line), flared nostrils, and a decreased capacity for exercise. These acute changes are usually also accompanied by changes in the lung that take place over a much longer period of time when the inflammation associated with the disease persists untreated. This can include stiffening of the lungs, making them less efficient, and an increase in the thickness of the muscle around the airways so that when they clamp down, they do so to an even greater extent.

The classic “heaving” horse, often described as a horse in crisis, has fortunately become a more rare sight for vets over the past 15-20 years as education over air quality and the change towards lower dust management regimens has taken place. But they do still turn up now and again. They were probably always rarer amongst the racehorse population for several reasons.

The first was that air quality awareness and use of good quality bedding and feed were both likely to be more common than in the general horse population. Another reason is age. Whilst in young racehorses we predominantly see infectious respiratory disease, both as a result of viral (e.g. Equine Herpes Virus 1) and, even more commonly, bacterial infection (e.g. from Streptococcus

Inflammation of the airway can worsen bleeding

40 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 31

“RAO is therefore essentially a condition seen in older horses, kept predominantly in stables in the Northern Hemisphere” zooepidemicus, Actinobacillus species and Pasteurella species), the prevalence is highest in yearlings and two-year-olds and decreases with increasing age such that by the time a horse reaches four, it’s unlikely to be having a problem with repeated infections (Inflammatory Airway Disease or IAD). By contrast, RAO does not really begin to be recognised in horses until they are at least 5-6 years of age. So RAO would be extremely rare in the flat racehorse population but more likely to be present amongst the National Hunt horse population.

Certainly there is still some debate as to whether IAD is caused by infectious agents, allergens or both. There is also debate as to whether IAD is a precursor to RAO. Whilst we know that placing an RAO-affected horse in “remission” (that is at a time when

it does not appear to have any signs of excess mucus, inflammatory cells, cough, etc.) in a stable with mouldy hay and straw will produce a worsening in perhaps as little as 6-12 hours, or in some cases 2-3 days, we don’t know what the underlying cause that makes a healthy horse become an RAO horse is. There is good evidence of a genetic predisposition in some horses. It may also appear that viral infection plays a role. In human medicine there have been theories for asthma based on either being exposed to too little allergen or to too much allergen.

Interestingly, there is evidence that parasite infection may programme the immune system away from allergic reactions. Today, with the high value of horses and the aim of maintaining healthy populations in the belief that they will give better performance, our use of wormers and antibiotics could potentially be programming our horses to be more “reactive.” However, that study from the University of Berne suggested that RAO horses in a family of horses susceptible to RAO actually had a higher resistance to Strongylid parasites.

RAO is therefore essentially a condition seen in older horses, kept predominantly in stables in the Northern Hemisphere. It’s an unavoidable fact that keeping racehorses in stables will compromise air quality. Bedding materials, feed materials, and even the horse itself create dust and bring various potential allergens into the stable where the horse will breathe them. And again, whilst very, very few older National Hunt horses are likely to have full-blown RAO, there is a strong potential for a significant proportion to have sub-clinical RAO (i.e. have the disease but not show obvious external clinical signs such as cough or nasal discharge). Why might we suspect this? In a survey carried out in National Hunt racing yards in the UK some years ago, there was evidence that around one third of the staff had some evidence of respiratory symptoms as a result of working in the stable environment. Now of course, if the staff have symptoms and spend only perhaps 3-4 hours a day inside the stables, then we might reasonably expect horses spending 22 hours a day to be affected to a greater extent.

So how common could sub-clinical RAO be in the older racehorse population? In a study of 91 National Hunt racehorses

RAO issue 31 new.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

17:13

Page 4

RAO issue 31 new.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

17:13

Page 5

VETERINARY

Normal trachea

referred to the University of Bristol for loss of performance, 68% of the horses had increased tracheal mucus and 70% had signs of lower airway inflammation. In this study it was referred to as IAD, but this could equally well be termed sub-clinical RAO. Was this the reason why these horses were suffering from loss of performance? We can’t say. But we know the normal condition of the equine respiratory tract is for it not to be inflamed and have excess mucus. And there can’t be too many trainers who would prefer to send a horse with a dirty scope into a race than one with a clean scope. What we do know from a number of controlled studies is that airway inflammation (increased mucus, increased neutrophils) has the potential to adversely affect movement of air in and out of the lung, the efficiency of oxygen supply to the muscles, and, potentially, to worsen bleeding (EIPH) and therefore by implication, negatively affect performance, even if only by a few lengths. The aim must be to have horseracing as clean as possible.

Preventing RAO is going to be problematic as we still don’t fully

42 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 31

Bloody trachea

understand what causes it, although we now know there is likely to be a genetic tendency to develop it in some horses. As it is more common in stabled horses then of course turnout and maintaining as clean a stable environment as possible are likely to reduce the number of horses that might develop RAO, and the severity and frequency of exacerbations (worsening). In this respect, good ventilation is probably the first place to start. Horses, even thoroughbreds, can survive well in cold weather. My approach is to never close up the ventilation but to put on an extra rug or two if necessary.

The next issue to address is bedding.

Here my preference is for a sealed rubber floor with around a quarter of the area covered with low-dust bedding (there is no such thing as dust-free). Large woodchips and paper are ideal in this respect. It may not look as nice as a deep straw bed, but would we expect the top human athletes to perform after sleeping in straw-filled stables? One might argue that a straw-filled stable is not a natural environment for a human athlete, and my response would be neither is it a natural environment for a horse – a field is!

As to forage, go with high-quality hay, steamed or soaked, or haylage. There is potential for these to be contaminated with forage mites, moulds, and mycotoxins, which can all lead to airway inflammation.

The same applies to hard feeds. For example, feeds with molasses are likely to be relatively low in dust whilst crushed oats may be very dusty.

If you really want to find out how good your stable air quality is, find an asthmatic and get them to stand in the stables for half an hour. If they come out wheezing and coughing, you need to make some adjustments. The respiratory system is one of the weakest links in the horse. The muscles and heart have a tremendous capacity to adapt with training. Even bone and tendon has some capacity to respond to training. Contrary to popular belief, the lungs do not improve with training. If anything they deteriorate with repeated exercise as a result of repeated blood vessel rupture (bleeding; EIPH). Therefore anything that you can do to maintain them in the best possible state is likely to pay dividends where it counts – on the racetrack. I

RAO issue 31 new.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

17:13

Page 6

vibration therapy issue 31 new.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

TRAINING

The vibrating floor can be an integral part of the horse box 44 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 31

19/8/10

16:15

Page 1

vibration therapy issue 31 new.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

16:15

Page 2

VIBRATION THERAPY

Vibration therapy Vibration therapy, whereby the horse’s whole body receives massaging vibrations, has been found to be an effective way of not only speeding up the healing process but of preventing injuries. B y Katie Roebuck

T

HE therapy basically involves a horse standing on a plate or set of plates which are underneath rubber matting in a stable-style setup. The vibration motor can be set to a frequency as mild or as intensive as required, from as little as ten minutes or more. With the option of the floor slightly tilting it also means that as the horse readjusts its balance, there is no risk of resting any one leg for a length of time.

Clinical studies have shown vibration therapy has no negative effect whatsoever on the horse. This non-invasive treatment does not cause any detriment to its subjects – in fact, horses appear to welcome it.

It works on the basic premise that vibration movement promotes good blood circulation around the body, particularly in legs and organs; this is especially useful for horses on box rest. Vibration therapy increases bone strength and density, and also hoof growth – thoroughbreds are notorious for having poor feet.

Whole body vibration therapy (WBV) is a non-chemical intervention that improves blood circulation because it is a biomechanical stimulation. This is particularly important for racehorses that spend the majority of their day in a stabled environment. The rapid contraction and relaxation of muscles means more blood flow around the body, which means more oxygen to the tissues and thus the removal of toxins.

Human studies have found vibration therapy has increased bone density by up to 20 per cent; it is the only kind of treatment with a documented positive effect on osteoporosis.

For equines, there had been no scientific

or medical research carried out on the method until the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) in Uppsala got involved.

The SLU carried out research on the benefits of vibrating floors in 2004. Hans Broström is a university lecturer at the Department of Clinical Sciences, Division of Diagnostics and Large Animal Clinical Sciences. He was approached by Norwegian trainer and inventor Bendick Bö (profiled in Issue 17 of European Trainer) whilst working in the department of equine surgery. Bö had invented a vibrating floor and wanted to know if it had

any adverse side effects which would undermine what he believed was of benefit to the horses receiving treatment.

The purpose of the study was to analyse what happened to a clinically healthy horse during vibration therapy. They used thermography (thermal imaging) and recorded the variations in temperature before and after treatment. They also made a clinical examination and monitored blood samples, rectal temperature, heart rate, and observed reactions.

Under the watchful eye of Broström, veterinary student Marianne Tingbö discovered no adverse effects. In her report Tingbö wrote, “the idea is that vibration will stimulate healing of injuries, relax rigidities and make the horse more variable.

According to users of the floor, it has also had a very positive effect on horses showing colic symptoms. No negative effect has been observed with the treatment of horses and the horses seemed to like the treatment.”

Broström agreed. He wrote, “The study concentrated on Thermographic imaging.

It showed a significant decrease in skin and hoof wall temperatures in front legs after vibration for 45 minutes. No significant changes were observed in rectal temperature, heart rate and in several blood parameters. The horses did not reject repeated vibration periods. On the contrary, they seemed to like it.”

There didn’t seem to be any reason why youngsters could not also benefit from vibration therapy; growing bones, according to Broström, were not at any risk from the treatment, especially “if the young horse has a correct constitution.”

This was fantastic news to Bö and backed

The outer workings of the vibrating floor

ISSUE 31 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com 45

vibration therapy issue 31 new.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

16:15

Page 3

TRAINING

The tendon injury scan (top) shows improvement af ter six weeks (above)

up what he believed about the vibrating floor. The Norwegian trainer first had the idea about the therapeutic properties of a vibrating floor when travelling a horse to a race in Milan, Italy, in 1992. The horse, Prairie, had tendon problems, but after a bumpy journey he came out of the lorry looking visibly better, according to Bö. The sprinter won his race. “I spent some time thinking about it,” Bö said. “Then in 2001/2002 it from went from idea to product and we developed and made it in 2003.”

Bö and his family patented and sold their first vibrating floor in February 2004, so it’s relatively new to the marketplace and still a novel concept as a preventive and healing tool.

Bö, his brothers, and their wives often discuss ideas for inventions and seem to have a few up their sleeves, but they chose to proceed with vibration therapy because of the positive effects it has on horses. Due to Bö’s profession as a trainer and formerly a jockey it was a subject close to his heart; he clearly has an affinity with the equine and a good eye for a happy one. But getting

46 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 31

the product off the ground was hard. Bö said, “It’s not simple like if you develop a new screw which you screw in the wall to show people. It is effective for horses in all ways, but the horse business has been up and down and it takes a lot to convince people.”

Bö, who lives and used to train in Sweden, then enlisted the help of the SLU to run clinical trials, keen to know if there could be any harm done to the horse by receiving such treatment.

“The only time you should not put a horse on the floor is with a recently fractured bone, because as you increase the vibration it will be painful. The rest is a very positive effect,” Bö said.

“It is a working product; you have to use it regularly. When the fracture is set it is great for increasing the bone building in the skeleton, making it of better quality during the healing process,” he explained.

Bö is currently not training professionally, but while he was, he would use his vibrating floor every day – on some horses – for more than five years. X-rays, he said, showed extremely good bone quality.

Bö added, “There are a lot of small things in the body that if you don’t get rid of, then the blood will be building slowly and all of a sudden you get an injury. Horses which use vibration therapy are in great health even though they train hard and are in old age. It is a great preventative method of getting blood circulating around the body.”

Vibration therapy is relevant for horses which are working every day or at the other extreme – standing still on box rest. In fact it has proved crucial for horses which are stuck in their stables with injuries, as it prevents their bodies from shutting down.

An experienced eye can see how well a horse is from their shiny coat, healthy appetite, and bright eyes. This can all still be the case for an injured horse on box rest – with the right therapeutic measures.

In addition, trainers across the world have discovered vibration as a useful tool in warming up and down horses before and after they are worked. Work riders and jockeys have reported horses feeling freer and less stiff after a stint on a vibrating floor.

For trainers this is a bonus – it has been found to create significant muscle power increase which means horses can accelerate faster from a standstill. With trotters this means more elasticity and an increase in flexibility. The trials at the SLU implied horses seem to like the treatment, and based on anecdotal evidence, Bö is also convinced of the same.

He said, “I know they enjoy it. I didn’t realise at one point when I had a horse on the floor that only half the floor was working and half of it was not. This is because I walk them on it, come off and then turn the vibration on. After I did this I noticed they were only standing on one side of the floor. So then I went on to find out why and realised they opted to stand on the side that was vibrating rather than the side that wasn’t.”

It’s clear that vibration therapy, like many forms of non-invasive treatments, has a m ultifaceted effect, whether it’s preventing injury, healing, or warming up/warming down those in work. However it also seems to be of help to the horse’s digestion system and therefore an aid for colic. The massaging qualities of the unit can help unblock a gut in trouble – and with no harm being caused to the horse while on the plates it makes sense for it to be on there while waiting for veterinary treatment to arrive. It may take a couple of hours, but if the horse gets relief by being put into a relaxed state and possibly even cured of the colic – then why not? Surely it beats walking the horse around the yard for an endless time.

Vibration therapy has been widely accepted and used by human athletes for some time; it makes sense for equine athletes, fit or injured, to do the same. I

vibration therapy issue 31 new.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

16:15

Page 4

breeders cup intro pages ISSUE 31 new:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

16:01

Page 1

RACING

BREEDERS’ CUP SPECIAL

A

S the Breeders’ Cup World Championships return to Churchill Downs for two years beginning this autumn, we wanted to revisit some features published in North American Trainer to give our European readers insight into figures who are well-known at Churchill, and about whom you might be hearing a lot come Breeders’ Cup time.

One of our articles is on long-time Churchill track superintendent Butch Lehr (first published in issue 12 of North American Trainer). We sat down with Lehr prior to the 2009 Kentucky Derby, which was the first after the tragedy of the filly Eight Belles, who had finished second in the race before breaking down in both of her front legs. It was a bad moment for racing, Churchill, and for Lehr personally, as was the 2006 Breeders’ Cup, which saw two unrelated breakdowns in the Distaff. Expect Lehr, who is a perfectionist when it comes to his track’s surfaces, to be on top of every detail come this November.

The second profile is on Calvin Borel (first published in issue 17 of North American Trainer), who really knows his way around the track at Churchill. Rule number 1 at Churchill is: never underestimate a horse, no matter how long the odds, when C. Borel is aboard. Besides being a talented, and gutsy, jockey, Borel and his brother Cecil are among the hardest-working and nicest people you will ever come across on the backside of a racecourse.

Finally, we reprint a surface debate in which Eoin Harty and Darrell Vienna participated (first published in issue 16 of North American Trainer).

With talk on the table about whether or not the Breeders’ Cup is best suited by finding a permanent home on the synthetics in California, we thought it would be both interesting and pertinent to bring in the viewpoints of two California-based horsemen, 48 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 31

each of whom has won a Breeders’ Cup race – Harty with Tempera and Vienna with Gilded Time. Vienna is also a practicing lawyer.

The European contingents have made successful Breeders’ Cup raids in the last two years, when the races were held on the all-weather surface at Santa Anita Park. However, they’ve also had some memorable Breeders’ Cup moments at Churchill: Miesque in 1988; Arazi, Miss Alleged, and Sheikh Albadou in 1991; Barathea and Tikkanen in 1994; Kalanisi in 2000; and Ouija Board and Red Rocks in 2006. On the other side of memorable was the 1998 Classic, in which Swain and Frankie Dettori took a detour to the outside rail to finish third.

While the industry as a whole has suffered some major blows, Kentucky is at racing’s epicentre in North America and has thus taken the brunt of the losses. As Kentucky breeders began to find that local governments in other states appeared to be more concerned for their breeding and racing programmes than Kentucky’s own government, farms have been closing, crop sizes have diminished – though this is not necessarily a bad thing per se – and racing quality and quantity has diminished. Many Kentucky trainers have sought out-of-state races for their horses because prizemoney in states with alternate gaming, such as Pennsylvania and West Virginia, for example, is much more valuable.

Hosting the Breeders’ Cup championships again is a great boost for the racing in Kentucky, and it will definitely be a highlight of the season along with the Kentucky Derby. Churchill installed lights during the winter of 2009, so the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Classic will be run under lights for the first time. Of course, when Alysheba won the Classic in 1988, it was under the cover of darkness.

There’s a lot to look forward to this Breeders’ Cup, as it should be when the best horses convene to decide who is the best on the day.

breeders cup intro pages ISSUE 31 new:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

16:01

Page 2

BREEDERS’ CUP

ISSUE 31 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com 49

breeders cup intro pages ISSUE 31 new:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

16:02

Page 3

RACING

Dear International Horsemen, Thank you for your continued support of the Breeders’ Cup. We look forward to welcoming you to Churchill Downs this autumn, for what we know will be a memorable and thrilling Breeders’ Cup World Championships.

As you make final plans and preparations for bringing your runners to Louisville, we want to affirm to you our commitment to the highest standards of security, safety and integrity for our competition.

Breeders’ Cup has and continues to lead the way in making sure that all competitors are subject to stringent preand post-race medication and prohibited substance testing. Ours was the first event to assemble an independent Veterinary Team to monitor and inspect equine athletes prior to race day. The protocols that we have adopted along with our hosts at Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission will make sure that every competitor has a level playing field.

All pre-entered horses will be subject to out of competition testing, which will be a random test for blood doping agents; penalties will be severe for any violations. In addition, all horses will be inspected by the Breeders’ Cup Veterinary Team which will observe all runners on the track as well as in the stall for soundness and race readiness. All competitors are required to be on the grounds 72 hours before first post time on race day and all horses will be under the observation of our security team, experienced Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau agents that will monitor barns, vets, and visitors in the stable area. While the discussion over the merits of individual track surfaces continues in our sport, Breeders' Cup is committed to safe, consistent racing surfaces for its host venues and we are confident that Churchill Downs meets the highest standards for safety and consistency.

In addition to our safety and security procedures, we want to do everything that we can to make your visit enjoyable. We strive to treat every participant in our Championships – owners, breeders, trainers, jockeys and their respective guests – with the utmost respect and appreciation. The very best accommodations at Churchill Downs are reserved exclusively for our participants. My staff is also available to reserve partner hotels with dedicated hospitality centers, to provide invitations to all special events and social functions and to distribute gift packages prepared by our team with contributions from our sponsors.

We know that as a non-invitational event, it takes a big commitment from our international owners to come to the Breeders’ Cup World Championships and we want to make sure that each one of you knows you are welcomed and appreciated.

