Did Hennessy die?

[Maven]

hi bdw0617

...is a 3YO having a foal safe?

If Point Ashley was bred at age 3 (as Rok indicated), with the hope that she'd produce a foal (from that mating) when she's age 4...I'd suggest that most breeders would consider such management/a schedule to be reasonable/acceptable.

On the flip side...breeding a 2-yo filly (so that she'll have a foal when she is age 3) is another matter all together; arguably one that would likely be considered unreasonable/unacceptable by most.

Assuming I had a mare or filly.. I wouldn't even consider it until she's 5.

That's certainly your prerogative, but you'd arguably be giving up two potentially valuable years if your filly was not racing, or didn't have a problem/issue that might justify her not being bred at age 3 or 4.

I'd strongly recommend that you rethink your position, if the situation ever presented itself.

Respectfully

I agree on all points. Breeding a three year old filly is not that big of an issue. It's common practice, although waiting till four is often recommended by those who are more conservative.

If you're going to wait to breed till five, and the mare is not being productive on the track, you're not doing yourself any favors in a business that will eat you alive.

[Maven]

Coolmore stallions aren't considered animals; they are profit centers only. Is any other horse outfit more greedy?

I have been recently to Coolmore in Ireland; the care the horses receive is remarkable. They are pampered and truly loved by their grooms and handlers: while I understand that they are bred to an inordinate amount of mares, which I don't think they should be, the stallions, at least those in Ireland, are very well-cared for. I spoke to one of the stallion managers and he said that the accident Danehill suffered was a freak chance: he just flipped over in the paddock.

I can say, from personal knowledge, that Hennessy and Woodman were the two most liked by the people at Ashford. It's been a rough few months for them emotionally.

[FOS]

hi brogers

Poor Hennessy. One thing I have noticed is the incredible number of horses that die while acting as shuttle stallions.

Is it any more than those non shuttlers that die? I doubt it. For every Hennessy that dies as a shuttle sire there is an Unbridled that dies under what is considered nowadays as conservative stallion management.

Is it unreasonable to suggest though, that the chances of something going awry are likely increased when a stallion is shuttled?

Two examples: Strolling Along and Tactical Advantage.

Respectfully

[madelyn]

Well I do over "anal"yse things. However, last year and this I received inquiries about the possibility of shuttling Rocking Trick, and each year I reviewed the supporting data and dismissed the notion. He is too important to me, and I cannot condone a 40-50% risk of losing him.

Perhaps it is truly that stallions are half-year breeders. Or the change in food and water causes them to colic. Or that the travel and quarantine are so taxing, and then the horse has no time to recover but goes straight into the strenuous activity of covering mares. Whatever it is, the high incidence of occurrence is there, plain and simple.

Hennessy only had 86 mares in KY in 2006.. I can't find out about his '07 book.. but surely 86 x his fee is enough money?? It is unimaginable for poor Fusaichi Pegasus.. 131 mares in KY and then STILL shuttled?

It is actually a testament to Hennessy's durability that he was ABLE to shuttle for so long.. and 14 is "old" for a shuttle stallion. Usually they quit being shuttled much younger, probably because they show the strain.

[rudydee]

Madelyn

How many mares were bred to Rocking Trick in 2007?

[CA Michael]

I imagine there are more than a few crossed fingers each time Coolmore's stallions board an airplane for a destination half way around the planet. How many millions in horseflesh are flying the friendly skies? What if Darley hijacks the plane to the U.A.E.?

[BABYJHOE]

Thoroughbredtimes.com 8/10/2007


Hennessy, the Grade 1 winner who was leading juvenile sire in 2001 when his son, Johannesburg, won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) en route to champion two-year-old male honors, died of an apparent heart attack at La Mission in Argentina. He was 14.



Johannesburg himself went on to become the leading freshman sire of 2006, and he continues to stand at Ashford Stud in Versailles, Kentucky, where Hennessy had stood from 1997-’07 excluding the 2001 season in Japan.

“He’ll be sadly missed,” Ashford manager Dermot Ryan said. “It’s a loss. He left behind a potentially really good son in Johannesburg, who we’re really happy with what he is doing as a sire—that’s a big consolation.”

Hennessy won the 1995 Hopeful Stakes (G1) before finishing second by a neck to Unbridled's Song in that year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. He won four of nine starts and earned $580,400.

He entered stud in 1997, and his first crop included Australian champion Grand Armee, Grade 1 winner Harmony Lodge, and Grade 2 winner Keats. His eight crops of racing age include 57 stakes winners from 772 starters who have earned $53,730,087.

Other young sons of Hennessy currently at stud are Grade 1 winner Henny Hughes and stakes winners Blazonry, Cactus Ridge, and Wiseman’s Ferry.

[magic code]

And doesn't he look awful in that picture? Who else is swaybacked at Ashford besides Thunder Gulch?

[summerhorse]

It isn't so much that he is swaybacked but that his rear end belongs to another TALLER horse out there somewhere! Wonder what HE looks like?

[skeenan]

Perhaps it is truly that stallions are half-year breeders.

That makes sense to me... horses have a natural breeding season, so to make it year-round (and add in all of the other factors you mentioned, like travel, etc.) who knows what kind of long-term stress it might add on them...

He does look swaybacked in that photo... his withers and hip are close to the same height, which is normal. Was he always like that? Or did the rigors of breeding take its toll?

Either way, it's always sad news to hear...

[Intrinsic Worth]

Long backs run in his family. His half sister, Ruby City, is very long backed. Long backs are prone to swayback.

[Mood Swings]

RIP Hennessy

[Maven]

Long backs run in his family. His half sister, Ruby City, is very long backed. Long backs are prone to swayback.

I was going to say he's always been described as "very long backed" which I imagine has something to do with it.

[Intrinsic Worth]

Shuttling is very stressful on horses and does increase their chances of dying. I do believe Coolmore stopped shutting one of their stallions to NZ this season due to the horse's inability to cope with the flight.

A friend of mine took Generous Rosi to Japan a few years back and he was incredibly ill afterwards.

[bdw0617]

look at mister aspen