What do you think of the George Washington/Holy Roman Emperor saga?

Question

For those of you that don't know, George Washington has been taken out of stud duties as he has turned out to be infertile: Coolmore have responded by retiring Holy Roman Emperor in his place with immediate effect. Antoone else think this is appalling? Its not like Coolmore need the money, and Aiden O'Brien seems VERY unhappy about it. Unless a horse suffers an injury, there is no way a horse should be retired after only 1 season to race.

Perhaps they will send George back out on the racetrack, but I'd say that's doubtful.

Answer 1

I think it's pathetic that the sport is being ruined by these children. People need to stand up to Coolmore and Hill n Dale and decide to not support them in the sheds or at the sales. There isn't one stallion on either of their rosters that I could not replace with a stallion at another farm. Both of those farms are horrendous for over breeding their stallions and retireing their horses as young as they can to the sheds (H n D retired Point Ashley following the Keeneland January sale to be bred because she might not make the Kentucky Oaks in time). If people made their own decisions in life instead of letting the stud managers breed to whatever stallion needs the boost this would stop happening, and stallions will have to start proving themselves on the track. How arragant is Coolmore anyways to tell their breeders that HRE is an equal to what Infertile George did on the track. The only thing I learned when I worked at Coolmore America was that I never want to be like them. The don't have a sporting bone in their body. I was there when Fu Peg and Giant's Causeway were retired and I asked wouldn't it be great to bring GC back at 4 and have him dominate the horses on the dirt and have a rematch in the following BC Classic, I was pretty much laughed at, who cares he's done all he can do. Bullshit, he didn't win them all, until that happens there is always races that can be won. I hope this insane move finally gives people a wake up call and they stop supporting the equine version of puppy mills that is Coolmore, but people aren't that smart. At least I know my stud farm is and will always be run with 100x's the integrity and sporting level than those clowns.

To those of you that said it was business and they had to replace GW so their breeders would be happy. That's the lamest excuse I've ever heard, that horse doesn't compare at all to what GW did on the track, even though he too was retired too early. There is no way in hell I would breed to a lesser accomplished horse just because the one I really wanted to is infertile. Would you breed to a freshly retired son of AP Indy instead of Bernardini if he came up infertile. I doubt it, you would probably use your brain and breed to someone else who is more accomplished. But Coolmore is proving how stupid their clients are that they will lap up the next best thing they throw their way.

Answer 2

I can understand that they want to keep the clients that were booked to George Washington happy but their solution seems a little strange. It will be hard to come right out of training and into the stud barn for Holy Roman Emperor. They usually test breed them and do fertility tests first and it seems like its a little late in the season to just be getting started. You would think they could of satisfied the mares owners by helping them get services to suitable stallions. It would be hard though because most of the top stallions are booked full. They managed when Cigar came up infertile though. He had a large book of mares that were relocated but it seems to me that his problems were diagnosed earlier. If it turns out that George Washington is infertile the insurance company will be his owner once the policy is paid off and they seldom return the horse to racing.

Answer 3

I didn't care for the idea of them taking Holy Roman Empire out, especially since he is so young. But on the other hand I sorta understand that they want to fulfill the commitments they had with other breeders. You're talking a lot of money...

I guess GW's infertility problems might be more than they are letting on, and bringing in a specialist is a last ditch effort. I know time is money in the breeding business, especially when you consider that the closer to Jan. 1 a foal is born the better.

Answer 4

It is an absolute travesty from an outfit that has shaped the racing-as-breeding-business-age we are currently living in. It would be nice to see breeders booked to GW spurn his replacement (maybe they could book to Cape Cross, Dubawi, etc. to really make a point) but obviously that won't happen. Until racing becomes the focus of the business men (which won't happen unless there are national and international regulatory bodies with some teeth) decisions like this will be commonplace. But by the end of the year no one will really care because Teofilo's Triple Crown triumph will be so resounding that no one will believe HRE would have been a serious challenge anyhow.

Edited to add: the reports I read say they are bringing fertility experts from the US to work with George, so I doubt we'll see him back on track.