We have created a Video Guide to the Championships with commentary from leading owners, trainers, breeders and industry officials around the world – please take a moment to view at www.breederscup.com/videoguide Kind regards,

Dora Delgado Senior Vice-President, Racing & Nominations

50 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 31

breeders cup intro pages ISSUE 31 new:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

16:02

Page 4

BUTCH LEHR2.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

19:35

Page 1

PROFILE

Churchill Downs’ track champion

The home of the Kentucky Derby has gone through numerous management changes during its 136-year history, but for more than 40 years Raymond ‘Butch’ Lehr has worked at Churchill Downs to become one of the sport’s most respected track superintendents.

By Frances J. Karon

A

S home of the Kentucky Derby, Churchill Downs is the most widely-recognized racetrack in the United States. With an arsenal of 135 years of history behind it, the Louisville, Kentucky, showpiece is the first stepping stone for any horse whose connections hope to achieve the ultimate in racing immortality, the Triple Crown. While Churchill Downs Inc. has undergone a myriad of management changes, one thing that has remained a constant is track superintendent Raymond “Butch” Lehr Jr. Lehr, who has also been a vice president of Churchill since 1991, is happiest in the cab of a tractor or making rounds on the

52 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 31

backside. In his office, when the phone on his desk rings, it sounds out the Call to the Post. On the wall above hangs this framed reminder given to him by outgoing president Steve Sexton: “If we don’t take care of our customers somebody else will.” Lehr says, “That’s true, but I like this one the best,” indicating a caricature of a frog strangling a stork that’s trying to swallow it. The caption reads: Don’t ever give up.

Lehr’s uncle, at one time an assistant to Churchill’s renowned superintendent Thurman Pangburn, helped Lehr and his younger brother David get work on the superintendent’s staff, where Butch started in January, 1967. The draft board interfered with his plans to attend night school, and he spent 1969-’70 in the Army.

He says, “I was on orders

for Vietnam, and President Nixon stopped sending troops the cycle I was in Tigerland,” the military post in Louisiana that preceded an automatic send-off to Vietnam. “I was just lucky.” Spared from active combat, Lehr was sent to Fort Carson, Colorado, where he trained soldiers to use radar. “I really learned a lot in the military that helped me be where I am today.”

‘Where he is today’ is firmly rooted at Churchill Downs as one of the most respected track superintendents in the business. Even when he lived a thousand miles away in Colorado, Churchill was never out of the Louisville native’s blood. “I even came home on leave and worked here. I’d come home for two weeks and work because I needed the money. And that’s what I did on my vacations.” Brother David, who, as Butch’s assistant, stands to inherit the role of superintendent “when...if…” Butch retires, chimes in: “We had money, too. It was good money.”

“Good money” equated to $57.83 per week. Of his low starting salary, “There aren’t many vice presidents over

BUTCH LEHR2.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

19:35

Page 2

BUTCH LEHR

there,” says Lehr, waving a hand in the direction of the main office building, “that could say that.”

After military service, where he attained the rank of platoon sergeant, Lehr returned to full-time employment at Churchill. When his uncle retired in 1976, Pangburn promoted Lehr to be his assistant. “I didn’t realize it at the time, but I guess he must have taken a liking to me,” Lehr says of Pangburn. “Work was never a problem: I was always there, and if they needed me I’d work ungodly hours. I can’t remember how many times I said, ‘I can’t do this because I’ve got to work.’ That seemed like my whole life.”

Lehr gradually took on increasing responsibility as Pangburn’s assistant. It was, he says, a test, “putting more pressure on the young guy” to see how he coped.

Pangburn retired in 1981, and Churchill’s board of directors must have felt that Lehr handled pressure just fine, appointing him track superintendent in December.

The job description of track superintendent is all-encompassing. Not only do Lehr and his 27-strong team keep the hallowed racing oval – dirt and turf – in pristine condition, but machinery, training track, barns (housing some 1900 horses), dormitories, rails and hedges also fall under their purview. Churchill stages two annual meetings, in the spring and the fall, and the racetrack and main barn area go on hiatus during the winter. “I think it takes a toll on any racetrack that doesn’t shut down for a period so they can clean it up. We do all of our repairs in January and February.”

An update this spring

meeting is the cosmetic refurbishing of the furlong poles, the original ones that have been part of the scenery since 1938. Racing fans will appreciate that Arcaro, Longden, Mehrtens, Turcotte, Cruguet and Cauthen guided their Triple Crown winners around these very columns, and that the same exact eighth pole in place today is where Shoemaker stood up early on Gallant Man when they lost the 1957 Derby by a nose.

Over the hiatus, the maintenance crew worked on the markers one by one, encasing them in aluminum and fibreglass.

“Nobody’s going to notice but us,” Lehr

confesses. But it is exactly that level of attention to detail that defines the superintendent and his men.

The most crucial element of any racecourose is the condition of the surfaces.

At Churchill, Butch Lehr gets behind the wheel of a tractor and grades the main track himself. “A lot of people don’t understand, but I get a feel of the track when I do that.

You just get a better feel where the low places are, where you’ve got to add material.

The grader shows you where those places are. That’s a big part. I do it every day, sometimes, when we’re racing. I’ve got people that do it; both my assistants can do it but I need to know for my own purpose. If the track’s not drying properly, or whatever, I know.”

Lehr had better know, because if something’s not right, he’s going to hear about it. For that matter, even if something’s right – but not biased towards a particular trainer – he’s going to hear about it.

“Sometimes when you get criticised it makes sense. If all of a sudden a problem crops up, it may be somebody making an excuse, but if it’s something with merit, it makes sense to us. Or, we can say, ‘No, that’s bull.’”

The crew relies heavily on the input of trainers and jockeys, actively soliciting their opinions. “We don’t take criticism as being bad. ‘That’s good to know, thank you for that, appreciate it.’ That’s the way we operate. It’s not like we’re sitting in our ivory tower and

ISSUE 31 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com 53

BUTCH LEHR2.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

19:37

Page 3

PROFILE

never talk to anybody.” Lehr has a developed skill of filtering out the inevitable self-serving complaints. “You’ve got to be fair first of all, but you’ve also got to be stern sometimes. I’m not going to let somebody sway me because they’re wanting something their way for their benefit. That happens a lot of times. Say a horse favours speed, and a trainer will come in here and say, ‘That track’s loose,’ but I’ve been around the block so I’m going to know whether that’s true or not. That’s just part of my job” – a job that Lehr takes very seriously.

“The guy that’s driving the harrow or the roller or the water truck can kill you if he doesn’t know what he’s doing. We’re like coaches sometimes; we have to tell them a certain speed to drive. You’ve got to make all the track the same, so if one guy’s going

54 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 31

faster than the other the track’s going to be inconsistent. It’s a matter of just having the right equipment sometimes. But the public doesn’t see it and they want to blame the guy that’s taking care of the track, and if he’s not strong enough and not vocal enough, they’ll eat him up.” Even the slightest difference in machinery can mean that the surface won’t be level. The water trucks, for instance, must have the same water pressure to ensure that they spray out an even amount of water. “If it’s muddy, it’s got to be consistently muddy all the way around.”

Synthetic surfaces can make muddy racetracks a distant memory, but the superintendent will take some convincing before advocating a move in that direction for Churchill. Last year, as the only dirt track representative at a Welfare and Safety

Summit in Lexington, Lehr felt like the odd man out. A self-confessed “history buff,” he is protective over his revered footing, comprised of 75% sand, 23% silt and 2% clay. “I’ll do anything that they want to do.

We’re open to anything, but I’m going to defend Churchill Downs and history here.

For 135 years, [Eight Belles] was the first recordable anything that ever happened [in the Derby]. Now, that doesn’t mean it won’t happen again this year but I think horses now are more fragile. One racetrack might get all the brunt of a rash of injuries when you may see these horses come from somewhere else, where the injuries are starting, and when they come to a different surface it could bring something on, I think.

And so I can only keep an open outlook on what we should be doing but they’ve got to

BUTCH LEHR2.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

19:39

Page 4

BUTCH LEHR

prove [synthetics] to me, with a track that’s been here 135 years.

“I think synthetics are very good training tracks but they’re having problems with them holding up under the heavy usage.

When you look at a carpet in your house, it lasts pretty good until you lay it out and let that sun work on it. Every one of these synthetic tracks that I go to, as soon as you get close you start smelling it. That smell is materials leaving the track, and then you stir it up and more leaves, so you’ve got to replenish something. They’re finding out that they have to add more material, just like dirt tracks. Everything wears out, even dirt.

We have to monitor it and use our expertise to make sure we keep it pretty much the same. I think it’s harder to maintain something artificial with weather than it is

something that is natural and made to be in the elements.”

Lehr continues, “I know that I’ve got a reputation – I think I’ve got a reputation – of being fair, but if I believe in something, you’re not going to change me. I’ll certainly consider it but if I think I’m doing the right thing, just because a new product comes along, that doesn’t sway me. It’s got to be proved to me.”

Fairness and consistency are recurring words in his vocabulary, and when someone requests a special concession, Lehr’s response is guaranteed to be the same: “We’ll sit down as a group and consider changing the rules but we’re not today.

Today, the rule’s this. That’s the rule I’ve got and that’s the one I’m going with.”

What he would most like to see before he

retires is the public recognition that, “Damn, their track’s pretty good!” And on more than one occasion during the interview, he adds, “It’s not for me. It’s for Churchill.” He has voluntarily kept meticulous records of every injury, morning or afternoon, racing or offseason, since his promotion to superintendent. “I want to see if there’s something developing. Can I look at that and say, ‘Why am I having all this?’ It’s for my own benefit, not for anybody else’s, but after the Eight Belles deal I had to turn over our information. I didn’t mind doing that. I want people to know that Churchill Downs cares about what we’re doing.”

It is that sentiment that makes it difficult but necessary for Lehr to talk about Eight Belles and the 2008 Kentucky Derby, when the hungry media stork swooped down on

“The guy that’s driving the harrow or the roller or the water truck can kill you if he doesn’t know what he’s doing.

We’re like coaches sometimes; we have to tell them a certain speed to drive. You’ve got to make all the track the same, so if one guy’s going faster than the other the track’s going to be inconsistent” ISSUE 31 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com 55

BUTCH LEHR2.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

19:39

Page 5

PROFILE

Lehr sets to work grading the main track

Churchill Downs, and when “don’t ever give up” became more than a caption on the wall.

“Each Sunday after the Derby, I like to read the comments, and I can tell you this, that this past Derby, I never saw anyone say the reason they lost was the track. Even after Eight Belles, nobody was saying that they couldn’t get a hold of the track. Most Derbies, the next day they don’t say anything about the track being good. They say, ‘Well, my horse couldn’t handle the track.’ That’s an excuse they’ve got to give the owners. And you know, Secretariat could have won on this floor here,” he says with a dramatic glance at the linoleum underfoot. “Anyway, those are the things you’ve got to deal with, but I really felt that this past Derby, our track was fair that day. If it hadn’t been for what happened, that might have been my favorite Derby.” On the contrary, it became his worst. “It just took all the air out of you.”

Is there, then, added pressure leading up to the 2009 Kentucky Derby? “There always is. But it’ll be particular this year. I’m sure that there’s going to be a lot of things said and I’m just going to have to be prepared to handle everything like we normally handle it.

I understand that the pressure’s on us. I’ve handled every Breeders’ Cup that’s run here, and I’ve handled every Derby race since I was appointed in December of 1981, so it’s not anything new to us. I don’t think we made any mistakes. In fact, I think we did a great job [last year], and we’re going to try to do a great job next Derby. We’re prepared for it right now, but we know the pressure that’s on all of us. And I mean racing in

56 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 31

“You get a better feel where the low places are, where you’ve got to add material. The grader shows you where those places are” general; everybody’ll be affected by this Derby. Definitely there’s a lot of pressure, this Derby coming up.” In the next room over, Lehr’s brother and assistant David gives out a hearty laugh at this impossible understatement: there isn’t a word strong enough to describe the importance to our sport of an injury-free Kentucky Derby.

In the 2006 Breeders’ Cup – the sixth championship event held at Churchill, to be followed by the seventh in 2010 – four Number 1 horses came in on the dirt: Dreaming of Anna, Round Pond, Street Sense, and Thor’s Echo. Lehr was publicly accused by handicappers – but not the horsemen, who felt the surface was fair – of having speeded up the rail. “If I was that good I could make a certain horse, every horse, win all day long, I’d be Houdini, you know? I’m a big boy so it doesn’t worry me.”

Still, he bristles, “Like I did that on purpose?

That really bothered me. But that’s why I’m on about four different blood pressure medicines right now, because of those kinds of things.” The next year, five #7 horses came in on Derby Day, including Street Sense.

What can you do?

The post position fiasco of that Breeders’ Cup was overshadowed by the breakdowns of Pine Island and Fleet Indian in the Distaff.

As the first ones to alert the equine ambulance to any mishap, Lehr’s team took a lot of flak after an ambulance attended only to Pine Island (who was euthanased), neglecting the other mare (who would be saved for a broodmare). Clearly, the incident is not one Lehr enjoys rehashing. “That was caused by our state veterinarian. We had two ambulances in place. We responded with the first one. They had staffing changes and told our guy that we had operating, ‘Don’t move until I get here.’ I kept calling for the second ambulance, and the guy said, ‘The attendant’s not here.’ He kept saying it. I said, ‘Hell with them, come on, we’ll get another [attendant]!’ My guy that we had on that was a little passive, so we made a change after that. ‘If that happens ever again,’ I told them, ‘if there’s a car in the way, push it out of the way.’

“That was a big mix-up that shouldn’t have happened, but it was caused by our state veterinarians and they didn’t want to take the heat. They tried to put it on us, make us look like we didn’t have another ambulance.

That’s bull. I was really mad about that, because we’ve always had two.” Another failsafe that backfired was that the racing commission had nixed a private trauma team Lehr used to have on hand on big days in the

BUTCH LEHR2.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

19:39

Page 6

BUTCH LEHR

event that something were to “overwhelm” them. Lehr is “still upset about that. Scott Bennett,” whose Shelbyville veterinary facility is the closest major equine clinic to Churchill, “was there the day that happened [with Pine Island and Fleet Indian], and I couldn’t use him.”

During his tenure at Churchill Downs, Lehr has seen all but one of the track records at distances still run broken. Does he believe that Secretariat’s 1:59 2/5 track and Derby record will ever be lowered? “We came close with Monarchos,” he says. “Spend a Buck was close. When Monarchos came close, that year I got criticised for the track being too fast, and then afterwards, [Monarchos’ trainer] John Ward came to me and said, ‘You know, that horse is capable of running like that.’ I can’t stop them from running. If another Secretariat ever shows up, he’ll blow that track record away, because this track is better now than it was then. All the conventional distances we’ve run, other than the Derby’s, have been broken, so I think that says more for Secretariat.”

Lehr is quick to add, “I don’t judge the track by the track records, but if I’m doing my job they’re going to run their record time.

Every time they say our track was like a highway or the Indianapolis 500, those people don’t know what they’re talking about, because even if our track was rolled down with a roller, you can take your finger and stick it in, because it’s like a rubber pad.

“I believe today our track’s probably maintained as good as it’s ever been. A lot of people say, ‘They always speed it up for Derby Day.’ Well, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that most of the time we’re running maidens and claimers. All of a sudden on Derby Day, every race you’ve got stakes-calibre horses. It’s the horse, the quality of the horse! If I’m doing my job right and the weather’s perfect, they’re going to run their record time if you’ve got world-class horses. I wish we had our racecard like that every day.”

Lehr unhesitatingly identifies his favorite Kentucky Derby as Secretariat’s record-setting romp in 1973. But others stand out in his mind, among them Winning Colors, who returned to the scene of her victory to lose by a nose to Personal Ensign in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff; and Alysheba. “He almost went down two or three times. I’m glad I didn’t see any of that during the race. I didn’t realise it till about two days later, because I never had a chance to sit down and watch it.” A year later, Alysheba won the Breeders’ Cup Classic in the dark at Churchill, and as Lehr remembers, “We had to make an announcement, no flash photography. Oh God, we might as well have told everybody to start taking pictures!

Everybody did it. It was unbelievable and weird to see all those flashes going off.”

Peering into his crystal ball, Lehr sees retirement in the near future. “I think these young guys need to take over,” he says.

“They look at me now like I’m from outer space when I tell them I’ve been here 42 years.” He has been a fixture at Churchill so long that when he recently cleared out his pop-up directory of phone numbers, it was decimated by the removal of people who had passed away. “I mean, daaaaamn!” he says with a forlorn laugh. “I remember when I was the kid.”

Having witnessed so many Kentucky Derbies as an employee, will he get to watch his first Derby in the clubhouse instead of waiting to count the finishers and direct the winner towards the coveted Derby Winner’s Circle, once he’s retired? “If they’ll let me in!”

Lehr says, with a tinge of surprise, “I’m still here at Churchill.

It’s amazing to me after I think about it, but I tell everybody that if you work hard enough, you can make it. And I think [my brother David and I] both had a reputation of working hard, so that’s how come we were always given a little more responsibility as we went and…here we are.”

After 27 years and counting as the most high-profile racetrack superintendent in the business, Butch Lehr was never really the frog in danger of being swallowed by that stork. I

ISSUE 31 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com 57

CALVIN BOREL ISSUE 31 new:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

21:16

Page 1

PROFILE

CALVIN BOREL A brother in arms

58 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 31

CALVIN BOREL ISSUE 31 new:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

21:16

Page 2

CALVIN BOREL

Calvin Borel wins his third Kentucky Derby on Super Saver

ISSUE 31 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com 59

CALVIN BOREL ISSUE 31 new:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

21:16

Page 3

PROFILE

S

HOULD Peb have to redo Borel’s hands and fingers five more times before all is said and done, the true-to-life, cat-that-got-thecream grin on his face could never be bigger.

A fan favorite at his primary home base of Churchill in Louisville, Kentucky, a chorus of people yells “Calvin!” each time he threads his way from jock’s room to paddock to racetrack and, very often, the winner’s circle. The most vocal cries come from the children, and he gives them a smile or a wave when he notices them. “I love the kids,” he says.

Perhaps children are drawn to him because Borel represents a youthful innocence: he so clearly loves what he does, showing up to the office every day with a smile, that it’s easy to root for him. He is also living proof that with good influences, natural talent, and a lot of hard work, success is possible.

The world in which he lives now is far removed from that in which he was born, on a sugar cane farm in St. Martinsville, Louisiana, to a family without much beyond each other and what they could get by the labour of their own hands. One particular evening forty years into his life, after father Clovis was gone but while mother Ella was still alive to see their son’s first Kentucky Derby win, marks how much he has achieved: at a White House state dinner, then-Secretary of State Colin Powell was so fascinated by the jockey that he pulled up a chair and quizzed him until Powell’s wife came to remind her husband to mingle with the President and the Queen.

