That was undoubtedly one of the worst things to happen in horse racing in either code. The "scarves" - the almost football match mentality of A Vs B - unbelievable. It wasn't Kauto Star and Denman with Cerium thrown in to lead them for a circuit in a restricted race. Still, it can be chalked up as RFC first notable disaster, and for that I am thankful.

As ever Bobby, top class stuff.
R Carver.

Well said Bobby - more power to your elbow. The introduction of tribalism into racing (and particularly National Hunt) is beyond shameful. As for the IC scarf - regardless of the legal niceties, to proceed without the basic good manners of speaking to yourselves is deplorable.

the website is great, some nice stuff on there. I know it isnt 'your' partnership per se, but re the blog content - do you know if the two shares in the Hollow Bottom partnership are still going?
Presumably these beasts will all be operating out of the NTD barn.

thanks in advance Bobby, all the best.

I recently rewatched most of IC's races and despite the two unplaced finishes at kempton I give him every chance this year. The early mistake last year could happen to any horse and he is a better horse now than he was two years ago when he was beaten. I personally see no reason to go for the lexus and NTD is right that at worst running in the king george has served you well as prep for cheltenham, so why change?

I think there was something wrong with the feed two years ago at the yard. I agree that kempton may not be the ideal track for him but I'm certain he hasn't run his true running the past two times he has ran there. Meaning the current price is too high. This is an extremely talented horse and must have every change this year. It remains to be seen of kauto regresses, regression could be sharp at this age. Moscow flyer followed an outstanding season with a winless one.

The current price should be taken before either kauto IC run their first race.

I agree CVB, as you know i backed it in March. Think the world of the horse, and his price is way too big. I dont strongly fancy him tbh for this race, but his price is way too high.

Bobsi .. this truly is a bootiful thread and a good read even at this godforsaken time in the morning. Trust you are keeping well. By the way I love a (large) G & T (hic) but my liver unfortunately does not so i'm stuffed. IC is a monster horse and I'm committed to a big run in the GC (pocket talking of course). I'm sure I speak for most on here because we all look forward to and value your contribution. Gives us mere mortals that little bit more insight so thank you. What you mentioned about tribalism and scarfs (stupid) is too true. Let us hope the Chelters Exec don't start to advocate cannibalism or we are in trouble.

Good read the website as well BD.

Thanks for taking the time to enquire Bobby and for coming back on that. It sounds like a good deal and some craic - only drawback is that I am based in Ireland - so might not get full use / benefit. Might be better for me to register with a view to a future OFITN partnership - either way will drop you a line via your OFITN email.

thanks again Bobby, all the best

500 Club.

Hi R.Carver

Airflow is EVERYTHING. 

Unfortuantely trainers and bloodstock agents alike simply don't take the issue as seriously as it demands. With yearlings it is not possible to accurately scope and determine the condition of the airways, with NH stock they rely on the sales vetnary process to identify the issue. Try asking either the trainers or bloodstock agents about airflow, and most simply believe problems can be resolved by surgery.

Most people can learn to recognise good conformity - its really not that hard, straight legs in front, sloping shoulder, short strong cannon bones, 45 degree pasterns, low hocks, powerful hind quarters, correctly proportioned body and back and you are home and hosed. The trouble is that no horse has perfect conformity, so the skill is to assess the impact of any defect in conformity on the potential performance of the horse.

My belief is that the elements needed for a winning racehorse are, pedigree, conformity, movement, airflow and education /early preparation. Without any of these five elements your chances of having a successful horse are hugely diminished. With all five elements in place your chances of having a winning racehorse are high, your chances of finding a champion are still part of a lottery process but you have reduced the odds of winning the lottery many fold.

Airflow is absolutely critical - and regardless of what anyone will tell you poor airflow is 100% responsible for bleeding from the lungs. Whilst only 2 to 3% of horses bleed from the nostrils (the majority of blood is swallowed) - over 80% actually bleed from the lungs during a race. Because it is never seen it is largely ignored in European racing (all horses in the USA routinely race on Lasix with a view to minimising bleeding).

Most accidents on the track are also down to poor airflow - it works like this. Horse goes to race, because of an obstruction to his airflow he starts to bleed in the lungs, where the bleed is serious and reduces the lung capacity he faces a lack of oxygen supply to the muscles, so he falls, puts in a false step, tears a tendon or ligament, suffers a bone injury etc etc.

The reason for the bleed is a simple matter of physics. Pressure in the lungs increases on inhilation and decreases on exhilation Where the airway is obstructed the pressure rapidly multiplies. Try blocking one of your nostrils and breathing in through your nose with your mouth closed and you will feel the extra pressure immediately. The increased vacuum pulls the blood from the capillary bed into the lungs and begins to impair performance. In extreme cases the blood will be drawn all the way into the nostrils which is what is described as bleeding from the nose.

