A Cut Above

In May last year, Lankan Rupee dead-heated for sixth in an open 1200m three-year-old handicap at Caulfield while Knoydart was beaten as the $2.50 favourite in a 1200m benchmark 75 handicap at Warwick Farm.

This Saturday the pair line up as two of the favoured runners in the $1 million Lexus Newmarket Handicap (1200m) at Flemington.

But what is the reason behind their turnaround in form? The answer is both of the horses were gelded.

A gelding refers to a male horse that has had its testicles surgically removed.

In a combined ten starts since being gelded, Lankan Rupee and Knoydart have won eight races, including finishing first (Lankan Rupee) and third last start in the $400,000 Group 1 Sportingbet Oakleigh Plate (1100m) at Caulfield.

Head of Racing Victoria Equine Welfare and Veterinary Services Dr Brian Stewart said the removal of a horse’s testicles or “gelding” is usually done for one of two reasons.

“One reason is that a colt (a horse with its testicles intact) with a lot of testosterone in its system can be difficult to manage,” Stewart said.

“They can become aggressive and have behavioural issues in the stable. They also won’t necessarily focus on racing as they can be distracted by other things. Gelding removes the hormones and they may become more focused on the job of racing.

“The other reason is because colts can get very heavy. They develop a heavy musculature which puts a lot weight on their front legs and can make it difficult to manage joint and leg problems.”

Stewart said the gelding operation is a straightforward procedure and has no side effects on a horse’s long term health and well being.

“The gelding procedure can be done standing with a local anaesthetic,” he said. “It generally takes around a week to ten days looking after the wound for the horse to be fully recovered and they are usually back in full training within four to six weeks.

“Geldings are typically more relaxed and often do better in the stable routine because they don’t have the hormonal effects of testosterone. They tend to be quite happy and healthy horses and probably make better riding horses once they are retired from racing.”

In the case of Lankan Rupee, the gelding operation was further complicated because he was a horse that is commonly known as a “rig” which refers to a horse in which one of the testicles is retained inside the abdomen and hasn’t descended down into the scrotum.

Stewart said to geld a rig requires more serious surgery because you have to go into the abdomen to remove one of the testicles.

Trainer Mick Price said there was little choice when it came to the question of gelding Lankan Rupee because he had no future on the track as a colt and his performances prior to being gelded meant he wouldn’t have been able to secure a career at stud.

“I thought he was a Stakes level horse before he raced but he didn’t produce it on race day” Price said. “Whilst I was reluctant to geld him there was no choice as he wouldn’t have been worth anything at stud on the strength of his racetrack performances.

“He wasn’t that aggressive, he wasn’t heavy and he wasn’t an unsound horse but he was too frustrated within himself and he wasn’t genuine on race day.

“Since being gelded he is now genuine on race day, he is much more tractable in his races and his owners have really reaped the rewards.”

Knoydart’s trainer Peter Snowden said the four-year-old wouldn’t be lining up on Saturday had he not been gelded.

“He just became much more genuine once he was gelded,” Snowden said. “It’s helped him put his mind on the job and he’s a much better horse for it.

“We weren’t going to get the best out of him it was as simple as that.

“In our situation here at Darley we give them every opportunity to race tractably and do their best but if it comes to a point when they’re not doing their best sometimes you have no other option left but to geld them.

“He’s a well-bred horse and had talent which we could see at home but he wasn’t producing on the track. He was always a very good worker that was the frustrating thing.

“If he’d have been a colt he wouldn’t even be in the race on Saturday because he was only going to measure up as an open class horse at best.”

Lankan Rupee is currently rated the $4.60 Newmarket Handicap second favourite with TAB which has Knoydart priced on the fifth line of betting at $10.

– Racing Victoria

 

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