Discovery Was Iron Ruffian Was Fragile
Progeny Passed Strength and Fragility Genes to Ruffian
Sep 25, 2008
Discovery, stout and straight, gave Ruffian strength. Thoroughbred speed, via Nearco, Nasrullah, and Bold Ruler created the incomparable speed of the maiden of swiftness. But Native Dancer and Reviewer delivered their fragility genes to the black knight of fillydom.
Did Native Dancer's Raise a Native, Mr. Prospector, and Northern Dancer, terrific stallions all, secure Ruffian's fate? Was she fracture prone; inherently doomed to fragile underpinnings that by their own pounding speed punished her bones mercilessly, and predictably destroyed them?
American Horses Are Weaker
In The Blood-Horse, ("Losing the Iron Horse?", July 26, 2008, page 3694) Bobby Trussel, director of Walmac Farm near Lexington, Kentucky, said race horses of all countries outside the United States "are all tougher than ours."
Trussel said the American-inbreds "...I have in Europe run all the time, and the ones I have here never run, comparatively." Although Trussel believes "we've inbred to unsound horses" he doesn't see that as the total problem with American horses being less strong than those of other countries.
Trussel believes the issue of toughness comes down to medications. It is a fact that the International Racing Federation's guidelines on medications have been adopted in other countries, while the American attitude is to ignore medication guidelines as much as possible. "We've signed on to everything but opted out of the medication policy," Trussel said.
Ruffian's Genetic Story
In 1974, it was discovered that Ruffian was carrying a hairline fracture. She was still a year away from her historic matchup with Foolish Pleasure during which she broke down. Ruffian was taken out of training to rest and heal.
Still, on July 6, 1975 Ruffian suffered one of the most horrific track injuries ever, shattering her right front leg and crushing bones to bits with every stride thereafter as Jacinto Vasquez attempted to pull the muscled filly to a full stop.
Ruffian's sire, Reviewer (1966) was victimized three times with fractures: in the 1968 Hopeful, in the 1969 Wood Memorial, and after the 1970 Metropolitan Mile, (Ruffian A Racetrack Romance, William Nack, ESPN Books, 2007, page 70).
Reviewer's third dam, Outdone, had been mated with Discovery. They produced Miss Disco, who mated with Nasrullah. They coupled to foal Bold Ruler, Reviewer's daddy. Ruffian's dam, Shenanigans, was out of Bold Irish and sired by Native Dancer.
Medications and Genes
While it is true that genetics seemed to play a prominent role in Ruffian's story, it is also verifiable that today's American Thoroughbreds have been more heavily medicated. Where does modern technology fit it?
Recently, veterinarian Dr. Wayne McIlwraith (The Blood-Horse, "Final Turn", September 6, 2008, page 4438) wrote about blood biomarkers research, a new technology that may reveal microdamage in horse's bones. Early detection could save at risk animals from future breakdowns by implementing monthly blood tests to track the microdamage. Rest stints would be recommended for at risk horses.
But the out-of-training period that Ruffian served did nothing to save her. Is it fragility genes, or is it the rush to medications that enhance performances that is killing our Thoroughbreds?
