gelding | Horse Racing Free Tips

Fanning Remembers The Last Lion

Group 1 winner and former sire The Last Lion (Ire) (Choisir {Aus}) sustained a fatal injury in a six-furlong all-weather handicap at Kempton Park on Saturday. A winner of the Brocklesby in 2016, the bay was eight.

The Last Lion enjoyed a rigorous campaign in his 2-year-old year, and after winning the Brocklesby in early April, ran second in the G2 Norfolk S. at Royal Ascot, his fourth start of the year. Successful in the Listed Dragon S. later that summer, he then reported home second in the G3 Molecomb S. in July and dropped to third in the G2 Gimcrack S. at York. He added the G3 Sirenia S. over the Kempton all-weather in September, and was second in the G2 Flying Childers S. back at Doncaster. Sent to Newmarket for the first time, the colt won the G1 Middle Park S. by three-quarters of a length.

“It was sad and he didn't deserve that,” said jockey Joe Fanning. “Coming round the bend it just happened quickly, it was one of those things.

“He was moving OK and just on the bend, I wasn't 100% happy then he just went. It was one of those things and you couldn't blame the track or anything like that.”

The Barronstown Stud and Mrs. T. Stack-bred retired to stud for the 2017 season at Darley's Kildangan Stud in Ireland. The Last Lion was later moved to Hedgeholme Stud. His fertility decreased and he was gelded. From just 96 foals over four crops, he had sired 49 runners and 16 winners, with one black-type placed horse to date. Prior to Saturday's engagement, he had been brought back in the spring of 2021 and made three more starts for trainers Mark and Charlie Johnston.

“He was a great horse and he was my first Group 1 winner,” the rider continued. “He was a lovely gentleman of a horse, he was good to do anything with. As a 2-year-old he was a tough horse, he won the Brocklesby then he had about 10 races that year. He was tough as old boots.

“He just seemed to get better the more racing he had as a 2-year-old. That day at Newmarket was great, I wouldn't have retired happy if I hadn't ridden a Group 1 winner, so that was a bit of a relief that day–he was a lovely horse.

“He was an old gentleman and it is sad it has ended like that. He was rusty the first couple of runs since he came back, he missed the kick a couple of times and he was never like that before. He seemed to sharpen up a bit and seemed to be enjoying life.”

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Three-Time Melbourne Cup Placer Prince of Arran Retired

After winning his first domestic group contest with Eve Lodge (GB) (Ardad {Ire}) in the G3 Sirenia S., trainer Charlie Fellowes has called time on his likable globetrotter Prince of Arran (GB) (Shirocco {Ger}), who finished last of five in the G3 September S. at Kempton on Saturday. The Saeed bel Obaida silksbearer is best known for placing in three editions of the G1 Melbourne Cup–second in 2019 and third in both 2018 and 2020.

“It is with a heavy heart that we have decided to retire Prince of Arran,” Fellowes tweeted of the Rabbah Bloodstock-bred. “He has taken me places I could never have dreamed of and I am delighted he was here to witness my first domestic group winner. Happy retirement old boy.”

The trainer added, “An amazing day. It was quite apt Prince Of Arran was here on a day I got my first domestic group winner. It's been a long time coming and we've gone so close on so many occasions, including with Prince Of Arran, and for it to happen with him here was fantastic. A special day. One I will never forget.”

Originally, Prince of Arran's last race was to have been the 2021 Melbourne Cup on Nov. 2. However, the 8-year-old gelding was barred from competing in a fourth edition by the Australian authorities. Besides the September S., Prince of Arran's other 2021 starts was a fifth-place in the G3 Sagaro S. at Ascot in April. A two-time Group 3 winner in Australia, his record stands at 49-6-8-10 with $2,599,090 in earnings. He placed at the group level in England in the 2017 and 2020 Sagaro S. and the 2019/20 G3 September S. Prince of Arran also ran third in the GII Belmont Gold Cup Invitational S. in 2018.

