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Confidence Behind ‘The Next Sottsass’ Ahead of French Derby

Jean-Claude Rouget is not prone to hyperbole so, when the decorated French handler compared the unexposed Al Hakeem (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}) to his only G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Sottsass (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) earlier this week, some people did a double take.

Not Benoit Jeffroy, who manages Haras de Bouquetot on behalf of the Al Shaqab operation. Jeffroy has long been aware of the standing in which the multiple Classic-winning trainer has held Al Hakeem and, when the colt won the Listed Prix de Suresnes at Chantilly on Tuesday, he wasn't one bit surprised that Rouget told the French press that 'he reminds me a lot of Sottsass'.

“Jean-Claude is a straight-talking man and he says what he thinks. It was no surprise to us to hear what he said about Al Hakeem because he always told us that the horse was a colt with a lot of ability, he just needed to show it on the track,” Jeffroy explained.

High praise indeed for a horse who has graced the track just four times, winning three of those starts, with Tuesday's Chantilly victory a personal best by some way.

However, Jeffroy is predicting that Rouget's bold comparison between Sottsass and Al Hakeem can become evident to everyone when the highly progressive colt tackles the G1 Prix du Jockey Club at Chantilly on June 5.

“Who knows, maybe after the French Derby we can really start comparing him to Sottsass, let's wait and see,” he said.

“He is a great physical and, the fact that he showed what he could do at Chantilly the other day is very exciting with a view towards the French Derby.”

Jeffroy added, “There are a lot of similarities between Al Hakeem and Sottsass. They are by the same sire and have the same broodmare sire in Galileo (Ire).

“But the way this horse has been training, that's what reminds Jean-Claude most of Sottsass, as his work has been very good.

“Even as a 2-year-old, Jean Claude said that this might be the next Sottsass, the way he was training and behaving at home. Let's hope he is.”

It is that Siyouni cross with Galileo mares that not only produced one high-class colt in Sottsass but also St Mark's Basilica (Ire), hailed by Aidan O'Brien as 'possibly the best horse we've ever had at Ballydoyle,' after he scooped the prize for Horse of the Year at the 31st annual Cartier Racing Awards.

It may well be written in the stars for Al Hakeem but the comparables to Sottsass don't end with his pedigree. His dam, Jadhaba (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who showed classy form for Rouget before her career was cut short after she suffered a setback, was purchased by Al Shaqab for €620,000 at Arqana in 2014 from Ecurie des Monceaux, who also produced Sottsass.

“Jadhaba is a Galileo mare and, when it came to mating her, we felt that she needed a bit of speed, which is why we went to Siyouni,” he said.

“We thought the cross might work well and, not long afterwards, along came Sottsass and St Mark's Basilica, on the exact same cross. It just made a lot of sense.

“Galileo (Ire) crossed with Danehill has worked really well, as has Galileo and Pivotal, and she has got both. Hopefully Al Hakeem can be the third top-class colt from this cross.”

He added, “Jadhaba was in training with Jean-Claude as well. She was highly regarded and won twice as a 2-year-old and, after finishing third in a Group 3 on her only start at three, she developed a little issue so we had to stop. But she seems to have passed on a lot of her ability.”

If Al Hakeem can come good on Rouget's praise, it will stand the Al Shaqab operation in good stead for the future as she has a Siyouni filly at foot and is back in foal to the sire.

“Her first colt, Dahiya (Fr) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), won for Andre Fabre and Al Hakeem is only her second produce,” said Jeffroy of the broodmare.

“She also has a lovely Kingman (GB) filly in training with Jean-Claude, a very good looking Siyouni filly foal at foot and she is back in foal to Siyouni, so she could be an exciting young mare for us. She also has a Shalaa (Ire) yearling filly that is very similar to Jadhaba, a nice filly with good depth.

“Sheikh Joaan al Thani deserves it. He is passionate about the game and has invested a lot of money into it. He deserves to have bred a good one as a reward for all his investment.”

New dreams abound for a team that will forever be associated with Treve (Fr) (Motivator {GB}), who carried the colours of Al Shaqab Racing en route to recording back-to-back Arcs in 2014.

Given Al Hakeem is being compared to another Arc winner in Sottsass, it seems fitting to ask if the mind has been allowed to wander as far as the great race on Oct. 1.

“No, step by step,” Jeffroy laughed. “The Arc is an important race and of course it's in the back of our minds but let's take it race by race and hopefully–hopefully it takes him one year less than it did for Sottsass!”

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Prendergast keen to keep going after Shadwell boost

Less than a fortnight after it was announced that legendary trainer Kevin Prendergast would remain on the Shadwell roster, the 89-year-old operator confirmed that he was not the retiring kind and spoke for the first time since Hamdan Al Maktoum's passing about his long and successful relationship with the hugely influential owner.

