One of the many questions handicappers must ask before betting I’ll Have Another at 4-5 to complete his sweep of the Triple Crown in the June 9 Belmont Stakes is, how will the colt perform without wearing the Flair equine nasal strips he wore in all four victories this year, including the Kentucky Derby and Preakness?
The only two times when I’ll Have Another did not use nasal strips, he won his first start last July at Hollywood Park but lost the Hopeful at Saratoga by 19 lengths over a sloppy track. He came out of the Hopeful with sore shins that sidelined him for the year.
As described on the company’s website, flairstrips.com, “Flair Strips support the nasal passages of the horse during exercise, improving the horse’s airflow when it needs oxygen most. By reducing airway resistance resulting from physical exertion, the strips help promote peak performance . . . Studies have shown that Flair Strips reduce lung stress and the incidence of exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH), or bleeding in the lungs.
“By reducing the amount of energy a horse spends just to get enough oxygen, Flair Strips enable horses to expend more energy on the task at hand. Flair Strips can also increase a horse’s stamina, allowing him to perform at full strength for longer periods of time, without becoming fatigued.”
Also according to the website, thoroughbred racing in New York is the only venue of equine competition in America — from barrel racing to show-jumping to polo to flat-racing, no matter what the breed — that does not permit the use of equine nasal strips.
Doug O’Neill, the trainer of I’ll Have Another, says not to worry.
“We’ve been using the nasal strips for the past few years,” he said. “It was introduced to me as a helpful piece of equipment that would lessen the chance of a horse’s bleeding. I thought it was a great concept. We tried it with the thought that, as long as it doesn’t irritate the horse. The horses aren’t bothered by it at all.
“[I’ll Have Another] works and gallops without a nasal strip so we just do it as a preventative thing. To me it’s similar to a tongue tie or something like that. It’s not going to make a slow horse fast, but if it can eliminate a horse from getting a nose bleed, I don’t see how that can be harmful.
“But we respect New York’s rules and we’re not going to wear one, obviously.”
O’Neill, jockey Mario Gutierrez, and owner J. Paul Reddam have been invited by Jessica Steinbrenner, who oversees the family’s Kinsman Farm thoroughbred racing and breeding operation, to throw out the first pitch when the Yankees play the Mets at Yankee Stadium on June 8.
“If all goes well they asked us the day before the Belmont to have Mario, Paul and I, to symbolize the Triple Crown, to have all three of us throw it out,” O’Neill said. “What a huge honor it is. That should be a blast.”