Fellowes continued, “The plan had been to run him in the Melbourne Cup and retire him after that. This was going to be his last year racing whatever. The run today was very good for him. It's as good as he's run in this race.

“He ran well up to form and it was lovely to see him much better than he was at Ascot in the spring. If we'd been allowed to go to Australia we'd have gone, but now that's off the cards there's not much else here for him now.

“We retire a sound and happy horse and he'll have a fantastic retirement wherever that may be. For someone at this stage of my career with a horse like him, some of the days I've had have been so special.

“He's won over £2m in prize-money, we've travelled all around the world with him and he's been an utter superstar. I can't thank his owners enough or the many people in our yard who have had such an impact on his career.”

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Rohaan to Be Supplemented to July Cup

Dual group winner Rohaan (Ire) (Mayson {GB}), who won the Wokingham S. at Royal Ascot when last seen on June 19, will be supplemented on Monday for the G1 Darley July Cup at Newmarket on July 10. The gelding took the G3 Pavilion S. in April, before being purchased privately by Chris Kiely Racing Ltd. and James Tomkins. He then saluted in the G2 Sandy Lane S. at Haydock on May 22. In the latter, the David Evans trainee defeated Dragon Symbol (GB) (Cable Bay {Ire}), who was first past the post in the G1 Commonwealth Cup S., but demoted to second by the stewards for interference.

“We didn't expect him to perform as he has in his last two runs and we didn't want to take on the older horses, but now with the figures he produced at Ascot, we haven't a choice now,” said Kiely, who is also a professional gambler. “We have to go and take them on. We're looking like we might get the ground we need. We probably wouldn't run him if there was firm in the ground description.

“The horse is in the form of his life, he takes his racing incredibly well. It's a race we'll never get another stab at and it's the chance of a Group 1.

“The horse is on an upward curve and I think we go there with an incredible chance and if there was rain to come we'd go and be almost favourite. It's an incredibly hot race and it's nice to be part of it.

“If all goes well in the July Cup, we might go for the [G1] Maurice de Gheest four weeks later. He takes his races so well. While the iron is hot you have to strike, so we're going to supplement him and pray for rain.”

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Why Do Some Geldings Act Like Stallions?

Some male horses, even when gelded, can act like intact stallions. These behaviors can cause issues when the horses are turned out or when they are being handled in the barn.

As most stallions are kept only for breeding purposes, the majority of horse owners have no experience with them or their hormone-driven behaviors; eliminating these behaviors is a driving force behind having a male horse castrated.

Gelding a horse removes his testes, eliminating the source of testosterone, but some of the greatest effects of testosterone occur when the horse in utero, where the fetus' testes pump out a plethora of male hormones. This early influence may cause geldings to act like stallions, fighting with other geldings, mounting mares, acting aggressively with people, attacking foals or herding mares.

Interestingly, many geldings that exhibit stallion-like behavior are in their teens, though it's unclear why they act this way more than their younger counterparts. One theory is that a tumor on the geldings' pituitary glands secrete extra hormones. Another theory suggests that the increased confidence and social rank that comes with age may encourage the stallion-like behavior.

Some geldings may act stud-like because they were not gelded completely; they may have a retained testicle that has failed to drop into the scrotum. A blood test can determine if the horse has a retained testicle, which can be removed surgically.

Stallion-like behaviors can include:

Fecal marking. Some geldings will pass manure on other horse's fecal piles as a way of making others aware of his presence. Stallions in the wild do this as well.
Flehmen response. A horse raises his head, curls his upper lip and inhales to better smell mares he is near. This is a harmless action, but can accompany more troublesome actions.
Mounting mares. This can be a dangerous as mounting can injure the mare or the gelding if he is the recipient of a kick.
Fighting. A gelding acting stallion-like may fight off male horses to keep them away from “his” mares, potentially injuring himself or other horses in the process.
Herding or guarding mares. A gelding may continuously move mares away from people or other horses in the field, keeping them just out of reach.
Acting aggressively with people. Anyone working with or near a gelding exhibiting this behavior will be at risk of being bitten, charged or struck, especially if mares are present.