More Horses Must Race On Like Frankel

Keith Knight condemns the current trend of retiring top three-year-old colts and fillies

- Keith Knight

 This month’s piece concentrates on a time-worn chestnut, an issue, to use a phrase from a well-known sciencefiction franchise, ‘that tasks me’. I believe from the depths of my shallow heart that if owners voluntarily came round to my way of thinking many of racing’s financial problems would be eased. If owners refuse to bend, mind you, I would encourage the powers-that-be to bring in regulation to persuade them to mend their ways.

The issue I refer to is the retirement of 3-year-old colts to the breeding sheds. I will also include the premature retirement of 3-year-old fillies.

Horses do not have a full complement of teeth until they are 5-years-old and yet horses, fillies and colts, are removed from training before they reach this significant age in the life-span of a horse. I exclude from my argument those horses who suffer serious injury, though not those with injuries that easily mend with time.

I have overflowing respect for the great owner-breeders, Prince Khalid Abdulla, Godolphin, the long-established studs, Coolmore (though less so since they named a horse Spanish Steps, a calumny I find hard to forgive) and hesitate to criticise them as without their contribution to our sport our lives would be greatly diminished. Yet I resent having to feel grateful to them when they keep a classic winner in training as a 4-year-old, as is the case with Enable.