R.I.P. Real Quiet

[TouchOfGrey]

REAL QUIET | MARCH 7th, 1995 - SEPTEMBER 27th, 2010

The Kentucky Derby hero Real Quiet was stricken and passed away peacefully in his paddock on Monday afternoon at Penn Ridge Farms.

Wonder what he was stricken with? He was only 15. I was actually at Belmont the day he lost the Triple Crown by a whisker.

[pweizer]

One of my favorites and a great story as well. Very sad.

Paul

[smuthg]

Died over the weekend... RIP.

[slotdirt]

Thought he was relatively underrated as a sire, and sorry to see him go. Wish I had the chance to make the quick trip to PA to see him before he died.

[TouchOfGrey]

Seems like it was the result of a paddock accident.

Thorougbred Daily News

from Alicia Wincze on horse racing:

Michael Jester, owner and syndicate manager of Penn Ridge - which had stood Real Quiet since 2006 - said the son of Quiet American had been turned out briefly in his paddock while he stall was being cleaned when farm employees noticed he was laying down and not moving.

Jester said an autopsy determined Real Quiet had fractured his C5 through C9 vertebrae.

“He was always so calm, we’ve never had a problem with him, he was such a class act,” Jester said. “One of the farm employees said he was laying down in his paddock, which he never does, and we ran up to him and he never moved from the time we found him.

“He must have reared up and fallen on his left shoulder and driven it with enough force to fracture those five vertebrae,” Jester continued. “There was not a mark, not a slide, nothing. Just a completely freak accident. We’re devastated.”

[richard]

Any time we lose a horse of this stature it's a sad day .

[clyde]

Oh really?


The others don't count---right?

[Merlinsky]

RIP Pretty devastated. My heart pounded so hard while he was on the backstretch during the Belmont that I was beginning to wonder if I needed to be concerned. Then of course the nose loss was so crushing. I really felt he was underrated, especially as a sire. I've hoped that Midnight Lute will go on to success, but I especially do now. My heart goes out to the connections.

[philcski]

Tough loss. He grew on me, I didn't like him until after the TC and realized what he had accomplished.

[Patrick333]

What a shame.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECa_tzoUeIQ

actually this is better...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyisUadBg10

[Thunder Gulch]

Wasn't a big fan of this horse at first, but you just had to love the way he moved on the turns when he flew by all the frontrunners.

[chucklestheclown]

Originally Posted by TouchOfGrey

Seems like it was the result of a paddock accident.

Thorougbred Daily News

from Alicia Wincze on horse racing:

Michael Jester, owner and syndicate manager of Penn Ridge - which had stood Real Quiet since 2006 - said the son of Quiet American had been turned out briefly in his paddock while he stall was being cleaned when farm employees noticed he was laying down and not moving.

Jester said an autopsy determined Real Quiet had fractured his C5 through C9 vertebrae.

“He was always so calm, we’ve never had a problem with him, he was such a class act,” Jester said. “One of the farm employees said he was laying down in his paddock, which he never does, and we ran up to him and he never moved from the time we found him.

“He must have reared up and fallen on his left shoulder and driven it with enough force to fracture those five vertebrae,” Jester continued. “There was not a mark, not a slide, nothing. Just a completely freak accident. We’re devastated.”

RIP.

[chucklestheclown]

Somehow this seems right to me.
http://horseracing.bloginky.com/2010...or-42-million/

[HaloWishingwell]

And unlike some of the Derby winners of today, this one actually won some decent races after the Triple Crown.

[Danzig]

farewell to the fish. i won't ever forget his belmont, oh so close!

[miraja2]

Originally Posted by HaloWishingwell

And unlike some of the Derby winners of today, this one actually won some decent races after the Triple Crown.

Yep. I was cheering like crazy for Victory Gallop to get by him in the Belmont because I considered Real Quiet totally unworthy of winning the Triple Crown.

I did become something of a fan of RQ in his 4yo campaign, however, as he put together some nice races and made me think that I might have underestimated his abilities a bit as a 3yo.