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COMMENTARY NOVEMBER 3, 2008 All because of a fever by John Mucciolo As a fan of racing, first and foremost, it pains me to see the stars of today and tomorrow being taken away from what they do best -- run! It's ridiculous that once a horse achieves success at the highest level that stud plans ensue shortly after he exits the winner's circle, with owners coming up with countless reasons or excuses to shelve their athletes prior to them reaching their peaks. One particular case of premature retirement that infuriated me was that of world-record holder RED GIANT (Giant's Causeway), who was diagnosed with a fever prior to the Breeders' Cup Turf (G1). Not only was the mega-talented four-year-old withdrawn from the Turf, he's was retired from racing all together. What a joke! The connections surrounding Red Giant, Peachtree Stable and conditioner Todd Pletcher, indicated that the Turf was to be his final career race, and that is a joke in itself. Red Giant seemed average in his first three lifetime tries, all on the main oval, but that all changed when the well-bred colt was transferred to the sod, rolling to a 5 1/2-length maiden score at Aqueduct in the spring of 2007. Following with a big second in a first-level allowance tilt, the then-sophomore won three straight, capped by a game win in the Virginia Derby (G2). By then, Red Giant signaled that he was a burgeoning turf star, and capped his fine three-year-old campaign with excellent second-place showings in the Secretariat S. (G1) and Jamaica H. (G2). The exciting turf prospect took a while to get going in 2008, but he a ran phenomenal race to get up in the Fourstardave H. (G2) at Saratoga against a solid cast, at a distance much shorter than his optimal route of ground. And the surface was yielding, to boot. The obvious talent had appeared to pick up right where he left off in 2007, and his next race was the one that stamped him as a superstar, when he blitzed 10 furlongs in a world-record 1:57 in the Clement L. Hirsch Turf Championship (G1). And then he came down with an alleged fever. Here we go again, get that elusive Grade 1 and sail off into the Bluegrass sunset to add to the mass overproduction of Thoroughbreds. Even if 'The Giant' had bypassed the Breeders' Cup and pointed toward a full campaign at five, he had every right to be the clear-cut dominant turf horse in the United States next year. His affinity for the Santa Anita turf course would have given him a big shot in next year's Breeders' Cup, possibly in the Classic (G1), but even without that he could've compiled multiple Grade 1 scores and bundles of money, thus enhancing his status as a worthy stallion and boosting his value and stud fee in the process. Instead, we have another son of Giant's Causeway retiring early to further flood the troubled commercial breeding market, and it all started with a fever. This is far from a knock on Giant's Causeway, who in a short time at stud has proven to be as valuable as anything in North America. But sons of Giant's Causeway with mares out of the Mr. Prospector line are rapidly becoming a dime a dozen. Brilliant turf star Aragorn (Ire), who bagged a pair of Grade 1 wins in 2006 while running a game second in the Breeders' Cup Mile (G1), and 2005 Florida Derby (G1) runner-up Noble Causeway are both sons of Giant's Causeway out of Mr. Prospector line mares, like Red Giant. Also hailing from that potent cross are the retired Grade 1 hero Heatseeker (Ire) and soon-to-be-studs Frost Giant, winner of the Suburban H. (G1), dual Grade 3 victor Giant Gizmo and top turf sophomore Cowboy Cal. That makes seven stallions from the same cross who will likely be covering mares in Central Kentucky within the next two years. Add to that list 2005 Champagne S. (G1) and Hopeful S. (G1) winner First Samurai, who is inbred through Northern Dancer, and Hawthorne Gold Cup (G2) romper Fairbanks, who was produced by a mare from the line of the great Damascus, and we'll have nine sons of Giant's Causeway at stud -- and we haven't even touched on the topic of his presence overseas! Sounds like overkill to me, and the fact that Giant's Causeway is unproven as far as being a sire of sires makes the proposition a risky one, as well. Keeping Red Giant in training could have provided him some separation from the other stallions with similar genetic make-up, but now he'll become one in a long line of Thoroughbreds who become an immediate afterthought once retired. It doesn't help the game or the breed that we no longer have a chance to witness this nearly great colt perform again. All because of a fever!
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