View Full Version : Terrific Rides
Dahoss9698
08-21-2016, 02:49 PM
Seems only fair to point out the good ones if we're going to point out the bonehead ones.
Joel Rosario, Saratoga 4th, Security Risk.
Subtle, but made all the difference. The horse broke, and instead of snatching up he allowed the horse to establish position. Moved to the outside coming off of the first turn and then sat a perfect trip off the pacesetter. He also knew exactly what he had under him because he was able to fend off the challenge from the inside and eventual outside.
Again, all it took was the nudge out of the gate and it led to nothing but good things after that.
EMD4ME
08-21-2016, 03:34 PM
Seems only fair to point out the good ones if we're going to point out the bonehead ones.
Joel Rosario, Saratoga 4th, Security Risk.
Subtle, but made all the difference. The horse broke, and instead of snatching up he allowed the horse to establish position. Moved to the outside coming off of the first turn and then sat a perfect trip off the pacesetter. He also knew exactly what he had under him because he was able to fend off the challenge from the inside and eventual outside.
Again, all it took was the nudge out of the gate and it led to nothing but good things after that.
DAHOSS9698, MA MAN !!!!
I just posted the same thing in the (Saratoga Race 5 ) thread. Ingenius of him.
By coming back ever so softly at the 7/8, he made Javier and Junior think.
We both know that putting your competition in a position to think is bound to bring you success (and the competition heart ache). :lol: :lol: :lol:
Did you see Javier take his horse 3 wide in reaction to Joel's take back???
Junior, oh so applicably named by his parents, went 4 WIDE from the 7/8 to the 3/4.
Genius ride by Joel.
I say all this DESPITE the fact that I hit 4 out of 5 in today's $386K pick 5 (Yes, I hit the hard one at 53/1) but the only race I missed was this one :bang: :bang: :bang: due to Joel's genius move at the 7/8 AND Javier's complete stupidity at the 7/8's.
Dahoss9698
08-21-2016, 03:54 PM
Dude I'm sorry about the pick 5. That's gross.
EMD4ME
08-21-2016, 04:17 PM
Dude I'm sorry about the pick 5. That's gross.
Thanks Dahoss9698. I've been thru worse. Turn the page or you chase and lose.
Great thread though. Let's fill it up!
arw629
08-22-2016, 10:29 PM
Bejarano in the WV derby
EMD4ME
08-22-2016, 10:48 PM
Bejarano in the WV derby
Ingenius and refreshing ride!!! LOVED IT, as did Peter Berry ! :ThmbUp:
dilanesp
08-23-2016, 12:31 AM
Espinoza in the Pacific Classic.
bello
08-23-2016, 10:57 AM
Yes it was...but race circumstances helped.
The only other true speed was the deuce who broke slowly and Rafael took quick advantage. But if the 2 breaks like he usually does, Rafael would have needed to get very creative to avoid getting pinned in. That being said in an earlier race BJ Hernandez was a lock, had every chance to swing to the far outside and elected to move inside to the quicksand. One for the BoneHead ride section but still points out that at lease Raphael used the earlier races to know exactly what path he ultimately needed to get to to gain an advantage.
This is also one of the fun things about Mountaineer. Been watching ( and wagering) on jock JL Rivera who will take a speed horse out of their natural comfort zone and take back and to the outside to give them a fair chance to ride the bias. Good rides and jocks come at all levels of the game.
dilanesp
09-11-2016, 10:41 PM
I'll post one from someone who has gotten a fair amount of criticism in the past.
Chantal Sutherland on Kenji's Giant in the 4th today at Los Al. She settled on the horse and stalked, saved ground the whole way, came down the rail turning for home, and then was able to sustain the horse's drive all the way down the stretch to hold off the place horse.
She got the absolute maximum performance out of the horse.
Mulerider
09-26-2016, 07:35 AM
I thought C.J. McMahon did a very good job yesterday aboard the 1 horse Texas Chrome in the Oklahoma Derby. Forced to move to the rail to get through in the stretch with Joel Rosario moving in on him to make it a very tight squeeze. Third straight win for this colt. He seems to give 100% every race.
2016 Oklahoma Derby (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLwFFF-FCiM)
dilanesp
10-10-2016, 01:33 PM
Third race at Santa Anita yesterday, Norberto Arroyo Jr. on the 15 to 1 shot, Fire to the Wire.
He put the horse in a perfect spot behind a three horse speed duel, saved ground on the inside and got through a hole turning for home, and then bulled his way through between horses to reach the front where he faced a challenge from Admirals Club. Arroyo got everything he could out of the horse, who lived up to his name in the final 1/16th of a mile and inched away to win the race by a neck in a driving finish.
v j stauffer
10-11-2016, 03:20 AM
Garrett Gomez on Blame in the BC Classic. With so much going on his ride tends to get overlooked.
He had about 10 separate decisions to make. If he goes 9 for 10 Blame doesn't win.
