Following the King George, it's reported Master Minded had surgery on a tendon injury. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/horse_racing/16334775.stm If Master Minded recovers in time for the Cheltenham Festival, should he go for the Ryan Air? 2m 5f is his optimum trip IMO.
Just hope he does recover, and gets back to racing! Will be a tragic lost to the sport! If he doesnt get back!
Can't see him being fit for Cheltenham. If he does come back (and fingers crossed he does) I would have thought it will be next season.
Looks to Me like that will be the last time We'll see Master Minded on a track. I have no doubt in my mind that bar the injuries he suffered he could have won more Group One's. Just hope connections look after the horse and do the right thing, Im sure they will. Marvellous horse on his day...
No way should he run at Cheltenham having had a tendon operation. Hope he recovers to enjoy life one way or another.
Ive got a spare stable in my yard- I dont mind taking him for a happy retirement! Have him as a happy hacker! lol
Less serious tendon injuries take a long time to heal. I think we have seen Master Minded race for the last time. Lets hope his connections make a decision to retire him, afterall he owes them nothing and they owe him a heck of a lot.
For a while I think they weren't sure whether he would survive so the fact there's a chance he sees a racecourse again is great news, personally I'd be happy seeing him in a field safe in the knowledge that he put up the best performance I ever saw at the festival....
Just read this from Sporting Life http://www.sportinglife.com/racing/...ME=racing/12/01/03/RACING_Minded.html&BID=465 I cried when I read the last bit where Clive Smith says if it wasn't for Kauto he'd be the horse of a lifetime. Poor Master Minded, what a dreadful thing to have happened to him, but hopefully he'll recover to enjoy a happy life doing something less demanding than racing. I can't see him coming back after this and I'm not sure I want to. Clive Smith obviously loves the horse very much and I trust he'll do the right thing by him, whatever that might be. Get well soon Master Minded.
Sounds like he didn't have stem cell surgery, in which case there is no chance he will see the race track again. If he does he'll break down for sure. Get well soon MM and here's to a happy retirement.
what do you mean by stem cell surgery ron? it makes me think of dolly the cloned sheep but i'm not sure that's the same stem cell procedure. and why would that mean he can't race again [not that i'd want to wish him racing if he can't]. and thanks for the clive smith article link epona. MM was super when he was super and still exciting to watch when he was, by his own standards recently, not quite as shiny. many horses have had a career cut short but we'll still remember their achievements. master minded, to me, was a very graceful jumper and super fast. hope he gets better quick, he's in a top place for treatment.
can't see him coming back after this and I'm not sure I want to. Clive Smith obviously loves the horse very much and I trust he'll do the right thing by him, whatever that might be. please log in to view this image
I'll have to get my wife to explain it Petito. All I know is that it's the only way to produce a permanent result. A friend of ours had a £250k show jumping pony that did its tendon and they had stem cell surgery on it; costs an absolute fortune. The pony is retired now though, here actually. When my wife comes in I'll try to get a layman's explanation of stem cell surgery (ie one I can understand).
That is not necessarily true. What stem cell treatment does is, firstly, reduce the build up of scar tissue. This is because the tendon 're-grows' rather than 'heals'. Scar tissue is much less elastic than the original tissue so cannot perform the tendon function as effectively, increasing the risk of re-injury. It also makes the process a lot quicker. That is not to say that allowing nature to take it's course cannot lead to a positive outcome. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1725307/pdf/v039p00582.pdf
Fair comment Zen but I think in the context of G1 racing over jumps in winter ground, it's good enough for me. That is the key difference Zen. Hence putting him back to racing again is almost certain to cause a re-occurrence. Put it this way, unless I could afford stem cell surgery, I wouldn't subject a horse of mine to compete at top level. However, the point you make about nature taking it's course is a good one as we had a pony who severed a tendon in the shoulder once (beyond operation) and over the years it re-grew completely and was OK to compete at unaffiliated level, giving a young lad a lot of fun. It seemed like a miracle. Still haven't spoken to my wife but you've hit the nail on the head with your explanation. Thanks.
Stem cell therapy simply explained.. http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/care/402/69097.html It's an old article (2005) so could be out of date now. Here's an interesting little film of Mr Cool, when he had his treatment http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eZIEMT48Lg I loved Mr Cool...another one of my fave horses of all time...I think it was his little white nose that did it for me Hopefully we'll get up-to-date info, on stem cell therapy, from Mrs Ron, later. So then, which other racehorses have been successfully treated this way? I only know of Mr Cool.
thanks for the stem cell info/articles all. so a tremendously expensive procedure, and not only that master minded has had rib problems as well, plus he's 9. so all things considered it would seem that we won't see him racing again. i'm not that far from newmarket and i always think of the horses i've loved watching that are in hospital there, including denman when he was. wishing MM well poor chap. there was a film clip of him on CH4 racing today to remind us how good he was, i think from the tingle creek.
