The bad news is that he’ll need to find another mount. Union Rags suffered a tendon injury, according to the earliest reports, and he’s out for the year, maybe forever.
Tendon injuries have been highly contagious this season; first I’ll Have Another, now Union Rags.
Note to Michael Matz: Doug O’Neill might have a shockwave therapy apparatus he won’t be using for at least 45 days that you can borrow.
(Look, I’ll try anything to get through this, even a little dark humor. In the vernacular, this news really sucks).
Note to Congress and the New York Times: Shockwave therapy is an accepted treatment for soft tissue injuries and has been around for more than a decade. (It’s not an illegal performance enhancer when used legally; so look other some other rock).
The Haskell, Travers and beyond, a second season following a first that turned out to be weird, exciting and unsatisfying all at once. A second sophomore season that lost a major player and much of the drama.
Could Union Rags catch I’ll Have Another in the polls? Hell, could Union Rags catch Bodemeister on the racetrack? We’ll never know, at least not in 2012, if ever.
The loss of Union Rags obviously hurts the Haskell and likewise the Jim Dandy. Having lost one of the big three major Haskell horses—Bode and Dullahan being the other two, of course—those headed to the Jim Dandy might now opt for an extra quarter-million bucks and Grade 1 status, too.
Both happenstances weaken the Travers as well. Clearly, Matz knew that if he wanted to win the three-year-old championship he’d have to run the table. But if he were beaten in the Haskell, that might be forgotten if he rebounded in the Derby of Midsummer.
Now, obviously, that dream is over and all any of Union Rags’ fans, or racing fans in general, can hope is that he comes back to race at 4; look at how much fun last year’s 3-year-olds are having in 2012.
But no matter how “minor,” tendon issues are always big-picture serious. Most horses, but especially this one, deserved a little better luck.
Come to think of it, so does the game.
12 Jul 2012 at 10:52 pm | #
Can’t remember which Eastwood movie it was, but that’s inconsequential for the purposes of this comment. “Don’t piss down my back and tell me it’s raining.”
TTT
13 Jul 2012 at 11:34 pm | #
From this commentary by Mr. Pricci, one should think that this racing season is over; unfortunately, for years and years, it has been the same commentary by turf writers: a few thoroughbreds getting all the ink.
For several years now, I have demonstrated with
FACTS (right, Mr. Kling?) that all thoroughbreds look and run basically the same; that all races, be it a claimer or a stake, look and are the same the difference being a few seconds, a few blinks of the eyes.
All races, be it a claimer or a stake races offer equal excitement, equal wagering opportunities, and equal payoffs.
So, why do turf writers zero in on a few horses, trainers, and jockeys every year, when all racing everwhere is virtually identical?
Yet, reading what turf writers write, one has to conclude that just a few horses they mention, along with the trainers and jockeys involved, make a racing season.
Name a serious handicapper who gives a hoot about horse-of-the-year; all he/she wants to know is who is going to win the next race on today’s card.
I doubt that Union Rags or Bodemeister have any ‘fans’, other than turf writers.
14 Jul 2012 at 12:19 am | #
Play it again, Sam!
You must remember this
A kiss is still a kiss
A sigh is still (just) a sigh
The fundamental things apply
As time goes by
And when two lovers woo
They still say: “i love you”
On that you can rely
No matter what the future brings
As time goes by
Moonlight and love songs - never out of date
Hearts full of passion - jealousy and hate
Woman needs man - and man must have his mate
That no one can deny
It’s still the same old story
A fight for love and glory
A case of do or die
The world will always welcome lovers
As time goes by…