I didnt mention any particular horse Bernie,but as you did both Poppy & Sinbad were acquired by the Knights.
Its impossible to say a bad word about Poppy,he was a freak & a warrior.
These are my memories of Sinbad,I wasnt there so if you were,feel free to fill in the gaps:
Sinbad Bay IMO didnt cope with the production line training approach at Kilmore...he lasted 2 runs (inc a Winfield cup win) before breaking down.I have no idea if he had issues before going to Bob's?
18 months later they nursed him back & took him to Perth??? before winning a Vic Cup with him (in which he broke down again) beating the seriously underated Franco Tiger.
3 years later (vale VJ) they tried again & he was a shadow of his former self,managing a couple of group placings & a country cup win
There is no judgement in any of this,this was the successful formula of the time & has been copied everywhere since.
Eventually though,this style catches up with all,including the best
I wont even begin the discussion of harness racing's reputation in the 80's & early 90's apart from saying that as much as certain horses respond to new environments & training methods,they are flesh & blood & can only go so fast so often.........
seth