I hear what you're saying CH. "Retiring a big reputation horse to retain his stud fees before he spits the bit on the track." I've always felt Pulpit got out while the getting was good, but I don't feel the same about the "Big Four" though.

Smarty could have come back. Fact is he was simply worth too much money at stud to an old man in ill health. He was thinking about the future of his family. I would have done the same thing in his shoes.

Birdstone suffered a fracture. I think he ran on it, but I don't think thats been determined. His coat was off pre Classic as well. The owner takes no chances with her horses. She loves them.

TCE and Lion Heart went bad with obvious injuries.

These were good horses and on his best day so is Purge. If he's sound he'll be back. I agree with Jerry's point in another thread, though I'd never consciously separated them before. Each crop has three classes of horses: Those that are champion two year old contenders; Those that are Triple Crown contenders; and those that go on from there. Which is not to necessarily say good 3 yr olds can't be good older horses too. Just off the top of my mind Lemon Drop Kid and Behrens come to mind.

The triple crown trail can grind up horses. This crop was fast and I think a certain amount of grinding did occur.

Maybe I'm somewhat of a "show me" man, but I don't think Lion Tamer beating Purge is a sign the crop was of poor quality.

CtC