Although it was something of a fairytale for Calvin and his wife Lisa, that starchedcollar event was not really his style. He felt more at home ringing the bell with Mine That Bird’s trainer Chip Woolley at the New York Stock Exchange in June, 2009.

“It’s me,” he says of the atmosphere. It’s “go, go, go, go!” He stayed, mesmerised, for some two hours watching the activity on the floor.

Borel rides in most races on any given card. He comes into the paddock at a trot, usually the last to arrive, but always with a smile. It doesn’t matter to him if his mount is a $5,000 claimer or the favorite in a Grade 1 – he is happy where he is. For him, horses are, he says, “a disease.” “It’s worse than drugs or smoking, but I thrive on it. I can be down when I leave the house – you know that feelin’, tired a little bit – and get to the barn and see my horses and, it’s

60 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 31

CALVIN BOREL ISSUE 31 new:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

21:16

Page 4

CALVIN BOREL

Calvin Borel’s portrayal on the mural of Kentucky Derby-winning jockeys at Churchill Downs, painted by the renowned artist Pierre “Peb” Bellocq, had already undergone minor surgery in 2009, when the jockey followed up a 2007 Derby on Street Sense with a win aboard Mine That Bird. His caricature was modified then to hold up two fingers, but in 2010, after Super Saver charged up the rail to give Borel his third Derby, Peb rearranged his left hand to show three fingers.By Frances J. Karon unbelievable, it’ll fix me up.”

He’s all smiles when he wins, and when he loses, he talks to himself, frustrated, all the way back to the jock’s room, where his nephew Shane (an exercise rider and son of Borel’s middle brother Carroll) will have everything laid out to prepare for his next ride.

On the stand side of the racetrack, he is Calvin “Bo-rail”; but on the backside, he is just Boo, short for Boo Boo. As the sun rises and casts an orange haze through the humid morning fog at Churchill, Jerry Hissam, the agent who has handled Calvin’s book since March of 1991, waits behind the wheel of a golf cart at trainer Cecil Borel’s barn.

The leisurely clop, clop of hooves ringing out on the pavement signals the return of the jockey, crop tucked under his right arm. Calvin pats the horse on the neck as he dismounts and has a word with his brother Cecil before joining Hissam, who makes the introduction.

Calvin shakes hands with an unsurprisingly firm grip. “Ma’am,” he says with a polite nod of his head, the unbuckled chin strap moving in rhythm and again as the golf cart lurches forward to their next stop. He is clean-cut, in a gray-and-white rugby striped polo shirt tucked into jeans pulled over a pair of polished black boots.

He takes a sip of soda and disappears into a barn, reemerging on a dark bay to breeze for trainer Bob Holthus.

The morning workload is light today;

“I can be down when I leave the house – you know that feelin’, tired a little bit – and get to the barn and see my horses and, it’s unbelievable, it’ll fix me up”

ISSUE 31 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com 61

CALVIN BOREL ISSUE 31 new:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

21:16

Page 5

PROFILE

Cecil Borel (right) has been the driving force behind his brother ’s success

Hissam has canceled a turf work in anticipation of the previous night’s rain closing the grass course. During the renovation break, they go to the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association office on the backstretch for a cup of coffee and spend a few minutes joking with the regulars. Borel laughs, signs photos, then settles down at the desk to concentrate over a Daily Racing Form, tuning out the conversation.

He gives up his seat on the passenger side when they leave the office, crouching instead on the back as if he were riding a horse, singing under his breath, and Hissam chauffeurs him to Cecil’s barn for a leg up on an unraced two-year-old. Now that training hours have begun to wind down, the agent’s phone starts ringing. Hissam

flips through a condition book and makes notes in the margins or on a notepad.

During their first year together, Calvin rode the Clarence Picou-trained Free Spirit’s Joy to win the 1991 Super DerbyG1 at odds of 28-1. Two years later, they took the Arkansas Derby-G2 on Rockamundo, paying $218. Add to that three Kentucky Derbies, and Hissam says, “You just can’t dream these things. There’s only two words to describe us: we’re blessed. There is no other way to put it into words.”

Calvin returns from a gate work with Cecil’s colt and confers with his brother about the schooling session. Their Cajun accent is as thick as a bowl of gumbo; to the unpracticed ear, it can be difficult to follow along when they talk, fast, between themselves. Both use animated arm movements to punctuate their words.

“You wouldn’t imagine how proud I am.

But he deserves a lot, let me tell you what.

That sucker went through hell” Cecil Borel

62 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 31

Hissam points at them from a distance.

“What [Calvin] loves about the game is the mornings. He likes the competitiveness of the afternoons too but it’s like what he and his brother are over there talking about right now, that little two-year-old he got off of – he loves to see ‘em develop and make ‘em do what’s right and correct what’s wrong.”

That description fits the relationship his brother has with him, too. At 12 years Calvin’s senior and the next youngest of five boys, Cecil took him in and with his wife Debbie raised his younger sibling after Calvin left school permanently in 8th Grade, while recuperating from an injury sustained in a $25 match race at Cajun Downs in Louisiana. Calvin, a veteran of unsanctioned bush league match races from the age of eight – and of many a young boy’s imaginary Derbies, substituting the arm of a sofa for a horse – was destined to make history, not read about it.

Cecil, in a button-down plaid shirt, is slightly taller than Calvin and is, like his brother, an electricity-charged blur of motion. “My daddy raised us that when he opened the door at four o’clock in the morning we were right up his ass, and we had to go to work. If you didn’t go to work, you found that size 8 [shoe] up your

CALVIN BOREL ISSUE 31 new:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

21:16

Page 6

CALVIN BOREL

behind. So we had one of two choices: we had slim or none,” Cecil says.

This philosophy explains why a threetime Kentucky Derby-winning jockey and the regular rider of champion two-year-old colt Street Sense and, currently, of reigning Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra (on whom he won the Preakness, Kentucky Oaks, Woodward, Haskell Invitational, and Mother Goose in 2009), Mine That Bird, and Super Saver, is often at his brother’s barn wielding a pitchfork or hosing poultice off a horse’s legs during early hours.

“I had a good guide,” Calvin says. “Cecil and Debbie, they were like my mom and dad when I left home, so that helped a lot.

They kept me away from drugs, saved all my money, and just did the right things. It was either his way or the doorway. I owe a lot to my brother. He means a lot in my life.

He means everything.”

Cecil, a jockey in the ’70s before taking out his trainer’s license, is more outwardly gruff than Calvin. Is he proud of his baby brother? “Oh I’m proud of him. Long as he keeps workin’ I’m proud of him. When he quits workin’, I ain’t proud of him.”

He has been raking his shedrow while talking, a blue comb peering out of his left back pocket – the comb will give way to a racing programme in the afternoon – but now, he stops and stands still, leaning on the handle of his rake. “You know, you hear so many people say that they don’t get a

chance in life. Life is what you make out of it. That’s the way we live. We ain’t had much – I guarantee you. We don’t have book smarts but we worked, and every one of us had a good life, all five brothers. It just burns me when people say they don’t have a chance. Everybody has a chance but you’ve gotta pay your dues. You have to work.

“See, the good part about him is like even after he win the first Derby, he still ain’t stopped workin’,” continues Cecil. “That’s how come everything keeps falling in its place. If he’d have stopped and went to drinking or doing drugs, he’d be back to zero. I can tell you a lot of boys from back home – I’m talkin’ about good raceriders – once they got to a certain level – poof!, they fall off the wagon. And that stuff, that’s one thing he never did and I never let him do.

We lived so far back in the woods he couldn’t find nothin’ anyway.”

Cecil draws an absentminded circular pattern in the dirt with the rake, his eyes red and watery, betraying a soft spot. It’s clear that he has been a great driving force behind Calvin’s success, and he feels it strongly, paternally. “You wouldn’t imagine how proud I am. But he deserves a lot, let me tell you what. That sucker went through hell.”

The jockey’s rise has been a steady, continual upward movement. His first win at an official pari-mutuel track – there’s no

Borel always spares time to talk to the younger race fans

telling how many bush league match races he won – was as a 16-year-old at Delta Downs in Louisiana on January 14, 1983, aboard the three-year-old filly Dancing Jas, making weight at 107 pounds and paying $33. His first black-type stakes win came at the same racecourse that October, with Hye Dickran in the Gulf Coast Handicap, and he ended the season with 158 winners.

Nineteen-eighty-four had a promising beginning, with the jockey winning two stakes races on a single card at Delta and another within a week. But then, on May 25, 1984, came the “hell.” The day started with a win in the first race at Evangeline Downs. Calvin went postward in the second on $7,500 claimer Miss Touchdown, trained by Cecil, and when a hole closed up on them going into the final turn, was in a terrible spill. “We thought we was gonna lose him,” says Cecil; his 17year-old brother had lost his spleen and was in a coma for over a week. “We were scared. But he bounced back.”

When Calvin returned on September 2, his third ride back was on Miss Touchdown. They finished 11th, but he won the following day on Cecil’s Intuit.

Calvin did take Miss Touchdown to the winner’s circle by the end of the month, one of his six wins on her after their spill.

The jockey won his first-ever graded race in 1988, on Darby’s Daughter in Aqueduct’s Miss Grillo S-G2. In addition to his four classic wins, he has won a Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and Travers with Street Sense and additional Grade 1s on Gourmet Girl; Grand Couturier; Free Spirit’s Joy; Halo America; K One King; Lady Joanne; Rachel Alexandra; and Seek Gold (at 91-1).

His graded winners in 2010 are Atta Boy Roy, Ailalea, Dubious Miss, Freedom Star, Hurricane Ike, Rachel Alexandra, Seeking the Title, and Super Saver.

Together, Cecil and Calvin have won two graded events, both at Oaklawn Park: the 1989 Count Fleet Sprint H.-G2 on Twice Around, and Essex H.-G3 on Relic Reward. Most recently, they took the King Cotton S., also at Oaklawn, with Cosmic in February, one of their 416 wins together.

Calvin’s trademark is his fearless, railhugging style, and it’s fair to say that none of his accidents have had an adverse affect on his nerve. But the missing spleen remains problematic. Today, just visible below the rim of his helmet, above his right eyebrow, is a fresh scar, a reminder of the hazards of being a jockey. He spent three days in the hospital in May due to a staph infection over that eye, missing one day of riding. Within a week of returning to the saddle, he scored his milestone 1,000th Churchill victory, second only to Pat Day. Oaklawn and Churchill have both adopted Calvin as one of their own. But there’s no question that it’s his big race

ISSUE 31 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com 63

CALVIN BOREL ISSUE 31 new:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

21:16

Page 7

PROFILE

success at Churchill that moved him to the level of superstar. Wherever he goes, it seems there are people wanting a picture with or autograph from him. He always tries to oblige them, but it can get overwhelming, too. He got a taste of paparazzi frenzy in Washington, D.C. “I wouldn’t want to be no, I’ll tell you what, no Michael Jordan. I see why those people go crazy!” He laughs.

Jerry Hissam says, “One of his cutest little sayings now is, ‘All I ever wanted to do was win the Derby!’”

As he does so often, Calvin laughs.

“That’s all I wanted to do! But nooo,” he says with a shake of his head and a smile, “I wouldn’t give ‘em back.” Each Derby victory has been amazing: “It’s one feeling of a kind.” His televised post-race interviews are memorable for his whooping and hollering and tears – for most of us, experiencing Calvin’s emotions is as close as we’ll get to feeling the rush of a Derby win of our own.

Fifteen minutes of fame is a given at Calvin’s level of success, but add to that that he is such a positive role model and an all-around well-liked guy by racefans, bettors, and – perhaps the sternest litmus of all – racetrackers, that fame is bound to linger beyond a lifetime, like a name etched on a coveted trophy.

Criticism? As a public figure, he has not gone unscathed in this department. People point to his record at Belmont Park –

“I’ve achieved a lot in my life and it’s hard to ask for something else, and if it happens it happens, if it doesn’t it doesn’t. I just want to stay safe, but I’d love to win 5,000 and be in the Hall of Fame” where he finished third in the Belmont on favorite Mine That Bird – or his emotionally-charged post-Derby Triple Crown predictions.

But the simple fact is that he has won multiple riding titles at seven individual tracks in three states, and scored a Kentucky Derby by 6¾ lengths on 50-1 shot Mine That Bird so seamlessly that the pair eluded racecaller Tom Durkin’s attention until the race was all but over.

The simple fact is that he handles the press and the public graciously and politely, with a purity of emotion that makes him relatable. And more than anything, the simple fact is that Calvin Borel, with class and humility, represents the greatest kind of American success story.

At age 43, Calvin has never been riding higher. Thoughts of retirement factor nowhere into his immediate future, and with 4,793 wins through July 4, 2010, there is something in his sights: “I want to get to 5,000. That’s my goal. I’ve achieved a lot in my life and it’s hard to ask for something

Calvin and Cecil in the paddock with Janelle Gr um’s Ready to Score

64 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 31

else, and if it happens it happens, if it doesn’t it doesn’t. I just want to stay safe, but I’d love to win 5,000 and be in the Hall of Fame.”

His travels have taken him and Lisa to the nation’s capitol; to the late-night sets of Jay Leno and David Letterman; to Japan – where he competed in the annual World Super Jockey Series and won the first of four races in the challenge.

The jockey has collected riding titles at seven racecourses, with multiple titles at many. This July, with 52 wins, he captured his first-ever spring title at Churchill, bringing his horses home at a rate of 26.8%.

He has also received the Mr. Fitz Award, an honor bestowed by members of the National Turf Writers Association, and the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award, voted on by his peers – both these awards indicating how well-respected he is by those who work with him. Cecil and Debbie stood alongside him and Lisa at Santa Anita when he accepted the Woolf award.

Finished for the morning and en route to the jockey’s room to await the races, Calvin crosses to a neighbouring barn at a request to sign another autograph, still wearing his helmet, his black safety vest unzipped.

Hissam shakes his head as he watches him walk away. “Ain’t a better person walking on two feet than that boy right there.”

Despite everywhere he’s been and everything he’s done, the journey of Calvin Borel’s lifetime may just have been returning home to Louisiana. Way down south, deep in Bayou country, a little to the north of where the Borels were born, the world-famous jockey was honoured at the Catahoula Christmas parade in 2009.

Family, old friends, and strangers alike turned out to welcome their native son with homemade “Boo” and “Boo Boo” signs in their yards and along the parade route.

This road sign was unveiled, so that any visitor to these parts will know the pride they have in one of their own: WELCOME TO CATAHOULA HOME OF CALVIN “BOO BOO” BOREL TWO TIME KENTUCKY DERBY WINNER Presumably, by now somebody has tacked a “THREE” on the sign to catch everyone up to speed. I

CALVIN BOREL ISSUE 31 new:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

21:16

Page 8

THE GREAT DEBATE ISSUE 31.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

17:33

Page 1

IN FOCUS

IN FOCUS

Are synthetic surfaces the future?

Darrell Vienna and Eoin Harty discuss

Darrell Vienna currently serves as Southern California vice president of California Thoroughbred Trainers, and is a former board member of the California Horsemen's Benevolent & Protective Association. He has trained in California since 1976.

66 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 31

Eoin Harty is a fifth-generation trainer from Ireland who lives in Southern California.

He has trained champion two-year-old filly Tempera, Dubai World Cup winner Well Armed, and Travers winner Colonel John.

THE GREAT DEBATE ISSUE 31.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

17:33

Page 2

SYNTHETIC SURFACES

Horses training on the synthetic surface at Hollywood Park

ISSUE 31 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com 67

THE GREAT DEBATE ISSUE 31.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

17:33

Page 3

IN FOCUS

The Synthetic Argument

“Facts are stubborn things, but statistics are more pliable”

Author unknown

by Darrell Vienna

H

ORSEMEN want to race and train their horses upon the safest and kindest surface possible, whether a synthetic surface or natural soil. In search of that ideal, many were drawn to reports of the virtues of synthetic racing surfaces.

In California, trainers had been going through a few terrible years (2004-2007) with horse fatalities rising to new heights. A clamor arose from California horsemen calling for improved track surface conditions.

A synthetic surface had been installed at Turfway Park in August, 2005, and by early 2006 installation of synthetic surfaces were scheduled for Woodbine Race Course, Keeneland, and Hollywood Park. Early reports were promising. Turfway Park reported a stunning drop in horse casualties after installing a new synthetic track.

In May of 2006, the California Horse Racing Board conditioned licensing of major race meets upon installation of a “polymer synthetic type racing surface” by January 1, 2008.

The purpose of this mandate requiring all of California’s major tracks to switch from dirt to engineered surfaces was to reduce injuries.

Interestingly, each of California's four major racetracks ended up with a different synthetic surface. Hollywood Park chose Cushion Track; Del Mar opted for Polytrack®; Golden Gate Fields went with TapetaTM; and Santa Anita finished with a hybrid mixture of Cushion Track and ProRide.

Shortly after California's major tracks completed installation of these new engineered surfaces, Turfway Park reported a 100% increase in on-track fatalities from 2007 to 2008.

This spike in on-track fatalities on the

previously touted synthetic surface baffled track officials, state veterinarians, and horsemen.

The first reported chink in the synthetic armor had appeared. As horsemen began empirically amassing experience with these new surfaces, dissatisfaction began to rise.

The synthetic surfaces, although distinct from each other, both in design and composition seemed to follow the same trajectory. Initially, they worked well in reducing fatalities and injuries. Although horses took some time to adapt to the new footing, injuries lessened noticeably. As these new surfaces aged; however, fatalities began to rise and new types of injuries developed and increased.

The California Horse Racing Board published statistics in their 2008 Annual Report indicating the fatality rate per thousand starts in fiscal year 2007-08 was significantly lower on synthetic surfaces than on dirt. Unfortunately, this conclusion

The Synthetic Facts

by Eoin Harty

T

HE utmost concern of all trainers is the safety and soundness of their horses, but the trainers at Santa Anita have not been in agreement on the racing surface in the 27 years that I’ve been here. The prodirt argument is calling for “newly designed natural soils,” indicating that the common denominator of agreement is that the old dirt surfaces are unacceptable. We have a newly designed surface, and we should consider only the science and the facts when determining which surface is superior with regard to safety, handle and public perception.

A review of the data from North American racetracks, as supported by Equibase, shows unequivocally that racing fatalities have dropped dramatically at every track that switched from dirt to synthetic.

Combined fatality numbers per 1,000 starts at Arlington, Keeneland, Turfway and Woodbine dropped from 1.82 on dirt to 0.95 on synthetic, while the number of starters increased at each one of them, making the results quite compelling.

High speed videos were done by the Welfare and Safety of the Horse Summit

68 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 31

which showed the foot slide on dirt to be between six to twelve inches. On a properly maintained synthetic track, it averages three inches. Slide magnifies conformational faults and exaggerates forces on limbs.

