Bled and Eased

Horse racing deals highs and it deals lows. There can only be one winner in each race regardless of the size of the field. Consequently in this weekend's Breeder's Cup races there will be 14 winners and, unfortunately, 178 losers. On Friday there were some monumental wins. In the BC Marathon a stable that had never started in a Breeder's Cup event ran away and won with a horse claimed for just $10.50, a return of 2800%. Of course for every fantastic story there are plenty of disheartening ones.

For Princess Azula (V) her Breeder's Cup was a dismal performance summed up simply by the race results single line: 6w, 5w, bled badly, eased in stretch. She finished 13th at odds of 3.90 to 1.

For those unfamiliar, horses can bleed when tiny capillaries rupture in their lungs because of extreme exertion during a race. The bleeding enters the airway and prevents air flow. In severe cases the blood can be spotted as it’s discharged from the nose. To prevent bleeding trainers often prescribe lasix, a diuretic which lowers blood pressure, therefore lowering the amount of pressure within the capillaries, reducing the chance of rupture. Horses have to be proven bleeders in order to race with lasix. Azula has never bled before and therefore was not placed on the medication prior to today's event.

Azula will receive a scoping to determine the extent of the bleeding and somewhere between 45 to 60 days rest depending upon the severity of the damage. The original plan was to send her to Barrett's to be sold for maximum value after winning the Breeder's Cup, however with such a poor performance her value is now severely crippled. Instead she will remain with the stable with the hope that she can start again, perhaps in the Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Turf, should her luck improve.

Perseverance!