14 year old Stallions

[Garylynn Farms]

Here is this years list of 14yo stallions

FOSBURY
ALA ARRIBAPensioned
GREY MONARCHPensioned
HEDGE MAZEPensioned
JET BLUEPensioned
JETEPensioned
PERPPensioned
PIGEON ISLANDPensioned
PRINCELY LIFTPensioned
TIKKA TO RIDEPensioned
ZIPLESS IIPensioned

[Jazz Brown]

This list makes me want to cry. And scared to read the next post on this thread.

[Madelene Gilbert]

Good lord I swear half these guys just ran in the SC. How can they be 14 already?

And Zipless! Who could forget his epic Derby run????

(psst. See Jazz, that wasn't so bad...)

[Jazz Brown]

Hold up. Zipless ran in the Derby?!

I knew there had to be a reason I liked him...

[Garylynn Farms]

Updated to show who is pensioned.

[Lucas Davenport]

Given that chasers start their careers later, and race longer, than TB's in the game, could the powers that be possibly consider changing the game rules to allow chaser stallions to stand a bit longer. For example, say a chaser races thru 8, and gets some foals that same year. Those foals don't really race (enough races to actually make a broad based judgement of the sire value) until 4. By then, the sire is, what.....12???

OK, you can retire the stallion earlier, or do other things, but............... Compare that to how DR's are used as stallions. Its a game, and rules can be changed, without affecting the overall game play. Just saying.......

[Garylynn Farms]

Updated

[Chani Ruzzo]

this is so depressing.

[Gigi Gofaster]

I'm pretty new to chasing, but...

This is sad, but when I look at my mares and their nicks, the 'naturals' I have as 3 and 4 year olds, and my plans for breeding his year, I may feel a little nostalgic about those stallions we are losing, but I am really excited about the quality, affordability, and breadth of young studs and soon-to-be-retirees available. I have great nicks (and I hops success) from the crosses I've made with horses like Kombat, Figure Skater, Born of Summer, Wishing on Stars...just to name a few - and I'm especially excited about the likes of Ski in Colorado, Scientist Jet and Researcher. I'm really excited to be exploring this division!

[Jazz Brown]

They've been dropping like flies this month :c

[Chani Ruzzo]

and then there were 5

[Matthew McMahon]

Russian is 7 this year, so I should retire him at the end of this year to give him a bit of a shot in the shed

[Jazz Brown]

I would keep Russian running another year to try and get him past the $1M earnings mark and/or to get the SC win, Matthew. He only missed it by a head last year and if you retire him now he will have to compete against Centauros in the shed. Right now I might send Russian a mare or two, but if I want LoF in my bloodlines again I'm going to go to Centauros because he appeals much more. Centauros won the SC in 35, has higher earnings than Russian, and his dam is not only a steeplechase stakes winner herself, but has also produced two other foals that have won stakes races and are 6 figure earners. Russian on the other hand has lower earnings, hasn't won a SC despite coming close, and his dam never raced over the jumps and hasn't produced any other offspring comparable, let alone one that has earned more than $50K.

Of course you're the one that has the final say in if he retires this year or now. I retired Dogfox at 7 because at that point I was more interested in breeding to him than racing him and he had fulfilled all the goals I had set for him. I never saw him winning an SC because it wasn't in the range of his optional distances (mid to route) and he was starting to decline in form (I vetted him every week to decide if I was running him on a two week turnaround and he was no longer recovering as quickly). Yes, I could have raced him for another year and I might have been able to get him to $1.5M in earnings, he definitely would have at least won another race or two, but he wouldn't have been as competitive in the top tier of the chase world anymore. Russian on the other hand looks to be just as competitive as he was as a 6yro now and doesn't seem like he is going to experience a drastic drop in form anytime soon.