This is simple physics. If a horse toes in or out, there is an increase in torque on the medial or lateral aspect of the limb as the foot slides. A decrease in slide also decreases the hyper-extension of the fetlock because breakover is quicker. This is why we do not see the catastrophic suspensory apparatus failures on synthetics that we see on dirt. We also see less heal bruising, ostensibly showing there is less force being applied to the lower limb. Synthetic tracks are more evenly level than dirt tracks after heavy traffic, resulting in significant improvement in stability and energy absorption.

The field spread has diminished by one third and winning margins have decreased on synthetics tracks, indicating that there are more horses competitively getting over the surface well. The integrity of engineered tracks in wet weather is another aspect of their safety for horses and jockeys.

At the University of California at Davis, Dr. Sue Stover directed a study on hoof acceleration and ground force reaction on

dirt, turf, and synthetic surfaces, and came to this conclusion: “The relatively low hoof accelerations, vibrations, and peak ground force reactions associated with the synthetic surface evaluated in the present study indicated that synthetic surfaces have potential for injury reduction in Thoroughbred racehorses.”

The assertion that synthetic tracks experience more injuries and fatalities as they age is not supported by any valid data.

Turfway Park saw a drastic reduction in fatalities immediately upon its installation of Polytrack and in subsequent years the total per meet has never approached the levels previously seen on dirt. After five years, it is still performing very well, so the synthetic experiment at Turfway – a year-round facility with no turf course or training track – has been extraordinarily successful considering its age and the amount of use it has experienced.

The racetrack is not always the primary cause of break downs on either dirt or synthetic, but it’s often trainer mismanagement, and partly, the business model of our industry which treats horses as a commodity. The Career Ending Did Not Finish (CEDNF) study for the 2008 racing year commissioned by the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association found

THE GREAT DEBATE ISSUE 31.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

17:33

Page 4

SYNTHETIC SURFACES

was extraordinarily misleading. Included in the 77 racing fatalities reported on dirt during that period were 50 deaths attributed to Los Alamitos Race Course.

Absent the inclusion of these 50 deaths which occurred primarily to quarter horses racing on a 5/8-mile oval, the statistics would not have cast a favorable light on the synthetics.

In California, the comparison between pre-synthetic fatalities and post-synthetic fatalities are continually based on comparisons from 2004-2007 (presynthetic) against 2007-2009 (postsynthetic). The figures show a slight decrease in racing or training related horse fatalities subsequent to the installation of synthetic surfaces. However, if the comparison is based upon 1999-2007 (pre-synthetic) against 2007-2009 (post-synthetic), the annual averages show that racing and training fatalities have increased since the installation of synthetic surfaces.

Leaving the interpretation of figures behind, horsemen were reporting increased hind leg injuries and new types of injuries, which, while not fatal, were oftentimes, career ending.

A report presented by the University of

California Postmortem Examination Program for the year 2008 supported the experience of the horsemen when it documented a significant increase in the proportion of rear limb injuries to the total number of musculoskeletal injuries seen in previous years.

In recent polls conducted by the California Thoroughbred Trainers, the association representing California thoroughbred trainers, the trainers have voted 2 to 1 against retaining these synthetic surfaces. The majority has called for the installation of newly designed natural soil surfaces.

What must be considered is that these horsemen are not selling a product. Unlike the sellers of the synthetic surfaces, no profit motive influences their perception.

Nor do they gain an edge by engaging in the selective interpretation of data.

Horsemen’s highest and sole concern is for the safety and longevity of the racing lives of their horses. Their conclusion based upon personal experience rather than unvalidated pseudo-statistical analysis, is that these engineered surfaces have fallen far short of the promise and that natural soils will most likely provide a gentler, kinder, surface for training and racing.

over 78% of career-ending injuries had Claiming or Maiden Claiming race types.

Short routes had higher indexes, as did horses that went off at odds greater than 20-1. Two and three-year-old horses had lower indexes than older horses Horses that made their first start as two-year-olds also had lower indexes.

These findings can also be overinterpreted, but the most important aspect of protecting horses is sound management. Still, any tool that facilitates horses’ health should be welcomed by horsemen, and the overall improvement of injury rates on synthetics must be considered a positive contribution to racing conditions.

The perception that career-ending soft tissue injuries have increased with the advent of engineered surfaces is not validated by Equibase data over the past ten years. Records show that the percentage of horses that returned to the track before the end of the year after a race or recorded workout has held steady throughout the decade. A look at Del Mar shows that from 2000 to 2009, a consistent average of 84% of horses returned to the track and the national average has also remained steady at 78.5%.

Perceptions of a higher attrition rate may be attributed to other factors, as one industry

insider put it, “I tend to think that memories are short and that the immediate creates more of an impression than the historical. I think it is particularly true when horsemen don't have a bench to draw on, as may have been the case in better economic times.

Simply put, the loss of a horse in training is more painful now than perhaps it was ten years ago.”

The Thoroughbred Times article “Cushion to recession’s blow,” published on February 20th, reported this: that a “review of pari-mutuel handle at the eight North American tracks that switched from dirt to synthetic surfaces reveals these tracks have increased handle 1.28% since making the change.” Fewer injuries have increased field sizes and benefitted handle; evidently, bettors have not abandoned wagering on synthetics, even during a recession.

Wherever possible around the country, I stable at synthetic tracks because they have been an indisputable benefit to the soundness of my horses. Those of us at Santa Anita who take this position have no agenda other than the welfare of our horses.

While we still have much to learn about synthetics and the many factors surrounding injuries, the data can help us make wiser decisions.

ISSUE 31 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com 69

THE GREAT DEBATE ISSUE 31.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

17:33

Page 5

IN FOCUS

The Synthetic Rebuttal

by Darrell Vienna

T

HE claim of my friend, Eoin Harty, that the “common denominator of agreement” in our positions is that “old dirt surfaces are unacceptable” is a misstatement. The true common denominator among horsemen is a deep and abiding desire to race and train their horses on the safest surfaces.

All dirt surfaces are not the same and all synthetic surfaces are not the same. Some synthetic surfaces are safer than some natural surfaces and some natural surfaces are safer than some synthetic surfaces. General statements about dirt and synthetic surfaces must be tempered by an underlying understanding that such generalizations are of little or no value.

It is also not particularly instructive to compare racing fatalities from old, tired, poorly maintained, and notoriously unsafe tracks with newly installed and engineered surfaces.

The question therefore is how to identify the safest and kindest surfaces.

70 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 31

Eoin suggests that we consider only the science and the facts. We couldn’t agree more.

It has been said that in science, “facts” are things that are confirmed to such a degree that it would be perverse to withhold provisional assent. The issue here is to determine whether the safety of synthetic tracks has been proven to the point where it would be unreasonable to hold to the contrary.

The primary assertion of the prosynthetic advocates is that racing fatalities have dropped at every track that switched from dirt to synthetic. Assuming, for the sake of argument, that this statement is correct, a scientific approach requires a determination as to whether there any other variables apart from the change in surface contributing to or resulting in the findings.

There appear to be other variables involved. For example, in California, concomitant with the introduction of the synthetic surfaces, every potential starter was subjected to a heightened level of prerace inspection that included hands-on scrutiny by highly qualified equine veterinary practitioners. Any horse with even the slightest hint of unsoundness was not permitted to race.

The evidence seems to indicate that pre-race scrutiny is, in fact, a substantial variable.

Statistics published by the University of California, Davis and the California Horse Racing Board show that while racing fatalities dropped on synthetic surfaces, training fatalities increased.

Is heightened pre-race scrutiny, rather than the switch to a synthetic surface, the controlling variable?

According to a

2009 Associated Press report on track fatalities in all racing states, the biggest improvement was reported in Louisiana where fatalities were reduced by a whopping 41%. No Louisiana racetrack had changed to a synthetic surface. Dr. Tom David, Louisiana’s Equine Medical Director, attributed the change to a new pre-race examination program. The largest drop in horse fatalities in the United States resulted not from a change in surface but from a change in pre-race examination procedures.

In California, the synthetic surface experience of an overwhelming majority of thoroughbred trainers has led them to call for the installation of natural soil surfaces. Many trainers have expressed the notion that while the number of injuries have remained relatively constant between dirt and synthetic, the type of injury horses are experiencing on the synthetic surfaces are more devastating.

How can the experience of the majority of horsemen differ so markedly from what is reportedly the “science”?

Scientific findings cannot be trusted if they have not appeared in peer-reviewed journals. Until such publication, carefully tailored interpretations emanating from groups sponsored by the purveyors of synthetic tracks must be considered suspect.

This is not to claim that all the interpretations coming from these groups or individuals are bogus. In what appears to be more “selling” than “science” the pro-synthetic advocates selectively use data, obscure or ignore contradictory data, and relentlessly promote the selected favorable data.

It is not the time to support a particular surface but to reasonably and fairly conduct an objective, unbiased evaluation of what nature and science have to offer. There was a rush to judgment to install the synthetic tracks.

Now there is a push to judgment to validate the synthetic tracks. Until such time as the science is validated, the unsubstantiated claims must not be weighted over the rationally based observation of horsemen.

It is foolhardy to ignore their experience and to adopt conclusions based on statistics selectively chosen and pervasively promoted by the selfinterested. I

THE GREAT DEBATE ISSUE 31.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

17:33

Page 6

cancer issue 31.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

20:44

Page 1

VETERINARY

THE BIG ‘C’

Racehorses can suffer from a nearly endless list of different types of cancer. The term ‘cancer’ is not actually a single disease but encompasses a group of diseases in which the normal mechanisms of cell growth and death are disturbed.

It is fortunate that the majority of common equ ine cancers are benign because the success rate of treating malignant cancers in horses is very low. This article will discuss the most common types of cancer in the racehorse.

By James Tate BVMS MRCVS What is cancer?

In normal healthy tissue, damage is repaired by new cell growth which stops when the damaged cells have been replaced.

However, in cancers, there is a transformation of normal body cells into cancer cells, whose growth is unregulated

leading to the formation of tumours.

The transformation of a normal cell into a cancer cell involves a change in the cell’s genetic make-up – its deoxyribonucleic acid or ‘DNA.’ The exact cause of this change is unknown but it is probably a result of the faulty repair of damage to the cell, which

can be caused by a number of things.

Certain cancers have been linked to viruses, whilst others are thought to have a genetic link. In addition, high incidences of cancer can also be linked to high doses of ionising radiation or certain carcinogenic agents (the most well known examples of which in

Doyoun, winner of the 2,000 Guineas and sire of champions such as Daylami and Kalanisi, died of intestinal cancer aged 17. Whil e cancer is not as common in horses as in other species, it is still a frequent killer of older horses

72 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 31

cancer issue 31.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

20:44

Page 2

CANCER

human medicine are tobacco smoke and asbestos).

These altered cells pass on inappropriate genetic information to their progeny cells and begin to reproduce and multiply in an abnormal and destructive way. As the cancer cells continue to multiply, they form a growing mass of abnormal tissue called a tumour. These tumours can be benign, which means that they are not growing quickly and they will not spread to other parts of the body, or they can be malignant, which is much more serious. As the malignant tumour grows, it ulcerates and begins to shed cells that spread the disease locally or to distant sites. Locally, this spread or ‘metastasis’ occurs by the invasion of cells into neighbouring tissues, destroying and displacing normal cells and taking their place. However, cancerous cells can also enter the blood or lymphatic vessels and so be carried to other parts of the body.

Diagnosis If a tumour starts to form near the surface of the body then the cancer can be picked up quite early on because it is visible and therefore easily detectable. However, if the cancer is deep within the body – in the chest or abdomen, for example – then it is not usually detected until the tumour starts to impede the horse’s vital functions. In both circumstances, lumps and associated lymph nodes are either biopsied or removed for examination under the microscope to search for abnormal cancer cells which identify the individual cancer.

Treatment Although the treatment options for equine cancer are similar to that of human medicine – surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy – the frontline therapy for cancer in horses is surgery. However, the treatment of specific cancers often depends upon the type and location of the cancer.

For example, a skin tumour can be removed surgically or have substances applied to it or injected into it whereas tumours deep within the chest or abdomen are hard to access and treat. Hopefully, all the cancer research that is being undertaken in human medicine will eventually be carried across into the treatment of cancer in horses as regrettably, unless the tumour is benign or detected at a very early stage, the long-term prognosis for most horses with a serious cancer is poor.

Papillomas or ‘warts’ Perhaps the least significant benign tumour the racehorse can get is the papilloma, which is more commonly referred to as a ‘wart.’ These are usually found in horses aged two years or less and are thought to be caused by the Equine Papillomavirus. They

A young horse with ‘papillomas’ or ‘ warts’ around its muzzle

appear quickly and can look quite unsightly but they are harmless and usually disappear in a relatively short period of time, so if they persist then the strength of the horse’s immune system should be questioned.

They are most frequently found around the horse’s face and muzzle but can also appear in other locations such as the lower leg.

Sarcoids The most common skin tumour in the horse is the sarcoid. Sarcoids are rather strange skin growths that can occur in all ages, breeds, and colours of horses and mainly affect the head and legs. The exact

cause is unknown but research strongly suggests that Bovine Papillomavirus has some involvement. Due to the fact that sarcoids often grow at sites where the horse had previously suffered a wound, it has been suggested that flies may play a part in spreading the disease, probably by passing the virus from one horse to another. As a result, work is currently being carried out to try to produce a commercial vaccine.

There are several types of sarcoid and some are more serious than others. Horses can have one inconspicuous, small sarcoid on the inside of a back leg or can be

On the left is a horse with a single, settled sarcoid just behind its right ear which was treated successfully using sarcoid cream. On the right is a horse that is severely affected by several active, growing sarcoids on the inside of its lef t stifle.

ISSUE 31 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com 73

cancer issue 31.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

20:44

Page 3

VETERINARY

On the left is a horse with a mass of several melanomas under neath its tail that caused it to have difficulty passing faeces. O n the right is a horse with a large melanoma growing from its upper eyelid.

On the left is a squamous cell carcinoma of the third eyelid. On the right is a squamous cell carcinoma of the penis (red circle).

affected by several malignant sarcoids that spread quickly and eventually result in death. A small, settled sarcoid in a place where it is not causing a problem should be left alone; however, if a sarcoid is in an important place, or if it is particularly active and growing, then treatment may be attempted. There are many treatment options which include a rubber ring to kill the root of a round nodular sarcoid, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, cryotherapy, the injection of BCG, surgery to remove the sarcoid, or the application of sarcoid cream. Fortunately, the majority of sarcoids are manageable but they are very important when it comes to pre-purchase veterinary examinations – it is impossible to predict which sarcoids will end up causing problems and so no horse with a sarcoid can completely pass a vetting.

Colic is often the first sign of abdominal cancer

Melanomas Perhaps the most well-known type of equine cancer is melanomas in grey horses, and this is because up to 80% of grey horses aged fifteen years or more have at least one melanoma. They are most frequently found underneath the tail and around the dock, but they can also occur behind the jaw, around the ear, and in the eye. Fortunately, most equine melanomas remain small and benign hence it is best to leave them alone if possible. However, sometimes even benign melanomas can cause problems by physical obstruction, such as making it difficult for the horse to pass faeces. In addition, some melanomas are malignant and can spread rapidly throughout the body, transforming into an invasive, destructive cancer and it is for this reason that so many people are reluctant to buy a grey horse with a melanoma. Surgery can be successful in the case of the removal of a

74 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 31

cancer issue 31.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

20:44

Page 4

cancer issue 31.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

20:44

Page 5

VETERINARY

usually only when the cancer begins to obstruct the intestines that the horse starts to show signs of the disease. In many cases, affected horses suffer from recurrent bouts of colic and the intervals between episodes then become shorter. However, some horses with massive cancer infiltration of their intestines can slowly become less able to absorb nutrients from their food and hence show slow but progressive weight loss, often despite eating extra feed.

A strangulating lipoma (held with forceps) is the most common cancerous cause of colic

2005 Eclipse Award-winning sprinter Lost in the F og was euthanised shortly after he was diagnosed with a splenic lymphoma in A ugust 2006, just two months af ter his last win

single tumour that is causing a physical obstruction providing that it is not malignant. However, the prognosis for horses affected by malignant melanomas is usually hopeless.

Squamous cell carcinomas The last common cancerous disease that can be found when examining a horse from the outside is the squamous cell carcinoma.

This type of cancer usually occurs at the junction between the skin and mucous membranes, for example, the eyelids, mouth, and genitals. Squamous cell carcinomas of the eye are generally found in older horses, especially if they lack eyelid pigmentation – surgery can be successful but it should be performed quickly to

76 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 31

improve the chances of a full recovery.

Squamous cell carcinomas of the genitals are also quite common, especially affecting the penis in older geldings.

Although this tumour is usually malignant, the spread of the disease occurs late in its progression and as a result surgery is often successful.

Cancers that cause colic such as strangulating lipomas Unfortunately, unlike the tumours mentioned above, cancers of the intestine and abdominal organs usually only become apparent once the disease is in an advanced state. This is because internal tumours within the abdomen can become very large without any outward sign of a problem. It is

Other abdominal cancers such as splenic lymphomas Regrettably, most abdominal tumours are not detected until they have reached an advanced stage because they are very difficult to find. As the horse is so large, modalities such as ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and computed tomography (CT) scans, which are employed in other species, often do not penetrate deeply enough to be useful.

Consequently, abdominal tumours are often only found when a horse starts to show signs of failure of an organ because the tumour has taken over so much of the organ that there is little normal tissue left.

Unfortunately, this usually means that it is too late to save the horse and this is exactly what happened to 2005 Eclipse Award-winning US sprinter Lost in the Fog. When the sad news first broke that Lost in the Fog had a splenic lymphoma, the American public could not understand how this was possible. How could such a robust four-year-old colt that had won the Grade Three Aristides Breeders’ Cup Handicap at Churchill Downs just two months earlier now be terminally ill with cancer? In fact, Lost in the Fog had three large tumours – one in his spleen, one in the ligament supporting the spleen, and one just next to his spine. It was impossible to know how long the tumours had been growing but they must have been there when he won his last race on 3rd June 2006.

Sex hormone related cancers Sex hormone related cancers are not uncommon and there is a ‘textbook’ example for both sexes. A rig or cryptorchid refers to a male horse with only one descended testicle. If the horse is young, for example, less than two years old, then it may yet descend. However, if the testicle never descends, then it is probably located in the horse’s abdomen and this puts it at a higher risk than normal of cancer because the temperature in the abdomen is higher than the temperature in the scrotum where the testicle is meant to be located.