The Shadwell operation has been winding down gradually since Hamdan Al Maktoum passed away just over a year ago and, while major operators like Dermot Weld and Sir Michael Stoute will no longer train any of the horses on what has now become a much-reduced string, Prendergast has spoken of what it means to him to have been left on the training roster. Mark and Charlie Johnston, Ed Dunlop, Brian Meehan and Freddy Head were also axed during the restructuring process.

While Prendergast did not receive any Shadwell 2-year-olds this year, he will train up to five older horses for the team, along with roughly ten others for different owners, which according to the multiple Classic-winning trainer, is just enough to keep things ticking over.
“We only have 15 horses for the season, that's all, but we've enough,” Prendergast said. “We have had a good innings and we'll keep going until the man upstairs calls it all to a halt.”

Awtaad (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}) sent the Curragh into a tizzy when carrying the famous blue and white silks of Shadwell to victory in that memorable Irish 2,000 Guineas of 2016 and that, along with the gallant effort of Madhmoon (Ire) (Dawn Approach {Ire}) to finish second in the 2019 Derby, were put forward as the highlights by Prendergast in a relationship that spanned over three decades.

“We were together for over 30 years,” Prendergast said. “We had some great days. We won an Irish Guineas together with Awtaad and were probably a bit unlucky not to win the Derby with Madhmoon. They were the highlights but we had a long and successful relationship together-a lot of great days.

“It was disappointing that Madhmoon got a little setback after finishing second in the Derby. I had a lot of Group and Listed winners for him but, to be second in a Derby and to win an Irish Guineas, they were the highlights.

“He didn't go racing in Ireland, which was a pity, but he used to visit the yard two or three times a year. I don't think he came racing in Ireland for the past 20 years before he died.”

Prendergast added, “He was a proper gentleman. He was extremely modest, very easy to work for and he took the good news and the bad news just the same. If something went wrong, he just moved on from it and was very forgiving and appreciative of all the work everyone did.
“As he said himself, the good days were better than the bad days, but the bad days were made easier when you had him in your corner.”

Prendergast has yet to send out a winner from just 12 runners this season but has a number of entries over the coming days, including the 103-rated and Shadwell-owned Monaasib (GB) (Bobby's Kitten). Regardless of how this season goes, the trainer, who will be forever remembered for managing the career of the 1977 Guineas winner Nebbiolo (GB) (Yellow Gold {GB}) and many others, believes the last of his Shadwell string will leave his Friarstown base by the end of the campaign.

“I was the first trainer in Ireland to train for Hamdan Al Maktoum,” he reflected. “Dermot Weld got some horses more recently and, when they didn't have enough horses to go around, I was left with the horses that I had, which was very good.

“Most of them were sold off, but we were left with four or five and, by the end of this season I would imagine that they will be weeded out as well. We didn't get any two-year-olds.”

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Hay Net Height: Consider Comfort Of Horses

Horsemanship masters and mavens of yesteryear taught their students to hang haynets high and tight. Low-slung haynets invited injury, the experts cautioned. A resurgence in the use of haynets has occurred recently, frequently as an attempt to slow hay consumption among horses on calorie-restricted diets. A high-tied haynet, however, encourages horses to crane their necks and contort their backs over a long period of time. Because habitual, unnatural postures can cause discomfort, even unsoundness, Italian researchers set out to determine the physical effects of haynet height on neck and back shape.^*

“Horses and ponies seem to be quite specific in how they approach eating from a haynet,” said Catherine Whitehouse, M.S., a nutritionist with Kentucky Equine Research. “Some nibble from them, grasping pieces of hay carefully; some go in for large mouthfuls, aggressively yanking out hay. Others will headbutt the bag, leaving it swinging from its knot.” Whatever their interaction with the haynet, Whitehouse said, changes in body position invariably occur and likely become a matter of routine.

In the study, researchers used geometric morphometrics to evaluate variations in neck and back shape relative to three specific hay-feeding positions. Geometric morphometrics allows scientists to identify and analyze minute postural changes through the use of anatomical landmarks. Specifically, geometric morphometrics eliminates differences based on size and instead focuses on changes in shape of individuals. Hay was fed from three positions:

Control position. The hay was fed from the ground
Low haynet position. The bottom of the haynet was level with the midpoint of the cannon bone
High haynet position. The bottom of the haynet was level with the elbow

Researchers used slow-feed haynets made from high-density polyethylene twine. The openings of the haynet measured about 1.5 in (4 cm), and the haynets were filled with 4.5 lb (2 kg) of the same hay horses were accustomed to prior to the study.

Video recordings were made of six mature Warmbloods as they ate hay from the three different feeding positions. Using a cellphone placed on a tripod, which assured a consistent perspective, horses were recorded for 15 minutes while eating hay at each feeding position.

