Rapid Redux getting well-deserved break

Barbara D. Livingston

Rapid Redux came out of his last race with some "aches and pains" and will be given the winter off.

Rapid Redux, the noted starter-allowance competitor, won’t be trying to win his 23rd race in a row anytime soon. Owner Robert Cole said Friday that Rapid Redux has been taken out of training following a highly demanding 2011 campaign.

"He’s going to be out a couple months and we’re just going to rest him," Cole said. "He’s tired and he’s got some aches and pains, and if he doesn’t get a rest, he’s going to go downhill."

Rapid Redux and his connections received a Special Eclipse Award last Monday, Jan. 16 for the horse’s accomplishments in 2011, when he raced 19 times without a loss. Rapid Redux’s unbeaten string extends to Dec. 2, 2010 when he won a race at Penn National three starts after Cole claimed him for $6,250.

Cole said the decision to take Rapid Redux out of training came shortly after his last race, a three-quarter-length victory on Jan. 4 at Laurel Park. Rapid Redux’s previous win, on Dec. 13, also had come by less than a length, and Cole believes Rapid Redux at something close to his best would have won by larger margins.

"You could tell the last race or two he wasn’t quite as good as he was earlier," Cole said.

Rapid Redux, now 6, remains stabled at trainer David Wells’ farm, which is located near Penn National Racecourse. Rapid Redux isn’t totally idle, but Cole said the 6-year-old gelding isn’t doing much more than walking, and isn’t being pointed to any race.

"The game plan is to give him the winter and see where we are in two or three months," said Cole. "That could change for the better, or it could change for the worse. I’ve seen it happen both ways with horses."

[ANDREW BEYER: Rapid Redux spiced up a weak year]