Laparoscopic abdominal surgery to remove the testicle usually cures the problem unless the cancer is malignant and has spread.

cancer issue 31.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

20:44

Page 6

cancer issue 31.qxd:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

20:44

Page 7

VETERINARY

A splenic lymphoma (circled) similar to that found in Lost in the F og

“Abdominal tumours are often only found when a horse starts to show signs of failure of an organ because the tumour has taken over so much of the organ that there is little normal tissue left. Unfortunately, this usually means that it is too late to save the horse�

Cancerous cells not only display abnormal growth but the function of the new cells can also be abnormal. An example of this is a mare with an ovarian tumour known as an equine granulosa cell tumour which produces excessive levels of testosterone. This male hormone, normally present in very low levels in mares, leads to stallion-like behaviour and aggression

towards other horses. Fortunately, this particular type of cancer is usually treatable via removal of the cancerous ovary, and the mare returns to normal after surgery.

Keratomas By far the most common tumour of the equine musculoskeletal system is the

On the left is an x-ray of a horse with a k eratoma. The keratoma was removed surgically at Glasgow University and the photograph on the right was tak en immediately afterwards

78 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 31

The undescended testicle of a rig is prone to becoming cancerous because it is k ept at a higher temperature than in the scrotum

keratoma, which is a tumour that arises from the hoof wall. They are usually found in horses that are seven years old or more during a lameness investigation because the growing mass can cause considerable pain, although they can sometimes also result in abnormal hoof growth. An x-ray diagnoses the problem and surgery is usually successful providing that the growth can be completely removed.

Conclusion In summary, horses suffer from cancer just like any other species. However, equine cancer receives very little publicity for two main reasons. Firstly, the risk of serious cancers increases dramatically with age and illness in older horses is only really newsworthy in champions such as Doyoun.

Secondly, the cancers that occur most frequently in younger horses are often not life-threatening, for example, papillomas, benign sarcoids, and benign melanomas in grey horses. This is why it was such a big story in North America when the reigning champion Lost in the Fog was diagnosed with terminal cancer just two months after winning a Grade Three sprint. Each cancer is different and every case must be treated individually. Veterinary surgeons have become quite proficient in the treatment of certain tumours such as sarcoids and keratomas. However, horses like Lost in the Fog show just how helpless veterinary surgeons are in dealing with malignant cancers such as a splenic lymphoma. Every veterinary surgeon and human doctor would dearly love for us to be able to treat malignant cancers more effectively, and many researchers around the globe continue to work tirelessly in the hope that one day there will be a more effective treatment. I

PRODUCT FOCUS issue 31 v2:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

17:14

Page 1

PRODUCT FOCUS

Exciting breakthrough will benefit Thoroughbred Breeders and Trainers Bonafide™ may hold the key to reducing the incidence of bone defects that cost the Thoroughbred Industry worldwide vast sums of money each year.

The active ingredient in Bonafide™ is Quinaquanone®, a water soluble, bio-available form of Vitamin K1 & K2 which has a critical effect on the function of Osteocalcin, the bone protein that binds the mineral and protein in bone together.

Without sufficient Vitamin K the binding process is incomplete and low density or defective bone and cartilage are produced.

It has been known for several years that the correct form of vitamin K prevents and reverses osteoporosis, improves bone geometry and reduces incidence of stress fractures in humans.

Vitamin K1 & K2, not be confused with K3, is naturally available in fresh, growing green pasture but it is highly unstable, being degraded by UV light, wilting, or “wintering off.”

Horses that do not have constant access to high quality pasture are likely to be deficient in Vitamin K, leading to a reduction in bone density and bone strength. Horses removed from Vitamin K rich pasture and brought into a box/yard regime have demonstrated a reduction in bone density within 7-10 days.

Bonafide™ is the first product to provide a stable, bio-available form of Vitamin K1 & K2.

Bonafide™ Trials There is an established correlation between bone density and the incidence of OCDs and DODs in yearlings and DMD (shinsoreness) in 2 year olds.

Trials in Australia have demonstrated that the addition of Bonafide™ to the diet of 2 yr old Thoroughbreds in work resulted in a reduction in the incidence of shin soreness (DMD) from 36.8% in the untreated group to 10.5% in the treated group. Bone density

European Trainer Suppliers’ Guide

“Significant improvement to an OCD of the proximal third of the lateral trochlear ridge of the femur. Over 10 weeks there is improved ossification and almost complete resolution. A dramatic improvement.”

Mr Antony John Piers Clements B.V.Sc. CERT E.S. (Orth) M.R.C.V.S - Equine Veterinary Surgeon - Newmarket, England.

in the treated group increased by more than 40% compared to the control group.

Severe OCDs in pre-sale yearlings Osteochondrosis (OCD) in pre-sale thoroughbred yearlings may have a significant impact on yearling sale price. In this trial, 8 yearlings with severe OCD lesions on Xray were supplemented with 14 mg Bonafide™ per day for 3-7 months and then re-examined.

Bonafide™ supplementation was associated with a significant reversal in the severity of lesion score.

OCD lesion score of eight Thoroughbred yearlings before and after supplementation Case No Initial ReXray

1 3 1

2 3 1

3 3 0

4 3 1

5 3 1

6 3 1

7 3 2

8 3 3

For further information visit www.mitavite.co.uk/bonafide or contact Cam W Price directly on +44 (0)7595 166709 or email cwp@me.com

ISSUE 31 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com 79

PRODUCT FOCUS issue 31 v2:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

17:15

Page 2

PRODUCT FOCUS

Use BreathEasy products for better performance

Equine lower airway disease is probably the most common reason for poor performance in racing horses and often can go undetected.

Once diagnosed, management of affected horses can be challenging and frustrating as often the underlying allergens such as dust or moulds are ubiquitous in the environment.

Due to the problems of drug withdrawal times, trainers have had to either put up with poor performance or treat horses with nonpharmaceutical products with varying efficacy. The AeroMask equine system and AeroHippus equine aerosol chamber are both purpose designed for the equine industry to deliver medications direct to the lungs where they are needed. This targeted therapy gives greater efficacy and also may reduce withdrawal times for racing.

For further information visit www.breatheazy.co.uk or call us on 0845 680 8975 and ask to speak to our sales director Jon Slattery.

Seawalker® brings all the benefits of the sea to your yard!

Seawalker® provides all the benefits of exercising horses in the sea but in a controlled environment. It uses natural salt water (supplied in sea salt crystal form), rich in minerals and trace elements to ensure a restorative, invigorating training or warm-up or cool-down session.

Seawalker® was developed with leading vets, equine physiotherapists and physiologists with the goal of creating an ideal exercising environment for horses in training as well as in rehabilitation. Salt water is chilled to 2-4 degrees Celsius in a unit that offers variable operating depths (up to 90cm) and speeds (achieved through the integration of a patented, lightweight Belebro® horse walker).

Leading race yards in Dubai and the United Kingdom use Seawalker® as an integral part of their horses’ training regimes.

Horses benefit from improved stamina and general fitness as well as a reduction of inflammation and soreness in joints and tendons.

Seawalker® relaxes yearlings and keeps them focused in their

European Trainer Suppliers’ Guide

80 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 31

workouts, and it helps to alleviate muscle stiffness and ‘tying-up’ after work for mature horses by improving blood circulation.

After much acclaim in the UK, mainland Europe and the Middle East, Seawalker® is enjoying significant interest in North America and Australia.

For further information visit www.seawalker.uk.com or call Marie-Louise Chittenden on +44 (0)1458 251300.

PRODUCT FOCUS issue 31 v2:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

17:15

Page 3

PRODUCT FOCUS

The APG Equine Scanner APG Equine believes that the equine performance industry is trailing the human performance industry by decades!

Maximising human performance is completely focused on physiology testing. The equine industry continues to place all of its emphasis on anatomy and structure, while physiology and function remain largely ignored. While electromyography has been the gold standard in muscle assessment in human studies for over a quarter of a century, now, for the first time, the APG Equine Scanner enables the use of surface electromyography (SEMG) on animals.

SEMG is a system of functional analysis and physiologic assessment. The electrical potential of muscle can be assessed and is indicative of muscle activity. These electrical signals are measured through the skin with the use of sensors and an array of electrodes which are designed specifically to penetrate the coat of the animal.

We can compare and contrast the intensity of muscle activity and thereby are able to analyse functional integrity and balance in the animal. We can then examine systemic muscular activity to give us further insight into the overall tensegrity or tone of the nerve system, which is the master controlling system of the body, giving us a picture of the physiology of the animal.

Currently no other physiology testing equipment is available let alone anything that can be easily used. The APG Equine

TM

Scanner is a user-friendly, portable, non-invasive apparatus that can be used in the horse’s own relaxed environment: no needles, no sedation, no need to travel!

Really See With APG! For further information visit www.apgequine.com or call +44 (0)1271 336502

Littlemax – high quality horse bedding from Bedmax Earlier this month BEDMAX, the UK’s largest producer of bespoke bedding for horses, announced the launch of a new product, LITTLEMAX. This is a very high quality, fine horse bedding with a light appearance which has been specifically made for those horse owners who prefer the finer things in their stable – it is a small flake shaving.

LITTLEMAX is made in exactly the same manner as the original product; produced primarily from sustainable sources of British pine cut specifically for shavings and not as a bi-product of another process. Once cut, the shavings are dried to a carefully controlled moisture level and rigorously screened to remove dust.

These shavings are dust free, very durable and absorbent and easy to use.

Consequently LITTLEMAX shavings, while finer, still offer the anti-bacterial properties associated with pine: minimal dust and maximum absorbency, comfort and protection.

LITTLEMAX, branded in distinctive green and cream bags, is currently available to outlets in The Midlands and Eastern England.

For further information visit www.bedmax.co.uk/littlemax or call + 44 (0)1668 213467

ISSUE 31 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com 81

PRODUCT FOCUS issue 31 v2:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

17:15

Page 4

PRODUCT FOCUS

LITOVET® supports natural recovery and repair Training places a horse’s body under stress, so a good fitness regime will include measures to maintain soundness and health – and feeding LITOVET® is a very good place to start The cumulative effects of daily exercise can take their toll on the tissues of the horse’s body including muscles, connective tissue and the skeletal system. It has long been known that regular exercise results in ongoing micro-trauma to tissues involving a degree of inflammation. This process encourages tissues to adapt in response, therefore contributing to a ‘training effect’, which improves fitness and strength.

However, without adequate recovery time during days of light exercise and rest, the micro-trauma and inflammation have a negative effect on both fitness and the horse’s health. A reduced willingness to work, stiffness and raised muscle enzymes can be signs that we have over done it.

Stiffness involving the synovial joints of the fetlocks, knees and hocks can be common in horses in training, including the older horses where time has also taken its toll. Managing the microtrauma and inflammation that can occur in horses in training of all ages is essential to maintaining soundness, good mobility and an overall willingness to work.

The benefits of rose-hip ROSE-HIP (rosa canina) contains a number of bioactive ingredients that can help to offset the physical stress of exercise and age induced stiffness. It contains natural antioxidants, organic acids, flavonoids, carotenoids and has a high vitamin C content. But most significant is the presence of a galactolipid substance known as GOPO® that has been shown in published studies in both humans and horses to support the body’s natural mechanism for recovery and repair. GOPO® can therefore help the body to cope with the

European Trainer Suppliers’ Guide

82 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 31

ongoing micro-trauma and inflammation associated with regular exercise.

Why try LITOVET®?

LITOVET® is a specialised source of rose-hip powder for horses that has a unique standardised GOPO® content, achieved through a patented manufacturing process. Unlike many other feed supplements for horses, the beneficial effect of LITOVET® is supported by extensive published research studies in humans and also by an equine specific published study carried out in race horses. In a trial involving 74 trotters, LITOVET® helped to maintain the horses' natural recovery and repair processes and significantly boosted haemoglobin concentration and antioxidant defences. This resulted in the horses that were fed the supplement being more supple, with a greater willingness to work during ongoing training.

LITOVET® is also unusual in that the human version of the supplement, LitoZin – a big seller in Boots the Chemist and also based on GOPO® – has been shown in separate scientific trials to reduce joint pain in 82% of users and to enable them to reduce the need for anti-inflammatory drugs by 40-50%.

For further information visit www.litovet.co.uk or call +44 (0)1452 524012

PRODUCT FOCUS issue 31 v2:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

17:15

Page 5

PRODUCT FOCUS

HORSE MANAGEMENT HAS JUST GOT EASIER – www.equisoftlive.com Equisoft is the industry leader in horse and bloodstock management software.

Our knowledge and experience from over 20 years in this area has now been applied to the web.

We are very proud to announce the launch on 20th September of www.equisoftlive.com – the easiest way to manage your horse records on the net.

Equisoft Live – what is it?

Your own private Horse Management Database on the Web. It will allow you to record all horse details, pedigree, ownership, all horse activity, purchase/sale, breeding history, horse/video images and other web links. Suitable for Trainers, Studs, Owners with a horse portfolio, livery yards etc.

The System will support all horse breeds: Thoroughbred, Arab, Sport Horses, etc.

Beside the extensive horse lists and inquiries, a Debtors

Ledger for payments, owner statements, debtor lists and address labels will be available.

To ensure security, each subscriber receives a username and password for their exclusive and private use. All information is sent and received over a secure encrypted connection.

To help subscribers a comprehensive help guide and video tutorial on the best use of the system have been produced. A Ticketed Help Desk is also provided to give access to expert support 24 hours a day.

30 day free trials are available to test the system out.

For further information visit www.equisoftlive.com or e-mail info@equisoftlive.com.

European Trainer Suppliers’ Guide

ISSUE 31 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com 83

PRODUCT FOCUS issue 31 v2:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

17:16

Page 6

PRODUCT FOCUS

Activo-Med Therapy Systems Photo courtesy of Horses Inside Out

Practical and effective for rehabilitation or every day use, the Activo-Med Combi Pro is a unique rug that provides sequenced pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) and cyclonic massage therapy from poll to tail and on the shoulders and hind quarters. The rug is already invaluable to many top trainers, and with the addition of optional legwraps, hoof pads, power pad, lasers and handheld lasers, the system becomes even more versatile.

Activo-Med leg-wraps fit like a travel boot and offer a wide spectrum of treatment. Each front boot contains 4 magnetic spools and works using the same principle as the rug, conforming to the natural flow of the blood and lymph-lines in the legs. Each hind boot contains 6 magnetic spools/massage units, covering hock to coronet.

The recently introduced Activo-Med cold massage leg wraps provide a gentle but effective action on heat and swelling and are easy to use and horse friendly.

Also with the focus on legs, the Mounty Cool+PressÂŽ Boots are revolutionary boots that administer controlled intermittent compression and cold-therapy treatments, particularly beneficial in the treatment of musculoskeletal strain, muscle pain and Mounty Cool (above, right) and Press Boots (below)

inflammation of tendons and joints, as well as recovery after strenuous exercise.

As well as PEMF and massage, FMBs therapy systems offer spas, treadmills and water treadmills.

For further information visit www.fmbs.co.uk or call +44 (0)1628 472440 or +44 (0)7885 539312.

European Trainer Suppliers’ Guide

84 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 31

PRODUCT FOCUS issue 31 v2:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

17:16

Page 7

PRODUCT FOCUS

The Hay Bar Economy The running costs for any training yard are becoming a serious financial liability. Forage prices are set to rise and the farmers are forecasting a shortage of hay, haylage and straw. It is essential that we try to find ways of becoming more efficient and less wasteful.

Hay Bar has proved it is a sound investment in many ways.

Stabled horses that are at their peak of fitness benefit from feeding from the floor as it helps to maintain their natural way of foraging.

This helps to ensure that mentally they are more relaxed and that there are less respiratory, dental and physio problems. All of which can prove to be costly and, to say the least, inconvenient when interrupting a rigorous training programme.

Waste forage and bedding is another unwanted expense. Hay Bar helps to ensure that forage does not become contaminated. It is

important that the forage and bedding is not mixed and this helps to ensure that the horse gets the full benefit from what he is fed.

Labour costs are rising all the time and so it is important that time is well spent. Filling hay nets is time consuming. The Hay Bar system is labour saving, safer, more hygienic, better for our horses and the solution to numerous problems.

For further information visit www.haybar.co.uk or call us on + 44 (0)1723 882434

RiteTrac is blended to support digestive health Introducing RiteTrac – the latest innovative solution from Kentucky Equine Research. Newly formulated by the scientists at KER, RiteTrac is a proprietary blend of ingredients designed to support total digestive tract health.

The more you look into it, the easier it is to see why nearly 90% of racehorses suffer from gastric ulcers. They are often confined for most of the day, and then fed large grain meals for energy. Stress is definitely a factor – intense exercise increases the production of gastric acid, so the stomach lining can get thoroughly bathed in acid during work. Recent research has

European Trainer Suppliers’ Guide

shown that over 60% are also affected by colonic ulceration, leading to compromised health and decreased performance.

Ulcers are rarely fatal in racehorses, but their effects on performance are often profound.

RiteTrac is targeted at the foregut and the hindgut of the horse, and works in two distinct ways. Firstly, with its combination of fast-acting antacids and coating agents, RiteTrac quickly neutralizes excessive gastric acid, protecting the sensitive nonglandular portion of the stomach and restoring the normal gastric environment. Secondly, with the inclusion of EquiShure, a time-released hindgut buffer, designed to act on the colon and caecum by minimizing the effects of subclinical hindgut acidosis.

For best results, feed 120 gms daily, split between two feeds, to try to prevent ulcers occurring in the first place. If ther e is mild ulceration, it will reduce symptoms by having a ‘protective’ effect.

For further information visit www.saracenhorsefeeds.com or call +44 (0)1488 73456

ISSUE 31 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com 85

STAKES SCHEDULES ISSUE 31 new:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

16:19

Page 1

STAKES SCHEDULES

RACES

Races are divided by distance and the relevant surface is indicated as follows: AWT - All Weather Track D - Dirt T - Turf European counties covered in this issue are: Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Sweden and United Kingdom. The indexes also include Grade 1 races fr om North America as well major races from Australia and Japan.

CLOSING DATES

Closing dates for all Irish races are set for international entry dates. For cer tain races, Irish trained horses, may be able to enter after the published dates. Please check dates with the relevant issue of The Racing Calendar. All main French races have been given an eight day closing date with provincial races set to a ten day closing date. The Italian authority (UNIRE) do not publish closing dates for Listed races but we have been advised to set each race closing date ten days in advance of the race.

COPYRIGHT

Under Copyright law, no part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means. This includes but not limited to; photocopying for commer cial redistribution and or facsimile recording without the prior permission of the copyright holder, application for which should be addressed to the publisher.

DISCLAIMER

Whilst every effort has been made to publish correct information, the publishers will not be held liable for any omission, mistake or change to the races listed in all published indexes.

