I'm greatly saddened at the retirement of such a superstar. Yet I am greatful to his connections for doing right by their horse. I'm going to go sulk now.Majestic Son Retired
August 21, 2007
Trainer Mark Steacy confirmed with Trot Insider this morning that Majestic Son, Canada's Horse of The Year for 2006, has been retired due to a leg injury. Steacy said "we didn't want to race Majestic Son unless he was Majestic Son."
Steacy said that the four-year-old son of Angus Hall hasn't been himself since winning his seasonal debut in Hippodrome de Montreal on July 1.
The career $1.9 million earner went on to capture the Frank Ryan Memorial at Rideau Carleton Raceway before racing a gritty mile in the Nat Ray, where he trotted his mile in 1:52.
The 22-time winner last raced in the Trot Prestige at Hippodrome de Montreal on August 19 where he broke in the stretch and finished well back.
"He hadn't been himself over the course of his last few starts," Steacy told Trot Insider. "He didn't feel right in his left hind and we couldn't find out what the problem was. There was no swelling and there wasn't anything obvious that was wrong with him.
"We took him up to Dr. Terry Ruch in Barrie and we went over him with a digital X-ray machine for about three hours. We found that he had splintered a piece of his tibia and he also had a similar problem in a splint bone. Basically, to him it would feel the same as a shin splint or a really bad bruise in a human.
"We could've used shockwave therapy or injected him, which we didn't want to do, or else we could've given him four or five easy weeks of hand walking and eventually gotten him back. If we decided to go that route, we would miss the Breeders Crown and the Maple Leaf Trot with him, and that is what we were pointing at all season for him.
"We could've given him the time and brought him back, but then we run the course of missing another breeding season with him. In light of everything, we made the decision as a group today to retire him. It was a do or don't do type of thing, but we just thought as a group that it would be the best thing to do.
"I can't watch him go around if he's not 100 per cent. And, if he's going up against the group he has to go up against, he wouldn't be able to do it successfully unless he's at his best.
"I'm very disappointed because he's given me a lot of really satisfying moments. If he was injury free this year, I believe that he could've done some very good things this year, but you've got to go with what's best.
"I'm thinking he's going to stand at Tara Hills in Ontario."
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