This problem is usually caused by a hereditary weakness we have progressively developed in the breeding programme. If you consider polio in humans it produces the effect of withered limbs due to damaged nerve responses from the brain. As the brain cannot move the limb progressive muscle wastage occurs. Polio is of course an infection, in the case of the horse the problem is in the gene pool. The nerve response which controls the larynx is damaged, which means it is not fully functional - and in similar fashion that causes muscle wastage in the tissue around the larynx and progressive reductions in functionality / muscle wastage. The disfunction is usually more progressive on the left hand side - and in the worst cases you can feel the deterioration in 3-y-o and 4-y-o stores by inserting your fingers under the horses jaw line and pressing up into the voice box area. 

As it is hereditary the best way to minimise the impact is through careful selections of pedigrees and researching family lines. Before attending any sale I will spend literally hundreds of hours researching family lines (I have a substantial database already), looking for signs of wind problems in performance, or looking at trainers comments to see where a member of the family has had wind surgery. I am peculiar in the fact that I think stable tours contain nothing of any value other than the phrase - has had a wind op which adds to my knowledge of the family line.

The alternative is surgery - but we know nerve damage is impossible to repair. So what is being attempted is alteration to soft tissue to increase airflow. Some improvement may be achieved but you can never get anywhere close to the a fully functioning airflow system.
   
This subject also dove tails into pedigree and how the equine gene pool works - and jumping technique.

As all horses carry latent genes which despite not being present in their own make up they can revive in future generations if put into the breeding programme. Also even full brother and sisters do not have identical genes, so it is possible that any wind issue may hit one horse but miss other progeny from the same dam. With study you can see how great the problem is within the family and take a view on likely recurrence. Wherever possible concentrating on families with little sign of the  problem makes good sense. 

Also in his racing action a horse becomes a giant pair of bellows with a rocking motion, when his front legs and his head come down the lungs are compressed and he breathes out, when his back legs come down and his head rises he breathes in. The impact caused by poor jumping is not just the physical impact of hitting the fence or hurdle (indeed the modern obstacles collapse upon impact), it is the broken stride pattern and the loss of his breathing rhythm. The impact of landing on all fours or back legs first is extreme particularly in the latter part of a race. If you already have a breathing issue there is simply no chance of recovery.

That in turn leads to conformity, horses who are too long or too short in the back will struggle to maintain an effective jumping technique etc etc

Studying jumping technique is a key part of my punting strategy - and is principally why I have always maintained Big Bucks will never win a Gold Cup, and explains why Silverburn a full brother to Denman proved such a dissapointment (had wind issue and a poor jumping technique).

Anyway by now you are probably wishing you had never asked - I do plan to cover all five areas on the website when I get a chance, if you have any further questions you can e.mail me on info@ourfriendsinthenorth.com and I will send you my private e.mail address

I'll echo that tlp. It's good to read intelligent, carefully researched work on horses and to learn about them from someone who is definitely an expert. It's something I will take more notice of in those stable interviews.
Bobby, when horses do go for wind ops do you think that they are anything other than short term fixes then?

Redal2 - to be fair I don't know enough about all of the current surgical techniques to know how long they will last. But it is fair to say when the issue relates to the voice box or larynx the effect is temporary and whilst it may bring about improvement it can never restore the horse to its full potential. In simple terms they are removing or reshaping tissue to try and negate the effect of the withered muscular structure which prevents the valve (larynx) from opening and closing fully. Bear in mind that when a horse is running at full speed this valve is reversing 5 times a second. A lot of the airflow are caused by on one side of the valve not opening or closing properly. Reshaping the tissue may bring about marginal improvement, but it cannot reproduce what nature intended.

Strangely ICs current vet is an expert in such operations (has performed them for all top trainers including PN) and I have never taken the trouble to ask him about the latest techniques. I will do so and let you know his views.

Justso - have been looking at a really nice horse that I may put into partnership, he would go to Arthur Moore in Ireland would you be interested ?

Hi Bobby, great post & thanks for the info. V interesting stuff. As ever, GL.

Not sure it's superior knowledge - there are no absolutes - I was severly wounded when Tidal Bay jumped them into the ground in the Arkle - never did before or since - wretched nag. If I can work out how that happens then this time next year we will be millionaires. [:)]

3753 Cruithne - not sure how it works, the vet I refer to is highly regarded in Ireland and does many of these ops. He has not done all of Nicholls so I suspect he may specialise in certain types of op. But I agree for the 100s of ops few seem to improve, not sure it is the vet though as stated above I just don't think surgery will ever be the answer.

Agreed - it is more a last resort than a scientific diagnosis. What A Friend is the latest.

Bobby, many thanks for that - am indeed interested, just sent a mail to your @OFITN.com email address. chat soon!

all the best

Hey Bobby,

Do you think Celestial Halo will be able to transfer the way he gets across hurdles to fences? He takes them so low that either, he will have to change his jumping style completely or win everything in sight. Or you could even go down the road that, his low jumping is what allowed him to compete in grade 1s over hurdles and he will be a mere handicapper over fences.

I think i may have asked before,,, but do you put all mid/end-race falls down to poor breathing, leaving the horse tired?

and do different jumping styles suit steady 3 mile chases over blistering 2mile sprints?

cheers,
alex