Many racing fans will see the early retirement of All Too Hard
Many racing fans will see the early retirement of All Too Hard as a gutless decision. Sure, it had 'commercial reality' all over it but from a racing perspective, and for the aura of the horse, it was wrong. All Too Hard has been a mighty horse but he could have achieved so much more. His owners, though, want to cash in now - and at $66,000 a pop it's an enticement hard to resist. But is All Too Hard as great as he could have been? Of course not. In years to come, he just won't figure in the list of the greatest. He'll be forever know as the horse who was retired before he reached his peak.
Luke Nolen has landed the ride on top staying filly Dear Demi at the Brisbane Winter Carnival. Melbourne’s #1 jockey will ride the Queensland Oaks joint favorite when she next steps out, in the $175,000 Grp 3 Doomben Roses (2020m) on 18 May. The Crown Oaks winner has been ridden by Hall of Fame jockey Jim Cassidy for the bulk of her career, but Nolen’s manager Adrian Coyne says his client was sought by Clarry Conners after Cassidy partnered Dear Demi into second placing in the ATC Australian Oaks on 20 April.