"You could probably make the situation a little better," Mott said, "but still you're not back to 100% normal."In the Manhattan, Yagli had the lead by a head at the top of the stretch, but couldn't finish like he did in his prime and ended up three lengths back. "He was the man," Mott said. "He's the best horse in the race but he's probably going on 75%."The Manhattan became the final stop in a career that included victories in the Gulfstream Park Breeders' Cup Handicap, last year's Manhattan, the Dixie, the Bernard Baruch, and a runner-up finish to Buck's Boy in the 1998 Breeders' Cup Turf at odds of 19-1.
Multiple grade I winner Yagli has been retired, trainer Bill Mott said this week. The 7-year-old Jade Hunter horses bred and owned by Allen Paulson finished with a record of 10-6-3 from 27 starts and earnings of $1,702,120.The decision to stop running Yagli was made after he finished fourth and was disqualified and placed sixth in the Manhattan Handicap at Belmont Park on June 10. It was his seventh consecutive loss and sixth straight off-the-board finish since winning the United Nations Handicap at Monmouth Park last July 31."He had developed a little bit of a breathing problem and he just couldn't do it anymore," said Mott, adding that surgery would not have provided a solution.