Summer Bird retired..

[Lost Cause]

Terrible news...he was top notch...

http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/57320/champion-summer-bird-retired

[Silver Charm]

He was but that was a pretty bad injury to come back from.

You wonder if the owner and trainer had a difference of opinions on whether the horse should be coming back, hence the reason the owner moved his horses. I have seen this before and this was the first thing I thought of.

The thrill of racing a great horse is sometimes hard to give up.....

[Lost Cause]

They definitely did the right thing by the horse...It\'s just so tough to see the good ones get retired early..
Beat Quality Road pretty easily going 1 1/4 last year..twice..

[Leamas57]

Big shame. Seems to me he beat QR in the slop once, and the \"Road\" was under construction parts of last year. Loved the Summer Bird but think QR would have won this year if each on best. That even at 10 panels.

Leamas

[Lost Cause]

Leamas57 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Big shame. Seems to me he beat QR in the slop
> once, and the \"Road\" was under construction parts
> of last year. Loved the Summer Bird but think QR
> would have won this year if each on best. That
> even at 10 panels.
>
> Leamas


As with any race the pace setup and who is in the race would be the determining factor.  One thing I do know at least from last year is that QR becomes a lot more iffy after 9 furlongs and that would be a huge factor for me when he runs against the top animals.