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Researchers found that feeding positions affected the shape of the neck and back postures during hay consumption, and these changes in shape were well defined for individual horses. With the low haynet position, the back posture more closely resembled that exhibited during the control position, indicating a more natural feeding position, but the same was not true of neck posture. Both neck and back postures were changed considerably when hay was offered in the high position, potentially leading to problems.

“Certain haynets and feeding devices designed to encourage slow consumption have refined the level of management that can be achieved when dealing with challenging horses, such as those that are chronically overweight,” said Whitehouse. “Even though the researchers identified some changes to neck and back shape, the long-term physical effects of feeding from haynets have not been studied. Right now, the benefits seem to outweigh the potential disadvantages.”

Horses on calorie-restricted diets require optimal nutrition, and this scenario calls for a well-formulated vitamin and mineral supplement, according to Whitehouse. “Because these horses are generally fed all-forage diets, they usually miss out on the vitamin and mineral fortification provided in concentrates. An appropriate vitamin and mineral supplement can fill in the nutritional gaps left by forage.”

For safety's sake: in the study described above, haynets were hung low under the watchful eye of professional scientists. In an everyday situation, whether it's in a trailer or stall, haynets should be hung at a height safe for the individual horse. This will decrease the likelihood of a horse pawing and getting its hoof caught in the haynet.

Study: Colic The Primary Cause Of Death For Geriatric Horses In Retirement Centers

The primary causes of death among horses at a retirement facility include colic, lameness, neurological deficits, and the cumulative effects of old age, according to new research from the Netherlands.

Using records from a private equine retirement center gathered over an eight-year period, researchers aimed to pinpoint the most common causes of death in aged horses and, more specifically, to determine the effects of pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID) on mortality.^*

For this study, any horse 15 years of age or older was considered geriatric.

After an exhaustive review of records, researchers created fourteen categories for the cause of death: colic, lameness excluding laminitis, laminitis, down in the field, neurological deficit, sudden death, acute illness, chronic weight loss, tumor, fracture or trauma, behavior, financial, and old age. A “financial” cause of death indicated euthanasia occurred because of an owner's inability to pay for care, and “old age” designated a horse with multiple problems that cumulatively decreased welfare and whose life ended by planned euthanasia.

All horses at the facility were overseen by professional horsemen and veterinarians and were provided with routine care. Testing for PPID occurred if there were any clinical indications of the disease (cresty neck, history of laminitis, chronic infections, weight loss).

Of the 194 horses that resided at the facility, 80 geriatric horses died during the eight-year period. Twelve were between the ages of 15 and 19 years old, 25 were between 21 and 25 years old, 32 were between 25 and 30 years old, and 11 were 31 or older. The average age of those horses that died was 26 years old. All were euthanized or died of natural causes.

The most common cause of death among this population of geriatric horses was colic (20% of cases) followed by old age (15%) and lameness that did not involve laminitis (12%). Neurologic problems and an inability to rise after lying down rounded out the top five causes of death.

“For those of us that live and breathe horses, that spend time each day with horses, that study horses, these causes of death come as no surprise,” said Catherine Whitehouse, M.S., a nutritionist with Kentucky Equine Research. “The interesting aspect of this study is that this data was all mined from the records of horses housed at a single facility under similar management conditions. Because of this, there was less variation in care than there would have been if horses had been managed at multiple farms.”

With regard to PPID, of the 194 horses that resided at the facility, 125 (63%) were tested at least once for PPID. During the eight-year-study period, 62 horses of the 125 tested died, and 47 of those 62 (76%) had tested positive for PPID at an average age of 27 years old.

According to the study, horses were maintained on a diet of free-choice haylage with and were offered supplemental feed if necessary. The teeth of all horses were examined regularly and those with missing or problematic teeth were given mashes when necessary. Weight was monitored monthly using scales. “The horses at this facility appeared to be given top-flight care, especially when it came to provision of adequate feed, dental care, and regular deworming, all of which is important when it comes to lifespan,” Whitehouse said. “Old horses sometimes require more management, but the extra investment may pay off in added years at the end of a life.”

Aged horses often benefit from targeted supplementation. High-quality joint supplements can help ease the discomfort associated with the effects of a lifetime of service, and a research-proven hindgut buffer, like EquiShure, can help stabilize the pH of the hindgut so microbes can efficiently ferment forages.

^*Van Proosdij, R., and S. Frietman. 2021. Retrospective analysis of cause-of-death at an equine retirement center in the Netherlands over an eight-year period. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science 110:103824.

Reprinted courtesy of Kentucky Equine Research. Visit ker.com for the latest in equine nutrition and management, and subscribe to Equinews to receive these articles directly.

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