NEWS
Lava Man back in training
Posted: Wednesday, September 23, 2009 2:56 PM
LAVA MAN
Benoit & Associates photo
by Jeff Lowe, Tom Law, and Steve Bailey
Lava Man, who was retired with ankle problems last year, has returned to trainer Doug O’Neill’s barn at Hollywood Park, where he won three straight editions of the Hollywood Gold Cup (G1).
“He’s been back in the barn since the end of the Del Mar meeting and he’s doing fantastic,” O’Neill said on Wednesday after the eight-year-old Slew City Slew gelding breezed three furlongs at Hollywood Park in :36, the fastest of 24 workouts at that distance. “If and when he runs, all of the trainer earnings will be donated to CARMA (California Retirement Management Account) so people don’t think this is all about greed.”
Lava Man was retired after a sixth-place finish in the Eddie Read Handicap (G1) last July at Del Mar. He subsequently began stem cell treatments and underwent surgery to remove bone chips from his ankles at Alamo Pintado Equine Medical Center in Los Olivos, California, and was sent to nearby Magali Farm in Santa Ynez for rehabilitation.
The process involved drawing cells from Lava Man’s sternum and injecting them into his ankles, more than 10-million cells per treatment.
“He had to continue training at Magali as part of the stem cell treatments,” O’Neill said. “They found they were able to actually grow back cartilage. No one knew that was possible, so it’s exciting that this treatment may be able to help other equine athletes in the future.
“He really took to the treatment and it has done wonders for him. The doctor said that he is and will be the strongest horse in my barn. I couldn’t put into words how good he looks and how happy he seems to be back in training.”
Jason Wood and Steve Kenly claimed Lava Man for $50,000 at Del Mar in August 2004. He earned $5,268,706 while winning seven Grade 1 races, including the Hollywood Gold Cup in 2005, ’06, and ’07 and the Santa Anita Handicap (G1) in ’06 and ’07.
At the time of his retirement, Lava Man was regarded as the most successful claim in recent years with 17 victories from 46 starts over six racing seasons.
Lava Man’s return to training was clouded in some mystery after Thoroughbred Information Agency first reported the gelding’s return to training on Monday.
Kenly said the decision to bring Lava Man back came with the blessing of Alamo Pintado founder Doug Herthel, D.V.M.
“We all huddled up my Dad, Jason, Dr. Herthel, Tom [Hudson, farm manager at Megali Farms], and Doug,” Kenly said. “This horse, he’s telling us, ‘Don’t send me to the pasture, I want to go.’ He’s just made from a different cloth, you know? Everything he was telling us was that he wanted to train. We could tell by his body language and everything he was doing. He made the decision for us.
“With the veterinarians blessing and the fact that he was traveling well [at the farm], it told us what to do. Put it this way, if we didn’t feel he could compete at the highest level we wouldn’t think of bringing him back.
“This horse is bred to run, he wants to run, mentally he wants to do it, and he’s sound,” Kenly said. “I think he’s sounder now than he was last year when we brought him back and he came back and almost won a Grade 1 race. Wouldn’t this be a fantastic story if he came back and did something like what The Tin Man did at nine? This sport needs its heroes.”
Plans had been for the horse to be sent to the Old Friends retirement facility in Georgetown, Kentucky, in April, but he never made the trip. Old Friends President Michael Blowen said on Tuesday that he was unaware of a comeback attempt.
According to Blowen, Wood told him on September 12 that Lava Man would be shipped to Old Friends in October.
O’Neill said he was aware of the consternation among some fans, who have taken to chat rooms and message boards on the Internet to voice their displeasure, that an eight-year-old horse with bad ankles would be put back into training after earning his owners millions of dollars.
“It’s very exciting [to have him back in the barn], but at the same time I’m a little nervous because I certainly am very conscious of my responsibility I have as his caretaker. But he really does thrive on training and racing, and right now everything appears to be going very well.
“If and when we ever get to a point where he could race, we’d only talk about running him against Grade 1 competition. I’m going to make sure we do right by the horse, first and foremost.”
Greg’s Gold, another California-bred gelding, underwent stem cell therapy for a bowed tendon that he developed after winning the 2005 Bing Crosby Handicap (G1). He returned to the races in 2007 and scored four more stakes wins.
Grade 1 winner Balto Star received stem cell treatments for suspensory issues in 2005 and ’06 and returned to training, but never made it back to the races.
Two-time Horse of the Year John Henry went back into training briefly in 1986 after nine months of retirement. He aggravated a leg injury before he could race again.
Jeff Lowe is a Thoroughbred Times staff writer
Steve Bailey is deputy news editor of Thoroughbred Times
Tom Law is managing editor of Thoroughbred Times