Call us on +44 (0)1380 816 777 to subscribe from £18 Country GER GB GB FR ITY GB GB ITY GER GB FR GB ITY IRE FR USA

Track Baden-Baden Doncaster Doncaster Longchamp Rome Ayr Newbury Milan Cologne Newmarket Longchamp Ascot Milan Dundalk Longchamp Churchill Downs

Race Name & (Sponsor) Flieger-Preis Scarbrough St Flying Childers St (Polypipe) Prix du Petit Couvert (Qatar) Divino Amore Harry Rosebery St World Trophy (Dubai Duty Free) Cancelli Kolner Herbst Sprint Rous St Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp (Qatar) Cornwallis St Premio Omenoni Mercury St Criterium de Vitesse Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint

Class L L Gp 2 Gp 3 L L Gp 3 L L L Gp 1 Gp 3 Gp 3 L L Gr 2

Race Date 1-Sep-2010 8-Sep-2010 10-Sep-2010 12-Sep-2010 12-Sep-2010 17-Sep-2010 18-Sep-2010 19-Sep-2010 26-Sep-2010 30-Sep-2010 3-Oct-2010 9-Oct-2010 17-Oct-2010 22-Oct-2010 29-Oct-2010 6-Nov-2010

Value €20,000 £40,000 £80,000 €80,000 €61,600 £35,000 £65,000 €61,600 €20,000 £40,000 €250,000 £45,000 €88,000 €42,500 €55,000 $1,000,000

Age 3+ 2+ 2 3+ 2 2 3+ 3+ 3+ 3+ 2+ 2 3+ 2+ 2 3+

Surface T T T T T T T T T T T T T AWT T T

5f (1000m) Metres 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000

Visit www.trainermagazine.com/europe Country Track FR Chantilly FR Chantilly

Race Name & (Sponsor) Prix d’Arenberg Bonneval

Class Gp 3 L

Race Date 13-Sep-2010 4-Oct-2010

Value €80,000 €52,000

Race Name & (Sponsor) Taby Open Sprint Championship

Class L

Race Date 12-Sep-2010

Value SEK 800,000

Age 2 3+

Surface T T

Metres 1100 1100

Race Name & (Sponsor) Dick Poole St (EBF)

86 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 31

Class L

Race Date 2-Sep-2010

Value £32,500

Furlongs 5.5 5.5

Closing 01-Sep-10 24-Sep-10

5.75f (1150m) Age 3+

Surface T

Metres 1150

Call us on +44 (0)1380 816 777 to subscribe from £18 Country Track GB Salisbury

Closing 23-Aug-10 02-Sep-10 04-Sep-10 25-Aug-10 02-Sep-10 11-Sep-10 13-Sep-10 09-Sep-10 16-Sep-10 24-Sep-10 25-Aug-10 04-Oct-10 16-Sep-10 18-Oct-10 21-Oct-10 25-Oct-10

5.5f (1100m)

Now available for iPhone/iPad via Appstore Country Track SWE Taby Galopp

Furlongs 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5

Age 2F

Surface T

Furlongs 5.75

Closing 19-Jul-10

6f (1200m) Metres 1200

Furlongs 6

Closing 27-Aug-10

STAKES SCHEDULES ISSUE 31 new:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

16:19

Page 2

STAKES SCHEDULES

Visit www.trainermagazine.com/europe Country GB GB GB IRE IRE JPN GB GB GB ITY GB GB GB USA JPN FR GB GB USA USA GER IRE GB CAN GB ITY GB FR FR GB USA ITY GB FR FR

Track Haydock Park Kempton Park Goodwood Curragh Curragh Hanshin Newbury Ayr Ascot Milan Newmarket Newmarket Redcar Belmont Park Nakayama Chantilly Ascot Ayr Oak Tree at Santa Anita Keeneland Bremen Curragh Newmarket Woodbine Doncaster Rome Newmarket Maisons-Laffitte Maisons-Laffitte Doncaster Churchill Downs Rome Lingfield Park Fontainebleau Fontainebleau

Race Name & (Sponsor) Sprint Cup (Betfred) Sirenia St Starlit St Blenheim St Renaissance St Centaur Stakes Mill Reef St (Dubai Duty Free) Firth of Clyde St (Laundr y Cottage Stud) Diadem St (John Guest) Eupili Cheveley Park St Middle Park St (Shadwell) Two-Year-Old Trophy Vosburgh Stakes Sprinters Stakes Prix Eclipse Bengough St Rockingham St Ancient Title S Thoroughbred Club of America S Bremer Sprint-Cup Waterford Testimonial St Boadicea St (EBF) Nearctic S Doncaster St Pandolfi Ubaldo Bosra Sham St (EBF) Criterium de Maisons-Laffitte Prix de Seine-et-Oise Wentworth St Breeders’ Cup Sprint Premio Carlo & Francesco Aloisi Golden Rose St Contessina Zeddaan

Class Gp 1 Gp 3 L L Gp 3 Gr 2 Gp 2 Gp 3 Gp 2 L Gp 1 Gp 1 L Gr 1 Gr 1 Gp 3 Gp 3 L Gr 1 Gr 2 L L L Gr 1 L L L Gp 2 Gp 3 L Gr 1 Gp 3 L L L

Race Date 4-Sep-2010 4-Sep-2010 11-Sep-2010 11-Sep-2010 12-Sep-2010 12-Sep-2010 18-Sep-2010 18-Sep-2010 26-Sep-2010 26-Sep-2010 1-Oct-2010 1-Oct-2010 2-Oct-2010 2-Oct-2010 3-Oct-2010 9-Oct-2010 9-Oct-2010 9-Oct-2010 9-Oct-2010 9-Oct-2010 10-Oct-2010 10-Oct-2010 15-Oct-2010 16-Oct-2010 23-Oct-2010 24-Oct-2010 29-Oct-2010 1-Nov-2010 1-Nov-2010 6-Nov-2010 6-Nov-2010 14-Nov-2010 20-Nov-2010 22-Nov-2010 22-Nov-2010

Value £275,000 £43,000 £40,000 €45,000 €60,000 $1,363,000 £80,000 £70,000 £100,000 €61,600 £170,000 £170,000 £150,000 $350,000 $2,227,000 €80,000 £65,000 £30,000 $225K / $25K (BC) $200,000 €20,000 €42,500 £40,000 CAN500,000 £35,000 €61,600 £27,000 €190,000 €80,000 £50,000 $2,000,000 €88,000 £40,000 €52,000 €55,000

6f (1200m) Age 3+ 2 3+ 2 3+ 3+ 2 2F 3+ 2 2F 2C 2 3+ 3+ 2 3+ 2 3+ 3+ F&M 3+ 3+ 3+ F&M 3+ 2 2F 2F 2 3+ 3+ 3+ 2+ 3+ 3+ 2

Surface T AWT T T T T T T T T T T T D T T T T AWT AWT T T T T T T T T T T D T AWT T T

Metres 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200 1200

Now available for iPhone/iPad via Appstore Country GER FR USA

Track Munich Maisons-Laffitte Belmont Park

Race Name & (Sponsor) Bayerischer Fliegerpreis Saraca Gallant Bloom Handicap

Class L L Gr 2

Race Date 12-Sep-2010 21-Sep-2010 25-Sep-2010

Value €20,000 €55,000 $150,000

Age 3+ 2 3+ F&M

Track Baden-Baden Baden-Baden Del Mar Saratoga Longchamp Longchamp Saratoga Saratoga Goodwood Del Mar Doncaster Doncaster Doncaster Curragh Newbury Ascot Curragh Newmarket Newmarket Redcar Longchamp Longchamp Hannover Dundalk Longchamp Maisons-Laffitte Newmarket Newmarket Newmarket Newbury Newbury Keeneland Baden-Baden Leopardstown Kyoto Hannover Leopardstown Maisons-Laffitte Churchill Downs Milan Tokyo

Race Name & (Sponsor) Zukunfts-Rennen Coolmore Stud - Baden-Baden Cup Darley Debutante Forego Handicap Prix du Pin Prix La Rochette Spinaway Stakes Three Chimneys Hopeful Stakes Stardom St Del Mar Futurity Sceptre St (JRA) Park St Champagne St National St Cup (Dubai Duty Free) October St (Miles & Morrison) Park St (CL Weld) Somerville St (Tattersall) Oh So Sharp St Guisborough St Prix de la Foret Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere-Grand Criterium Hannoverscher Herbst-Stutenpreis Star Appeal EBF St Herod Saint-Cyr Dewhurst St Rockfel St Challenge St Horris Hill St Radley St Lexus Raven Run Badener Sprint-Cup Killavullan St Mainichi Broadcast Swan Stakes Preis Gestuts Brummerhof Knockaire St Prix Miesque Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint Premio Chiusura Keio Hai Nisai Stakes

Class Gp 3 L Gr 1 Gr 1 Gp 3 Gp 3 Gr 1 Gr 1 L Gr 1 L Gp 2 Gp 2 Gp 1 L L Gp 3 Gp 3 Gp 3 L Gp 1 Gp 1 L L L L Gp 1 Gp 2 Gp 2 Gp 3 L Gr 2 Gp 3 Gp 3 Gr 2 L L Gp 3 Gr 1 Gp 3 Gr 2

Race Date 3-Sep-2010 3-Sep-2010 4-Sep-2010 4-Sep-2010 5-Sep-2010 5-Sep-2010 5-Sep-2010 6-Sep-2010 7-Sep-2010 8-Sep-2010 9-Sep-2010 11-Sep-2010 11-Sep-2010 11-Sep-2010 17-Sep-2010 25-Sep-2010 26-Sep-2010 30-Sep-2010 1-Oct-2010 2-Oct-2010 3-Oct-2010 3-Oct-2010 3-Oct-2010 8-Oct-2010 12-Oct-2010 13-Oct-2010 16-Oct-2010 16-Oct-2010 16-Oct-2010 23-Oct-2010 23-Oct-2010 23-Oct-2010 24-Oct-2010 25-Oct-2010 30-Oct-2010 31-Oct-2010 31-Oct-2010 1-Nov-2010 5-Nov-2010 6-Nov-2010 13-Nov-2010

Value €50,000 €20,000 $250,000 $250,000 €80,000 €80,000 $250,000 $250,000 £30,000 $250,000 £40,000 £160,000 £100,000 €235,000 £40,000 £40,000 €60,000 £60,000 £43,000 £40,000 €250,000 €350,000 €20,000 €60,000 €55,000 €55,000 £300,000 £74,000 £100,000 £43,000 £27,000 $250,000 €50,000 €50,000 $1,363,000 €20,000 €42,500 €80,000 $1,000,000 €88,000 $888,000

Age 2 3+ F&M 2F 3+ 3+ 2 2F 2 2 2 3+ F&M 3+ 2 C&G 2 CF 3+ 3+ F&M 2F 2 C&G 2F 3+ 3+ 2 CF 3+ F&M 2 2 3F 2 C&F 2F 3+ 2 C&G 2F 3F 3+ 2 3+ 2 3+ 2F 3+ FM 2+ 2

Closing 06-Jul-10 27-Aug-10 06-Sep-10 06-Sep-10 04-Aug-10 03-Aug-10 27-Jul-10 13-Sep-10 24-Aug-10 16-Sep-10 20-Jul-10 20-Jul-10 27-Sep-10 18-Sep-10 03-Aug-10 22-Sep-10 04-Oct-10 04-Oct-10 30-Sep-10 29-Sep-10 01-Oct-10 05-Oct-10 09-Oct-10 29-Sep-10 18-Oct-10 14-Oct-10 23-Oct-10 20-Oct-10 20-Oct-10 01-Nov-10 25-Oct-10 30-Sep-10 15-Nov-10 12-Nov-10 12-Jan-10

6.5f (1300m) Surface T T D

Metres 1300 1300 1300

Call us on +44 (0)1380 816 777 to subscribe from £18 Country GER GER USA USA FR FR USA USA GB USA GB GB GB IRE GB GB IRE GB GB GB FR FR GER IRE FR FR GB GB GB GB GB USA GER IRE JPN GER IRE FR USA ITY JPN

Furlongs 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6

Surface T T AWT D T T D D T AWT T T T T T T T T T T T T T AWT T T T T T T T AWT T T T T T T D T T

Furlongs 6.5 6.5 6.5

Closing 02-Sep-10 13-Sep-10 11-Sep-10

7f (1400m) Metres 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400 1400

Furlongs Closing 7 20-Jul-10 7 24-Aug-10 7 04-Jun-10 7 21-Aug-10 7 18-Aug-10 7 18-Aug-10 7 21-Aug-10 7 21-Aug-10 7 01-Sep-10 7 04-Jun-10 7 03-Sep-10 7 20-Jul-10 7 20-Jul-10 7 26-May-10 7 11-Sep-10 7 20-Sep-10 7 27-Aug-10 7 24-Sep-10 7 25-Sep-10 7 27-Sep-10 7 25-Aug-10 7 25-Aug-10 7 23-Sep-10 7 04-Oct-10 7 04-Oct-10 7 05-Oct-10 7 03-Aug-10 7 11-Oct-10 7 21-Sep-10 7 18-Oct-10 7 18-Oct-10 7 13-Oct-10 7 14-Sep-10 7 20-Oct-10 7 14-Sep-10 7 21-Oct-10 7 26-Oct-10 7 20-Oct-10 7 25-Oct-10 7 07-Oct-10 7 28-Sep-10

ISSUE 31 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com 87

STAKES SCHEDULES ISSUE 31 new:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

16:19

Page 3

STAKES SCHEDULES

Visit www.trainermagazine.com/europe Country FR GB JPN

Track Saint-Cloud Kempton Park Hanshin

Race Name & (Sponsor) Ceres Sunbury St Hanshin Cup

Class L L Gr 2

Race Date 23-Nov-2010 15-Dec-2010 18-Dec-2010

7f (1400m)

Value €55,000 £40,000 $1,652,000

Age 3F 3+ 3+

Surface T AWT T

Metres 1400 1400 1400

Now available for iPhone/iPad via Appstore Country Track IRE Tipperary

Race Name & (Sponsor) Concorde St (Coolmore Stud Home of Champions)

Class Gp 3

Race Date 3-Oct-2010

Value €70,000

Track Florence Rome Cologne Milan Rome Rome Deauville Pisa

Race Name & (Sponsor) Toscana Repubbliche Marinare Preis des Union Gestuts (ex Berberis-Rennen) Coolmore Rumon Criterium Femminile Luthier Criterium di Pisa

Class L L L L L L L L

Race Date 4-Sep-2010 12-Sep-2010 26-Sep-2010 26-Sep-2010 26-Sep-2010 7-Nov-2010 9-Dec-2010 12-Dec-2010

Value €61,600 €61,600 €50,000 €61,600 €61,600 €61,600 €52,000 €61,600

Age 3+

Surface T

Metres 1490

Age 2 2F 2F 2F 2C 2F 3+ 2

Surface T T T T T T AWT T

Track Chantilly Istanbul Haydock Park Haydock Park Leopardstown Longchamp Chantilly Doncaster Hannover Curragh Curragh Taby Galopp Sandown Park Lyon-Parilly Longchamp Woodbine Milan Milan Milan Saint-Cloud Ascot Ascot Ascot Ascot Koln Cologne Cologne Curragh Newmarket Longchamp Newmarket Longchamp Belmont Park Saint-Cloud Ascot Milan Milan Milan Belmont Park Belmont Park Keeneland Keeneland Oak Tree at Santa Anita Curragh Taby Galopp Saint-Cloud Bordeaux Cork Kyoto Koln Cologne Naas Milan Pontefract Deauville Doncaster Baden-Baden Rome Nantes Lingfield Park Newmarket Newmarket Saint-Cloud

Race Name & (Sponsor) La Cochere Topkapi Trophy Ascendant St Superior Mile Matron St (Coolmore Fusaichi Pegasus) Prix du Moulin de Longchamp Prix d’Aumale May Hill St September Stuten-Meil Solonaway Stakes Flame of Tara EBF St Nickes Minneslopning Fortune St Criterium de Lyon Prix des Chenes Woodbine Mile V. Riva (ex del Dado) Bessero Pietro Del Piazzale Coronation Queen Elizabeth II St Fillies’ Mile (Meon Valley Stud) Royal Lodge St (Juddmonte) Rosemary Handicap Grosse Europa-Meile Preis der Spielbank Bad Neuenahr Oppenheim-Rennen Beresford St (Juddmonte) Joel St (Nayef) Prix Daniel Wildenstein (Qatar) Sun Chariot St (Kingdom of Bahrain) Prix Marcel Boussac Kelso BC Handicap Prix Thomas Bryon Autumn St Gran Criterium Premio Vittorio di Capua Premio Sergio Cumani Frizette Stakes Champagne Stakes Shadwell Turf Mile First Lady S Oak Tree Mile Silken Glider St Lanwades Stud St Ranelagh Grand Criterium de Bordeaux Navigation St Daily Hai Nisai Stakes Preis der Winterfavoriten Weidenpescher Stutenpreis Garnet EBF St Premio Dormello Silver Tankard St (totepool) Prix des Reservoirs (Haras d’Etreham) Trophy (Racing Post) Preis der Winterkonigin Nearco Sablonnets Fleur de Lys St (EBF) Ben Marshall St (bet365) Montrose St (bet365.com EBF) Criterium International

88 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 31

Class L L L Gp 1 Gp 1 Gp 3 Gp 2 L Gp 3 L L L L Gp 3 Gr 1 L L L L Gp 1 Gp 1 Gp 2 L Gp 2 L L Gp 2 Gp 3 Gp 2 Gp 1 Gp 1 Gr 2 Gp 3 Gp 3 Gp 1 Gp 1 Gp 3 Gr 1 Gr 1 Gr 1 Gr 1 Gr 2 L L L L L Gr 2 Gp 3 L L Gp 3 L Gp 3 Gp 1 Gp 3 L L L L L Gp 1

Race Date 1-Sep-2010 2-Sep-2010 4-Sep-2010 4-Sep-2010 4-Sep-2010 5-Sep-2010 9-Sep-2010 10-Sep-2010 12-Sep-2010 12-Sep-2010 12-Sep-2010 12-Sep-2010 15-Sep-2010 17-Sep-2010 18-Sep-2010 19-Sep-2010 19-Sep-2010 19-Sep-2010 19-Sep-2010 23-Sep-2010 25-Sep-2010 25-Sep-2010 25-Sep-2010 25-Sep-2010 26-Sep-2010 26-Sep-2010 26-Sep-2010 26-Sep-2010 1-Oct-2010 2-Oct-2010 2-Oct-2010 3-Oct-2010 3-Oct-2010 7-Oct-2010 9-Oct-2010 9-Oct-2010 9-Oct-2010 9-Oct-2010 9-Oct-2010 9-Oct-2010 9-Oct-2010 9-Oct-2010 9-Oct-2010 10-Oct-2010 10-Oct-2010 12-Oct-2010 14-Oct-2010 16-Oct-2010 16-Oct-2010 17-Oct-2010 17-Oct-2010 17-Oct-2010 17-Oct-2010 18-Oct-2010 19-Oct-2010 23-Oct-2010 24-Oct-2010 24-Oct-2010 26-Oct-2010 28-Oct-2010 30-Oct-2010 30-Oct-2010 31-Oct-2010

