Trainer O’Neill settles the dues with I’ll Have Another by saving him from the possible indignity in the Belmont Stakes
Thundering and bursting to success in the first two tests of the Triple Crown, no soul among the crowds and audience dreamt that I’ll Have Another would not get to the gates of the Belmont Stakes. He over shadowed the lay out and the challenging timing of
the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes, each is held at over a different distance and at a different state not to forget the tricky gap between the two.
The trainer O’Neill was not exactly wrong or self centred when he scratched his under charge from the third jewel in the Triple Crown as the injury concerns of the three-year-old were far graver than the shattered hearts and hopes of the nation that lost
a Triple Crown winner for a thirty-fifth year.
The final leg is more brutal than the first two screening races. The rigid test of speed and stamina has ended in disaster before and already with a tendon injury, was a disaster ready to happen. Firstly defeated, and secondly injured was not the ideal scenario
set imprinted in the minds of I’ll Have Another’s connections.
The trainer has put forth the questions and then answered them on his own, acknowledging that it was not impossible for the horse to race but coming out of it the form in which he was entered, was highly doubtful.
"He's not lame, he could have run," Reddam said. "But if he can't compete at the top level, he's done enough. History is going to have to wait for another day."
"This is the beginning of a tendon. Could he run and compete? Yes. But would it be in his best interests? No,"
"This is extremely tough for all of us. Though it's far from tragic, no one died or anything like that, it's extremely disappointing and I feel so sorry for the whole team."
Which trainer would have wished for leaving out a panned out Triple Crown hounour? For a change if the connections were worried about the welfare of the horse instead of the prize money, the honour, the title, fame and the endless list, then it is equally
fair rather a way better option than putting the silent animal at risk.
Taking him home and retiring him with pride, dignity and respect is what the trainer owed to the under charge who gave him more than he asked of him. The horse racing industry owes it to the trainer for saving them a horse who can give them brighter and
better racing prospects for the future.
If the nation has waited for so long to hear of a Triple Crown contender and a winner then they sure will stay alive by the time the next one comes on the horizon. Saving and cherishing horses like I’ll Have Another will make the Americans see the Triple
Crown get contested sooner rather than putting the welfare of the horse at stake.
Horse racing is an animal sport but it is the humanitarian instinct that counts the most in its flourishing and thriving future. The ‘missed’ Triple Crown might have hurt the image of the industry, but only temporarily.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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