PEDAGO
these mythical stamina horses that enter the legend , after genetics , mentality and training , is therefore the owner . He must dream of the Arc and the Epsom Derby , and have the financial capacity to offer his horse , in addition to dream genetics which is in itself a fortune , this precious and incompressible learning time which will perhaps lead him to the firmament .
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Stayers have big hearts The stallion Eclipse , true « Adam » of Thoroughbreds since he is almost systematically found in the pedigree of contemporary horses , was endowed with a huge heart . The autopsy of the champion born in 1764 revealed a heart weighing 6.4 kilos when the usual weight of a racehorse ’ s heart varies is about 5 kilos . The chests of great performers such as Phar Lap and Secretariat also housed a huge heart . Various contemporary scientific studies demonstrate a correlation between a horse ’ s preferred distance , its degree of performance and the size of its heart . The left ventricle , which returns blood previously oxygenated in the lungs to the body via the aorta , is the main object of studies . The end-diastolic volume ( volume of the heart when it is filled with blood ) and the systolic ejection volume ( volume of blood returned to the body when the heart contracts ) are higher in horses running over 2,000m and more than in sprinters . The latter generally have a slightly thicker heart wall and slightly less voluminous cavities than stamina horses . An English study conducted in Cambridge and Newmarket in 2005 , involving 483 Thoroughbreds in training , showed that the volume of the left ventricle of the heart was 8 to 16 % larger in hurdle horses compared to those running flat over short distances . The study also concludes that the hearts of horses evolve physically under the effect of training in order to better adapt to the effort required . The role of the trainer in the « formatting » of the young galloper is therefore a key element .
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Mother nature ’ s surprises If genetics is the basis for directing horses towards a certain distance , there are however exceptions that prove the rule . All the stakeholders in the production of this article cited the colossus Persian King , 1.70m at the withers , now a stallion at the Haras d ’ Etreham . Neither his physique nor his origins predestined him to stay the distance . He is a son of Kingman and Pretty Please by Dylan Thomas . “ His father is an excellent stallion for producing 1,600m horses , it ’ s a typical American speed horse origin with Invincible Spirit behind . His damsire Dylan Thomas was a stamina horse but is not known to improve the breed ,” analyses Richard Corveller . Excellent and tough , Persian King , trained by André Fabre , ran twelve times for seven wins and five places . He won Group 1 over 1,600 and 1,800 meters and achieved the unusual performance of chaining a victory over the 1,600m of the Moulin de Longchamp in September 2020 with a third place over the 2,400m of the Arc exactly one month later . « He had versatility as they say in English : an ability to accelerate over all distances ,» analyses Freddy Powell . For Alain de Royer , « He was a horse with a magnificent turn of foot , he didn ’ t really stay the distance but did it on his class » The two agree that Persian King ’ s aptitudes are « A genetic oddity but above all a great training performance ”. Alain de Royer also likes to quote the stallion Sendawar ( Priolo ). “ I started him over 2,000m at three years old because he was very cold in the morning ,” recalls the trainer . He won his maiden over 2,000m , then was beaten by Montjeu over the 2,100m of the Prix Greffulhe . Finally , he was a 1,600m horse , he won three Group 1s over this distance and ended his career with a victory in another Group 1 , the Prix d ’ Ispahan over 1,850m . You have to be wary of horses that sleep in the morning because we tend to start them over too long ! » Solow , Freddy Head ’ s famous gelding , who wore the Wertheimer silks , is another curiosity . Freddy Powell recalls that he was born to run over long distances , being the son of Singspiel who excelled over 2,000m and more and of a mare who had her best performances
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From milers to jumpers Yannick Fouin , based in Maisons- Laffitte , is one of the best jump horse trainers in France , but he does not disdain flat racing . He likes to convert 1,600m horses to jumping if their temperament allows it : « These horses can win over 3,500m over jumps and are even often the best . In a race without pace , a short-distance flat horse will beat everyone thanks to its finish . The key is to hide the effort from it , to let it « sleep » at the back to preserve its final burst of speed . It ’ s a way of breaking the distance , another being to liven up the race with a false pace . The faster a race is , the more the distance matters .”
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