Value €55,000 £35,000 £40,000 $200,000 €450,000 €80,000 £80,000 €20,000 €60,000 €65,000 SEK 500,000 £40,000 €55,000 €80,000 CAN1,000,000 €61,600 €61,600 €61,600 €55,000 £250,000 £200,000 £125,000 £40,000 €65,000 €20,000 €50,000 €100,000 £65,000 €130,000 £200,000 €300,000 $200K / $50K BC €80,000 £43,000 €297,000 €297,000 €88,000 $300,000 $300,000 $600,000 $400,000 $150,000 €45,000 SEK 500,000 €52,000 €55,000 €42,500 $888,000 €155,000 €20,000 €62,500 €121,000 £30,000 €80,000 £200,000 €105,000 €61,600 €55,000 £40,000 £40,000 £27,000 €250,000

Furlongs 7.4

Closing 25-Aug-10

7.5f (1500m) Metres 1500 1500 1500 1500 1500 1500 1500 1500

Visit www.trainermagazine.com/europe Country FR TKY GB GB IRE FR FR GB GER IRE IRE SWE GB FR FR CAN ITY ITY ITY FR GB GB GB GB GER GER GER IRE GB FR GB FR USA FR GB ITY ITY ITY USA USA USA USA USA IRE SWE FR FR IRE JPN GER GER IRE ITY GB FR GB GER ITY FR GB GB GB FR

Closing 15-Nov-10 09-Dec-10 09-Nov-10

7.4f (1490m)

Call us on +44 (0)1380 816 777 to subscribe from £18 Country ITY ITY GER ITY ITY ITY FR ITY

Furlongs 7 7 7

Furlongs 7.5 7.5 7.5 7.5 7.5 7.5 7.5 7.5

Closing 25-Aug-10 02-Sep-10 16-Sep-10 16-Sep-10 16-Sep-10 28-Oct-10 01-Dec-10 02-Dec-10

8f (1600m) Age 3F 3+ C&F 2 3+ 3+ F&M 3 + CF 2F 2F 3+ F&M 3+ 2F 3+ 3+ 2 2 CG 3+ 2C 3+ F&M 3+ 3F 3+ 2F 2 C&G 3+ F&M 3+ 3+ F&M 2 2 3+ 3+ 3+ F&M 2F 3+ 2 2 2 C&F 3+ 3+ F&M 2F 2 3+ 3+ F&M 3+ 2F 3-5 F&M 3+ 2 3+ 2 2 3+ F&M 3+ F&M 2F 2 2F 2 C&F 2F 3 2 3+ F&M 3+ 2F 2 CF

Surface T T T T T T T T T T T D T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T D T T T T T D D T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T AWT T T T

Metres 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600

Furlongs 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8

Closing 24-Aug-10 04-Aug-10 30-Aug-10 30-Aug-10 30-Jun-10 18-Aug-10 01-Sep-10 04-Sep-10 02-Sep-10 04-Aug-10 07-Sep-10 19-Jul-10 09-Sep-10 07-Sep-10 01-Sep-10 01-Sep-10 09-Sep-10 09-Sep-10 09-Sep-10 15-Sep-10 20-Jul-10 20-Jul-10 20-Jul-10 20-Sep-10 17-Aug-10 16-Sep-10 16-Sep-10 18-Aug-10 25-Sep-10 25-Aug-10 27-Jul-10 25-Aug-10 18-Sep-10 22-Sep-10 04-Oct-10 09-Sep-10 09-Sep-10 09-Sep-10 25-Sep-10 25-Sep-10 29-Sep-10 29-Sep-10 30-Sep-10 05-Oct-10 23-Aug-10 04-Oct-10 04-Oct-10 11-Oct-10 31-Aug-10 01-Dec-10 07-Oct-10 12-Oct-10 16-Sep-10 12-Oct-10 06-Oct-10 10-Aug-10 01-Dec-10 14-Oct-10 15-Oct-10 22-Oct-10 25-Oct-10 25-Oct-10 13-Oct-10

STAKES SCHEDULES ISSUE 31 new:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

16:19

Page 4

STAKES SCHEDULES

Now available for iPhone/iPad via Appstore Country FR GER USA FR USA USA USA USA USA USA ITY FR IRE FR JPN FR USA USA GB ITY ITY JPN JPN

Track Saint-Cloud Hannover Churchill Downs Saint-Cloud Churchill Downs Churchill Downs Churchill Downs Aqueduct Churchill Downs Churchill Downs Rome Toulouse Dundalk Saint-Cloud Kyoto Saint-Cloud Aqueduct Aqueduct Kempton Park Siracusa Siracusa Hanshin Nakayama

Race Name & (Sponsor) Prix Perth Stuten-Meile Pocahontas Stakes Isola-Bella Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile Breeders’ Cup Mile Nashua Stakes Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Chilukki Stakes Premio Ribot Criterium du Languedoc Cooley EBF St Tantieme Mile Championship Isonomy Top Flight Handicap Hill ‘n’ Dale Cigar Mile Handicap Hyde St Criterium Aretuseo Criterium Mediterraneo (ex Ippodromi e Citta) Hanshin Juvenile Fillies Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes

Class Gp 3 L Gr 2 L Gr 2 Gr 1 Gr 1 Gr 2 Gr 2 Gr 2 Gp 2 L L L Gr 1 L Gr 2 Gr 1 L L L Gr 1 Gr 1

Race Date 31-Oct-2010 31-Oct-2010 31-Oct-2010 3-Nov-2010 5-Nov-2010 6-Nov-2010 6-Nov-2010 6-Nov-2010 6-Nov-2010 6-Nov-2010 7-Nov-2010 11-Nov-2010 12-Nov-2010 18-Nov-2010 21-Nov-2010 23-Nov-2010 26-Nov-2010 27-Nov-2010 28-Nov-2010 5-Dec-2010 8-Dec-2010 12-Dec-2010 19-Dec-2010

Value €80,000 €20,000 $150,000 €52,000 $1,000,000 $1,000,000 $2,000,000 $150,000 $1,000,000 $150,000 €154,000 €55,000 €42,500 €52,000 $2,344,000 €55,000 $150,000 $250,000 £40,000 €61,600 €61,600 $1,521,000 $1,652,000

8f (1600m)

Age 3+ 3+ F&M 2F 3F 2F 3+ 3+ 2 2 3+ FM 3+ 2 3+ F&M 4+ 3+ 2 3+ FM 3+ 3+ 2F 2 C&G 2F 2 No G

Surface T T D T T D T D T D T T AWT T T T D D AWT T T T T

Call us on +44 (0)1380 816 777 to subscribe from £18 Country Track FR Craon FR Craon

Race Name & (Sponsor) Criterium de l’Ouest Point du Jour

Class L L

Race Date 6-Sep-2010 25-Sep-2010

Value €55,000 €52,000

Age 2 3+

Surface T T

Metres 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600 1600

Track Del Mar Oak Tree at Santa Anita Oak Tree at Santa Anita Hoosier Park Philadelphia Park Oak Tree at Santa Anita Keeneland Keeneland Dusseldorf Churchill Downs Churchill Downs Krefeld Woodbine Churchill Downs Churchill Downs Churchill Downs

Race Name & (Sponsor) Palomar Handicap Norfolk BC S Zenyatta S (ex Lady’s Secret) Indiana Derby Fitz Dixon Cotillion Stakes Oak Leaf S Darley Alcibiades S Dixiana Breeders’ Futurity Grosser Preis der Landeshauptstadt Dusseldorf Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Herzog von Ratibor-Rennen Autumn S Mrs. Revere Stakes Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes Golden Rod Stakes

Class Gr 2 Gr 1 Gr 1 Gr 2 Gr 2 Gr 1 Gr 1 Gr 1 Gp 3 Gr 1 Gr 1 Gp 3 Gr 2 Gr 2 Gr 2 Gr 2

Race Date 6-Sep-2010 2-Oct-2010 2-Oct-2010 2-Oct-2010 2-Oct-2010 3-Oct-2010 8-Oct-2010 9-Oct-2010 10-Oct-2010 5-Nov-2010 6-Nov-2010 7-Nov-2010 13-Nov-2010 20-Nov-2010 27-Nov-2010 27-Nov-2010

Value $150,000 $200K / $50K (BC) $225K / $25K (BC) $500,000 $750,000 $200K / $50K (BC) $400,000 $400,000 €55,000 $2,000,000 $2,000,000 €50,000 CAN150,000 $175,000 $150,000 $150,000

Track Saratoga Del Mar Belmont Park Woodbine Hanshin Goodwood Louisiana Downs Philadelphia Park Turfway Park Ovrevoll Milan Belmont Park Oak Tree at Santa Anita Longchamp Belmont Park Monmouth Park Tokyo Keeneland Newmarket Keeneland Oak Tree at Santa Anita Longchamp Longchamp Keeneland Leopardstown Rome Churchill Downs Milan Marseille Borely Churchill Downs Churchill Downs Aqueduct Aqueduct Aqueduct

Race Name & (Sponsor) Woodward Stakes Del Mar Derby Garden City BC Stakes Canadian S Kansai Telecasting Corp Sho Rose Stakes Foundation St Super Derby Pennsylvania Derby Kentucky Cup Classic Semb Hovedgard Hoppelop M.Se Ippolito Fassati Beldame Stakes The Goodwood BC S Le Fabuleux Jamaica BC Handicap Monmouth Cup Mainichi Okan Juddmonte Spinster S Darley St Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup S (by invitation only) Oak Tree Derby Prix de Conde Casimir Delamarre Fayette S Eyrefield St Premio Guidi Berardelli Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic Campobello Delahante Falls City Handicap Clark Handicap Gazelle Stakes Remsen Stakes Demoiselle Stakes

Class Gr 1 Gr 2 Gr 1 Gr 2 Gr 2 L Gr 2 Gr 2 Gr 2 L L Gr 1 Gr 1 L Gr 1 Gr 2 Gr 2 Gr 1 Gp 3 Gr 1 Gr 2 Gp 3 L Gr 2 L Gp 3 Gr 1 L L Gr 2 Gr 1 Gr 1 Gr 2 Gr 2

Race Date 4-Sep-2010 5-Sep-2010 18-Sep-2010 19-Sep-2010 19-Sep-2010 22-Sep-2010 25-Sep-2010 25-Sep-2010 25-Sep-2010 26-Sep-2010 2-Oct-2010 2-Oct-2010 2-Oct-2010 9-Oct-2010 9-Oct-2010 9-Oct-2010 10-Oct-2010 10-Oct-2010 15-Oct-2010 16-Oct-2010 16-Oct-2010 17-Oct-2010 24-Oct-2010 30-Oct-2010 31-Oct-2010 1-Nov-2010 5-Nov-2010 6-Nov-2010 13-Nov-2010 25-Nov-2010 26-Nov-2010 27-Nov-2010 27-Nov-2010 27-Nov-2010

Value $750,000 $300,000 $250,000 CAN300,000 $1,221,000 £40,000 $500,000 $1,000,000 $350,000 NOK 200,000 €61,600 $350,000 $225K / $25K (BC) €55,000 $200K / $50K BC $300,000 $1,521,000 $500,000 £65,000 $400,000 $150,000 €80,000 €55,000 $150,000 €40,000 €88,000 $2,000,000 €61,600 €55,000 $150,000 $500,000 $250,000 $200,000 $200,000

Furlongs 8.25 8.25

Closing 27-Aug-10 15-Sep-10

8.5f (1700m) Age 3+ F&M 2 3+F &M 3 3F 2F 2F 2 3+ 2F 2 CG 2 3+ 3F 2 2F

Surface T AWT AWT D D AWT AWT AWT T D D T AWT T D D

Metres 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700 1700

Now available for iPhone/iPad via Appstore Country USA USA USA CAN JPN GB USA USA USA NOR ITY USA USA FR USA USA JPN USA GB USA USA FR FR USA IRE ITY USA ITY FR USA USA USA USA USA

Closing 13-Oct-10 21-Oct-10 13-Oct-10 26-Oct-10 25-Oct-10 25-Oct-10 25-Oct-10 23-Oct-10 25-Oct-10 20-Oct-10 07-Oct-10 01-Nov-10 08-Nov-10 10-Nov-10 05-Oct-10 15-Nov-10 13-Nov-10 13-Nov-10 22-Nov-10 25-Nov-10 26-Nov-10 26-Oct-10 09-Nov-10

8.25f (1650m) Metres 1650 1650

Visit www.trainermagazine.com/europe Country USA USA USA USA USA USA USA USA GER USA USA GER CAN USA USA USA

Furlongs 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8

Age 3+ 3 3F 3+ F&M 3F 3+ 3 3 3+ 3+ F&M 3 3+ F&M 3+ 3 3 3+ 3+ 3+ F&M 3+ 3F 3 2 3F 3+ 2 2 3+ FM 2 2 3+ FM 3+ 3F 2 2F

Furlongs 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.5

Closing 26-Aug-10 23-Sep-10 23-Sep-10 23-Sep-10 18-Sep-10 24-Sep-10 29-Sep-10 29-Sep-10 31-Aug-10 25-Oct-10 25-Oct-10 17-Aug-10 27-Oct-10 03-Nov-10 10-Nov-10 10-Nov-10

9f (1800m) Surface D T T T T T D D AWT T T D AWT T T D T AWT T T T T T AWT T T D T T D D D D D

Metres 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800 1800

Furlongs Closing 9 21-Aug-10 9 26-Aug-10 9 04-Sep-10 9 01-Sep-10 9 03-Aug-10 9 16-Sep-10 9 07-Aug-10 9 04-Sep-10 9 15-Sep-10 9 26-Jul-10 9 22-Sep-10 9 18-Sep-10 9 23-Sep-10 9 01-Oct-10 9 25-Sep-10 9 125-Sep-10 9 31-Aug-10 9 29-Sep-10 9 09-Oct-10 9 9 07-Oct-10 9 29-Sep-10 9 15-Oct-10 9 20-Oct-10 9 26-Oct-10 9 30-Sep-10 9 25-Oct-10 9 27-Oct-10 9 03-Nov-10 9 10-Nov-10 9 10-Nov-10 9 13-Nov-10 9 13-Nov-10 9 13-Nov-10

ISSUE 31 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com 89

STAKES SCHEDULES ISSUE 31 new:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

16:19

Page 5

STAKES SCHEDULES

Call us on +44 (0)1380 816 777 to subscribe from £18 Country Track JPN Hanshin

Race Name & (Sponsor) Japan Cup Dirt

Class Gr 1

Race Date 5-Dec-2010

Value $3,058,000

Age 3+

Surface D

9f (1800m) Metres 1800

Visit www.trainermagazine.com/europe Country Track IRE Gowran Park

Race Name & (Sponsor) Denny Cordell Lavarack & Lanwades Stud Fillies St

Class Gp 3

Race Date 25-Sep-2010

Value €80,000

Track Goodwood Taby Galopp Longchamp Deauville Deauville

Race Name & (Sponsor) Select St (Racing UK On Sky 432) Matchmaker St (Coolmore) Prix Dollar (Qatar) Lyphard Petite Etoile

Country FR GER IRE IRE GER FR FR IRE GB FR GB GER FR IRE FR USA USA USA USA FR GER ITY USA ITY SWE FR GB CAN GB GER JPN AUS ITY ITY IRE GB JPN GB IRE USA ITY FR FR GER ITY GB FR GB

Track Longchamp Baden-Baden Leopardstown Leopardstown Baden-Baden Marseille Borely La Teste de Buch Curragh Yarmouth Longchamp Ayr Frankfurt Maisons-Laffitte Dundalk Chantilly Belmont Park Belmont Park Oak Tree at Santa Anita Hawthorne Racecourse Longchamp Hoppegarten Rome Oak Tree at Santa Anita Milan Taby Galopp Lyon-Parilly Newmarket Woodbine Newmarket Munich Kyoto Moonee Valley Rome Rome Leopardstown Newmarket Tokyo Doncaster Dundalk Churchill Downs Rome Saint-Cloud Marseille Borely Frankfurt Rome Lingfield Park Fontainebleau Lingfield Park

Race Name & (Sponsor) Boulogne Furstenberg-Rennen Irish Champion St (Tattersalls Millions) Kilternan St Preis der Peter Deilmann Reederei (ex JRA Trophy) Coupe de Marseille Occitanie Blandford St John Musker (attheraces.com EBF) Prix du Prince d’Orange Doonside Cup Niederrader Stutenpreis-Trial La Coupe de Maisons-Laffitte Diamond St Charles Laffitte Jockey Club Gold Cup Invitational Stakes Flower Bowl Invitational Stakes The Yellow Ribbon S Hawthorne Gold Cup Prix de l’Opera Preis der Deutschen Einheit Archidamia Clement L Hirsch Turf Championship Premio Verziere Songline Classic Prix Andre Baboin Severals St (Lanwades Stud) E P Taylor S Champion (Emirates Airline) Nereide-Rennen Shuka Sho Tattersall’s Cox Plate Premio Lydia Tesio Conte Felice Scheibler Trigo St James Seymour St (bet365) Tenno Sho (Autumn) Gillies St Carlingford St Breeders’ Cup Classic Premio Roma Criterium de Saint-Cloud Grand Prix de Marseille Hessen-Pokal G, Valiani (ex Buontalenta) Churchill St Solitude Quebec St

Class Gp 3 L Gp 2 L L

Race Date 11-Sep-2010 12-Sep-2010 2-Oct-2010 8-Dec-2010 18-Dec-2010

Value £65,000 SEK 500,000 €130,000 €52,000 €55,000

Age 3+ F&M

Surface T

Metres 1890

Age 3+ 3+ F&M 3+ 3+ 3F

Race Date 1-Sep-2010 1-Sep-2010 4-Sep-2010 4-Sep-2010 5-Sep-2010 10-Sep-2010 11-Sep-2010 11-Sep-2010 15-Sep-2010 18-Sep-2010 18-Sep-2010 19-Sep-2010 24-Sep-2010 1-Oct-2010 2-Oct-2010 2-Oct-2010 2-Oct-2010 2-Oct-2010 2-Oct-2010 3-Oct-2010 3-Oct-2010 3-Oct-2010 3-Oct-2010 9-Oct-2010 10-Oct-2010 14-Oct-2010 15-Oct-2010 16-Oct-2010 16-Oct-2010 17-Oct-2010 17-Oct-2010 23-Oct-2010 24-Oct-2010 24-Oct-2010 25-Oct-2010 30-Oct-2010 31-Oct-2010 6-Nov-2010 6-Nov-2010 6-Nov-2010 7-Nov-2010 13-Nov-2010 13-Nov-2010 14-Nov-2010 14-Nov-2010 20-Nov-2010 22-Nov-2010 18-Dec-2010

