Laurel Park Fixture Talk Show Man Retired
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Photo: Jim McCue / Maryland Jockey Club
Talk Show Man gets by Ben's Cat to win the Maryland Million Turf at Laurel Park
Dr. Michael J. Harrison's homebred Talk Show Man, who spoiled Phlash Phelps' bid for a record third Maryland Million Turf Stakes victory last fall at Laurel Park, won't get the chance to become a three-time winner himself.
Trainer Hamilton Smith said the 9-year-old Great Notion gelding has been retired after winning eight of 40 starts and earning $456,556. Among his victories were the 2014 and 2018 Turf and the 2015 Henry S. Clark Stakes.
"He was a real good one," Smith said. "He was a hard-knocker and really a nice horse to be around."
Talk Show Man was winless in two starts this year, finishing sixth in the April 20 Henry Clark and seventh in the June 16 Prince George's County Stakes. He was given a break at Harrison's Willowdale Farm in Butler, Md., where a leg injury was discovered.
"We had him in training here, and he wanted to give him some time off and freshen him up," Smith said. "We sent him home, and when it was time to bring him back, he said he had a profile on one tendon and he was just going to go ahead and retire him. I said that was the best thing to do, and he was retired."
Last month, Hillwood Stable's Phlash Phelps was retired at the age of 8 with seven wins, three in stakes, and $434,801 in earnings. He was the Maryland-bred turf champion of 2015.