"St Nicholas Abbey's Brave Battle"

Steve Haskin's blog at Bloodhorse.com detailed the struggles of St. Nicholas Abbey. As I'd suspected, the horse was utterly kind and possessed of a high pain tolerance, among a species known for high pain tolerances. I'm not a huge racing fan, but this horse's expression in a couple of still photos captured my attention so I've followed the story, hoping for a miracle. Alas, from Haskin's article, the horse's stoicism--we'd say valor--apparently contributed to his ultimate demise.

St Nicholas Abbey's Brave Battle

A Sad End

This morning's headline was not one I wanted to see:

Irish Star St Nicholas Abbey Dies From Colic

Update: St. Nicholas Abbey

Had he been a gelding, even a good race gelding, St. Nicholas Abbey would likely have been euthanized minutes after fracturing a pastern during a workout in Ireland. However, St. Nicholas Abbey was not a gelding. Moreover, his sire Montjeu won nearly four million pounds and now ranks among the world's leading sires.

Better yet, St. Nicholas Abbey himself started 21 times--a most impressive number these days--and won just under five millions pounds. So this pastern fracture happened to a brilliant son of the successful Montjeu, son of the great Sadler's Wells, son of Northern Dancer, sometimes called The Kingmaker. In other words, while St. Nicholas Abbey's care is expensive and his survival still in doubt, his potential as a sire is incalculable. In other words, St. Nicholas Abbey's treatment  has been worthy of the Crown Prince he is.

Post by Coolmore Stud.

On the Upper End of Horse Racing

When race geldings like Monzante wear out, their end is usually dismal. On the other hand, when a well-bred and highly successful colt or stallion injures itself, the best side of horse racing comes out. St Nicholas Abbey, Irish winner of £4,954,590, is one such horse. He  not only broke down, but after his surgery on the broken leg, he suffered an extremely serious case of colic and has been on IV feeding since then. His potential as a breeding horse means the care he's receiving has been top notch as this video shows:

St Nicholas Abbey: The Road to Recovery

Of course, there's no assurance St. Nicolas Abbey will recover, but few people will ever get the care this horse is getting--not even people like Steve Jobs.