Value €52,000 €50,000 €750,000 €60,000 €20,000 €55,000 €55,000 €100,000 £40,000 €80,000 £60,000 €20,000 €80,000 €60,000 €55,000 $750,000 $500,000 $250,000 $500,000 €300,000 €50,000 €61,600 $250,000 €88,000 SEK 500,000 €80,000 £40,000 CAN1,000,000 £350,000 €20,000 $2,084,000 AUS$3,050,000 €297,000 €61,600 €42,500 £40,000 $3,099,000 £40,000 42,500 $5,000,000 €297,000 €250,000 €60,000 €50,000 €61,600 £40,000 €55,000 £40,000

Age 4+ 3 3+ 3+ 3F 3 3F 3+ F&M 3+ F&M 3 3+ 3+ 3+ 3+ 3F 3+ 3+ F&M 3+ F&M 3+ 3+ F&M 3+ 3+ F&M 3+ 3+ F&M 4+ 3+ 3+ F&M 3+ F&M 3+ 3+ F&M 3F 3+ 3+ F&M 3 3+ 3+ 3+ 3+ F&M 3+ 3+ 3+ 2 CF 3+ 3+ 3+ F&M 3+ 3F 3+

Surface T T T AWT AWT

Surface T T T T T T T T T T T T T AWT T D T T D T T T T T D T T T T T T T T T T T T T AWT D T T T T T AWT T AWT

Visit www.trainermagazine.com/europe Country FR FR FR FR FR

Track Longchamp Strasbourg Saint-Cloud Le Croise-Laroche Toulouse

Race Name & (Sponsor) Liancourt Grand Prix de la Region d’Alsace Prix de Flore Grand Prix du Nord Prix Fille de l’Air

Class L L Gp 3 L Gp 3

Race Date 1-Sep-2010 19-Sep-2010 26-Oct-2010 6-Nov-2010 11-Nov-2010

Value €55,000 €52,000 €80,000 €55,000 €80,000

Metres 1900 1950 1950 1900 1900

Track Belmont Park Newbury Milan Nakayama Nakayama Rome Düsseldorf

Race Name & (Sponsor) Bowling Green BC H’cap Arc Trial (Dubai Duty Free) Premio Federico Tesio RF Radio Nippon Sho St Lite Kinen Sankei Sho All Comers Villa Borghese Memorial F. Cadoni Frankfurter Stutenpreis

90 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 31

Class Gr 2 Gp 3 Gp 3 Gr 2 Gr 2 L Gp 3

Race Date 11-Sep-2010 17-Sep-2010 19-Sep-2010 19-Sep-2010 26-Sep-2010 3-Oct-2010 10-Oct-2010

Value $100K / $50K BC £65,000 €110,000 $1,276,000 $1,504,000 €61,600 €50,000

Closing 18-Aug-10

Furlongs 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5 9.5

Closing 06-Sep-10 19-Jul-10 25-Aug-10 30-Nov-10 10-Dec-10

10f (2000m) Metres 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2040 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000 2000

Furlongs 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10

Closing 24-Aug-10 20-Jul-10 31-Mar-10 28-Jul-10 26-Aug-10 31-Aug-10 01-Sep-10 04-Aug-10 09-Sep-10 01-Sep-10 13-Sep-10 09-Sep-10 08-Sep-10 25-Sep-10 24-Sep-10 18-Sep-10 18-Sep-10 23-Sep-10 22-Sep-10 25-Aug-10 10-Aug-10 23-Sep-10 24-Sep-10 09-Sep-10 23-Aug-10 13-Oct-10 09-Oct-10 29-Sep-10 03-Aug-10 07-Oct-10 31-Aug-10 03-Aug-10 23-Sep-10 14-Oct-10 20-Oct-10 25-Oct-10 14-Sep-10 01-Nov-10 01-Nov-10 25-Oct-10 07-Oct-10 27-Oct-10 03-Nov-10 05-Oct-10 04-Nov-10 15-Nov-10 12-Nov-10 13-Dec-10

10.5f (2100m) Age 3F 3+ 3+ F&M 3 3+ F&M

Surface T T T T T

Metres 2100 2100 2100 2100 2100

Call us on +44 (0)1380 816 777 to subscribe from £18 Country USA GB ITY JPN JPN ITY GER

Furlongs 9.4

9.5f (1900m)

Call us on +44 (0)1380 816 777 to subscribe from £18 Class L Gp 3 Gp 1 Gp 3 L L L Gp 2 L Gp 3 L L Gp 3 Gp 3 L Gr 1 Gr 1 Gr 1 Gr 2 Gp 1 Gp 3 L Gr 1 Gp 3 L Gp 3 L Gr 1 Gp 1 L Gr 1 Gp 1 Gp 1 L L L Gr 1 L L Gr 1 Gp 1 Gp 1 L Gp 3 L L L L

Closing 12-Oct-10

9.4f (1890m)

Now available for iPhone/iPad via Appstore Country GB SWE FR FR FR

Furlongs 9

Age 3+ 3+ 3+ 3 3+ 3 3+ F&M

Surface T T T T T T T

Furlongs 10.5 10.5 10.5 10.5 10.5

Closing 24-Aug-10 09-Sep-10 13-Oct-10 27-Oct-10 27-Oct-10

11f (2200m) Metres 2200 2200 2200 2200 2200 2200 2200

Furlongs 11 11 11 11 11 11 10.75

Closing 28-Aug-10 11-Sep-10 19-Aug-10 03-Aug-10 17-Aug-10 23-Sep-10 17-Aug-10

STAKES SCHEDULES ISSUE 31 new:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

16:19

Page 6

STAKES SCHEDULES

Visit www.trainermagazine.com/europe Country GER GER USA USA JPN ITY

Track Baden-Baden Hannover Churchill Downs Aqueduct Kyoto Pisa

Race Name & (Sponsor) Baden-Wurttemberg-Trophy Herbst Stuten Steher-reis Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf Red Smith Handicap Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup Andred (ex Regione Toscana)

Class Gp 3 L Gr 1 Gr 2 Gr 1 L

Race Date 23-Oct-2010 31-Oct-2010 5-Nov-2010 6-Nov-2010 14-Nov-2010 12-Dec-2010

Value €50,000 €20,000 $2,000,000 $150,000 $2,121,000 €61,600

11f (2200m) Age 3+ 3+ 3+ FM 3+ 3+ FM 3+ F&M

Surface T T T T T T

Metres 2200 2200 2200 2200 2200 2200

Surface T

Metres 2300

Now available for iPhone/iPad via Appstore Country Track ITY Siracusa

Race Name & (Sponsor) Mediterraneo - Memorial Faraci

Class L

Race Date 8-Dec-2010

Value €61,600

Track Istanbul Kempton Park Baden-Baden Chantilly La Teste de Buch La Teste de Buch Chester Longchamp Longchamp Longchamp Taby Galopp Woodbine Chantilly Ascot Ascot Koln Hanshin Saint-Cloud Toulouse Jagersro Newmarket Mulheim Belmont Park Longchamp Curragh Kyoto Caulfield Woodbine Newmarket Longchamp Milan Newbury Nantes Kempton Park Milan Churchill Downs Jagersro Lyon-Parilly Kempton Park Tokyo Toulouse Calder

Race Name & (Sponsor) Bosphorus Cup September St (totesport.com) Grosser Preis von Baden (Mercedes Benz) Tourelles Grand Prix Inter Regional de 3 Ans Grand Prix du Sud-Ouest Stand Cup Prix Vermeille (Qatar) Prix Foy (Qatar) Prix du Niel (Qatar) Stockholm Cup International Northern Dancer BC Turf Turenne Princess Royal St Cumberland Lodge St (Grosvenor Casinos) Preis von Europa Kobe Shimbun Hai Joubert Panacee Skanska Faltrittklubbens Jubileumslopning Godolphin St Silbernes Band der Ruhr Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational Stakes Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (Qatar) Finale St Kyoto Daishoten BMW Caulfield Cup Pattison Canadian International Pride St Prix du Conseil de Paris Gran Premio del Jockey Club e Coppa d’Oro St Simon St Grand Prix de la Ville de Nantes Floodlit St Falck G. Breeders’ Cup Turf Jockeyklubbens Avelsopning Grand Camp Wild Flower St Japan Cup Max Sicard WL McKnight Handicap

Class Gp 3 Gp 1 L L L L Gp 1 Gp 2 Gp 2 Gp 3 Gr 1 L L Gp 3 Gp 1 Gr 2 L L L L L Gr 1 Gp 1 L Gr 2 Gp 1 Gr 1 Gp 2 Gp 2 Gp 1 Gp 3 L L L Gr 1 L L L Gr 1 L Gr 2

Race Date Value 2-Sep-2010 4-Sep-2010 £65,000 5-Sep-2010 €250,000 8-Sep-2010 €52,000 11-Sep-2010 €55,000 11-Sep-2010 €52,000 11-Sep-2010 £40,000 12-Sep-2010 €350,000 12-Sep-2010 €130,000 12-Sep-2010 €130,000 12-Sep-2010 SEK 1,550,000 19-Sep-2010 CAN100K (BC)/CAN650K 23-Sep-2010 €55,000 24-Sep-2010 £45,000 26-Sep-2010 £65,000 26-Sep-2010 €155,000 26-Sep-2010 $1,276,000 29-Sep-2010 €55,000 30-Sep-2010 €52,000 30-Sep-2010 SEK 500,000 1-Oct-2010 £40,000 2-Oct-2010 €20,000 2-Oct-2010 $500,000 3-Oct-2010 €4,000,000 10-Oct-2010 €42,500 10-Oct-2010 $1,521,000 16-Oct-2010 AUS$2,550,000 16-Oct-2010 CAN2,000,000 16-Oct-2010 £100,000 17-Oct-2010 €130,000 17-Oct-2010 €297,000 23-Oct-2010 £65,000 26-Oct-2010 €60,000 3-Nov-2010 £40,000 6-Nov-2010 €61,600 6-Nov-2010 $3,000,000 7-Nov-2010 SEK 500,000 20-Nov-2010 €52,000 28-Nov-2010 £40,000 28-Nov-2010 $5,872,000 12-Dec-2010 €60,000 18-Dec-2010 $150,000

Age 3+ C&F 3+ 3+ 3+ F&M 3 4+ 3+ 3+ F&M 4+ CF 3 CF 3+ 3+ 3 C&G 3+ F&M 3+ 3+ 3 No G 3F 3+ F&M 3+ 3+ 3+ 3+ 3+ CF 3+ 3+ 3+ 3+ 3+ F&M 3+ 3+ 3+ 3+ 3+ 3+ F&M 3+ 3+ F&M 3+ 3+ 3+ 3+ 3+

Surface T AWT T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T D T T T T T T T T T T T T T AWT T T D T AWT T T T

Visit www.trainermagazine.com/europe Country FR FR JPN FR JPN

Track Longchamp Deauville Tokyo Fontainebleau Nakayama

Race Name & (Sponsor) Prix Royallieu (Qatar) Vulcain Copa Republica Argentina Belle de Nuit Arima Kinen (The Grand Prix)

Class Gp 2 L Gr 2 L Gr 1

Race Date 2-Oct-2010 21-Oct-2010 7-Nov-2010 30-Nov-2010 26-Dec-2010

Value €130,000 €55,000 $1,363,000 €52,000 $4,220,000

Race Name & (Sponsor) River Eden St (EBF)

Class L

Race Date 28-Oct-2010

Value £40,000

Metres 2400 2400 2400 2400 2400 2400 2400 2400 2400 2400 2400 2400 2400 2400 2400 2400 2400 2400 2400 2400 2400 2400 2400 2400 2400 2400 2400 2400 2400 2400 2400 2400 2400 2400 2400 2400 2400 2400 2400 2400 2400 2400

Track Doncaster Curragh Newmarket Milan Dortmund Chantilly Baden-Baden Milan Churchill Downs Rome

Race Name & (Sponsor) Park Hill St St Leger (Irish Field) Noel Murless St Duca d’Aosta Deutsches St Leger Scaramouche Badener Steher-Cup St Leger Italino Breeders’ Cup Marathon Roma Vecchia

Class Gp 2 Gp 1 L L Gp 3 L L Gp 3 Gr 3 L

Race Date 9-Sep-2010 11-Sep-2010 30-Sep-2010 2-Oct-2010 3-Oct-2010 7-Oct-2010 22-Oct-2010 23-Oct-2010 5-Nov-2010 14-Nov-2010

Value £100,000 €240,000 £40,000 €61,600 €50,000 €52,000 €20,000 €88,000 €500,000 €61,600

Closing 26-Nov-10

Furlongs Closing 12 04-Aug-10 12 27-Aug-10 12 15-Jun-10 12 31-Aug-10 12 01-Sep-10 12 01-Sep-10 12 06-Sep-10 12 25-Aug-10 12 25-Aug-10 12 25-Aug-10 12 19-Jul-10 12 01-Sep-10 12 15-Sep-10 12 18-Sep-10 12 20-Sep-10 12 06-Jul-10 12 17-Aug-10 12 21-Sep-10 12 20-Sep-10 12 16-Aug-10 12 25-Sep-10 12 22-Sep-10 12 18-Sep-10 12 05-May-10 12 05-Oct-10 12 31-Aug-10 12 03-Aug-10 12 29-Sep-10 12 21-Sep-10 12 29-Sep-10 12 16-Sep-10 12 18-Oct-10 12 15-Oct-10 12 28-Oct-10 12 27-Oct-10 12 25-Oct-10 12 13-Sep-10 12 10-Nov-10 12 22-Nov-10 12 12-Oct-10 12 02-Dec-10 12 04-Dec-10

12.5f (2500m) Age 3+ F&M 3 3+ 3+ F&M 3+

Surface T T T T T

Metres 2500 2500 2500 2500 2500

Age 3+ F&M

Age 3+ F&M 3+ 3 3+ 3+ 3+ 3+ 3+ 3+ 3+

Furlongs 12.5 12.5 12.5 12.5 12.5

Closing 25-Aug-10 13-Aug-10 28-Sep-10 19-Nov-10 09-Nov-10

13f (2600m) Surface AWT

Metres 2600

Call us on +44 (0)1380 816 777 to subscribe from £18 Country GB IRE GB ITY GER FR GER ITY USA ITY

Furlongs 11.5

12f (2400m)

Now available for iPhone/iPad via Appstore Country Track GB Lingfield Park

Closing 14-Sep-10 21-Oct-10 25-Oct-10 23-Oct-10 05-Oct-10 02-Dec-10

11.5f (2300m) Age 3+

Call us on +44 (0)1380 816 777 to subscribe from £18 Country TKY GB GER FR FR FR GB FR FR FR SWE CAN FR GB GB GER JPN FR FR SWE GB GER USA FR IRE JPN AUS CAN GB FR ITY GB FR GB ITY USA SWE FR GB JPN FR USA

Furlongs 11 11 11 11 11 11

Surface T T T T T T T T D T

Furlongs 13

Closing 22-Oct-10

14f (2800m) Metres 2800 2800 2800 2800 2800 2800 2800 2800 2800 2800

Furlongs 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14

Closing 03-Sep-10 31-Mar-10 24-Sep-10 22-Sep-10 10-Aug-10 29-Sep-10 12-Oct-10 25-Oct-10 04-Nov-10

ISSUE 31 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com 91

STAKES SCHEDULES ISSUE 31 new:Jerkins feature.qxd

19/8/10

16:19

Page 7

STAKES SCHEDULES

Now available for iPhone/iPad via Appstore Country Track GB Doncaster

Race Name & (Sponsor) St Leger (Ladbrokes)

Class Gp 1

Race Date 11-Sep-2010

Value £500,000

8.5f (2920m)

Age 3 C&F

Surface T

Metres 2920

Call us on +44 (0)1380 816 777 to subscribe from £18 Country FR FR JPN

Track Longchamp Longchamp Kyoto

Race Name & (Sponsor) Prix de Lutece Prix Chaudenay (Qatar) Kikuka Sho (Japanese St Leger)

Class Gp 3 Gp 2 Gr 1

Race Date 5-Sep-2010 2-Oct-2010 24-Oct-2010

Value €80,000 €130,000 $2,630,000

Age 3 3 3 No G

Surface T T T

Visit www.trainermagazine.com/europe Country FR FR FR

Track Longchamp Longchamp Saint-Cloud

Race Name & (Sponsor) Prix Gladiateur (Qatar) Prix Royal-Oak Denisy

Country GB GB AUS

Track Ascot Newmarket Flemington

Race Name & (Sponsor) Fenwolf St (SIS) Jockey Club Cup Emirates Melbourne Cup

Class Gp 3 Gp 1 L

Race Date 12-Sep-2010 24-Oct-2010 13-Nov-2010

Value €80,000 €250,000 €52,000

Race Date 26-Sep-2010 16-Oct-2010 2-Nov-2010

Value £40,000 £65,000 AUS$6,175,000

Metres 3000 3000 3000

Race Name & (Sponsor) Doncaster Cup Sports Nippon Sho Stayers Stakes

Class Gp 2 Gr 2

Race Date 10-Sep-2010 4-Dec-2010

Value £100,000 $1,504,000

Age 4+ 3+ 3+

Surface T T T

Metres 3100 3100 3100

Age 3+ 3+ 3+

Surface T T T

Metres 3200 3200 3200

Race Name & (Sponsor) Prix du Cadran (Qatar)

92 TRAINERMAGAZINE.com ISSUE 31

Class Gp 1

Race Date 3-Oct-2010

Value €250,000

Closing 18-Aug-10 25-Aug-10

Furlongs 15.5 15.5 15.5

Closing 25-Aug-10 06-Oct-10 05-Nov-10

16f (3200m)

Age 3+ 3+

Surface T T

Furlongs 16 16 16

Closing 20-Sep-10 11-Oct-10 03-Aug-10

18f (3600m) Metres 3600 3600

Visit www.trainermagazine.com/europe Country Track FR Longchamp

Furlongs 15 15 15

15.5f (3100m)

Call us on +44 (0)1380 816 777 to subscribe from £18 Country Track GB Doncaster JPN Nakayama

Closing 29-Jun-10

15f (3000m)

Now available for iPhone/iPad via Appstore Class L Gp 3 Gp 1

Furlongs 14.6

Furlongs 18 18

Closing 04-Sep-10 26-Oct-10

20f (4000m) Age 4+

Surface T

Metres 4000

Furlongs 20

Closing 25-Aug-10

ISSUE 31 INSIDE COVERS REAL:Layout 1

19/8/10

16:42

Page 1

ISSUE 31 OUTSIDE COVERS4:Layout 1

20/8/10

12:31

Page 1

European Trainer ISSUE 31 – AUTUMN 2010

European

ISSUE 31 – AUTUMN 2010 £5.95

www.trainermagazine.com

THE QUARTERLY MAGAZINE FOR THE TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE THOROUGHBRED

JEANCLAUDE ROUGET

Why the Paris Province divide is just a myth

CANCER IN HORSES The different types and treatments

RECURRENT AIRWAY OBSTRUCTION Publishing Ltd

Explained in detail

LOOKING FORWARD TO

The Breeders’ Cup