Brilliant in every aspect.
ultracapper
10-11-2016, 04:13 AM
I'll post one from someone who has gotten a fair amount of criticism in the past.
Chantal Sutherland on Kenji's Giant in the 4th today at Los Al. She settled on the horse and stalked, saved ground the whole way, came down the rail turning for home, and then was able to sustain the horse's drive all the way down the stretch to hold off the place horse.
She got the absolute maximum performance out of the horse.
She beat me with that ride. The place horse should have passed her two separate times inside the 1/16 pole, and she let her mount fade out just enough both times to keep him from rolling by. That one stuck with me because the place horse was 8/1 and looked like a winner all over the stretch.
Good eye. It was an outstanding ride in a cheap race by Chantal.
EasyGoer89
10-22-2016, 05:19 PM
Stewart Elliott to all the other jocks in today's 4th at SA:
"You only paid to see the cards boy, lessons are extra"
Great ride.
ultracapper
10-22-2016, 06:29 PM
Stewart Elliott to all the other jocks in today's 4th at SA:
"You only paid to see the cards boy, lessons are extra"
Great ride.
Was that Cervaza? Effin' BRILLIANT ride.
Edit: Didn't see you said today. He rode the Puype trained Cervaza last weekend at a mile on the turf. Serious lessons all around.
EMD4ME
10-22-2016, 06:45 PM
Was that Cervaza? Effin' BRILLIANT ride.
Edit: Didn't see you said today. He rode the Puype trained Cervaza last weekend at a mile on the turf. Serious lessons all around.
I wish we could bring what he knows now, back to 12 years ago.
Smarty Jones would've gotten the credit that he deserved.
Nevertheless, happy to see him doing well in CALI :ThmbUp:
EasyGoer89
01-18-2017, 12:40 AM
Give a big shoutout to Rosario Montanez at aqu in the first race on Jan 14 with Rich n Tuck, this one move closer broke like a shot but was taken in hand on his own dropping back and allowed to settle in his pref style, there could have been a tendency for the jock to want to rush considering the nature of the speed favoring surface of late, but this horse was ridden exactly how he needed to be ridden, sensational ride.
EMD4ME
01-29-2017, 06:52 PM
Can't Desormeaux in the 7th at SA. What a move at the 5/8's.
dilanesp
01-30-2017, 03:29 PM
Stewart Elliott on the maiden claimer Very Hot in the 2nd on 1/27 at Santa Anita. He got on the lead going 1 1/16 miles and then just slowed the pace down to a crawl, conserving his horse. Then he opened at the top of the stretch and was able to hang on at 6 to 1 against the closing rush of the second favorite.
EasyGoer89
01-30-2017, 03:36 PM
Stewart Elliott on the maiden claimer Very Hot in the 2nd on 1/27 at Santa Anita. He got on the lead going 1 1/16 miles and then just slowed the pace down to a crawl, conserving his horse. Then he opened at the top of the stretch and was able to hang on at 6 to 1 against the closing rush of the second favorite.
To add a 1A to Elliott an amazing job of horsemanship staying aboard winning causeway in the 5th yesterday at Santa Anita, watch the stretch head on, he got knocked off the horse and was a miracle he stayed aboard to finish a placed 3rd, if he falls off there might have been an accident as there was a horse directly behind him, spectacular job holding on.
dilanesp
02-15-2017, 03:13 PM
Bryan Pena on :1: Gianis in the 9th at Santa Anita on Sunday, February 12.
Gianis was 30 to 1. Pena figured out that all the favorites had gotten themselves into a massive speed duel, and took his longshot back, saved ground all the way, and waited for the pace to fall apart. When it did, he was able to find a seam in between tiring horses and outdueled a 5 to 1 shot in the final 1/16th. Great job on a longshot.
ultracapper
02-16-2017, 12:39 AM
Pena is perhaps in the infant stages of building a reputation as a rider of late closing runners. Many of his wins have come from deep stretch runners. They haven't even been the type that start a sustained run at the 3/8ths pole and ultimately wear down the pace setters. They have been with horses that he has waited until the 3/16ths pole, assessed the situation, and then put the hammer down. It may be that he has a knack for conserving his horse, and then being an opportunist of sorts. He reminds me of TBaze a bit in that he has an inclination to put his horse on the rail at the 1/2 mile pole and hug it around the far turn. He hasn't shown a real desire to ride the rail to the finish, a move that TBaze has become quite proficient at, as the winners I've noticed him ride in this fashion have been swung off the rail a path or 2, or however far he feels he needs to get out.
I have gained more and more confidence in him over the past few months, and though I'm not quite looking for him when I handicap, I don't shy away from him when I find him on one of my contenders, particularly if it's a late runner.
Haven't watched the race the previous poster is referring to, but I'm familiar a bit with the horse Pena rode, and that horse has usually been placed forward, at least in his route attempts. Riding the horse as the poster stated would have to be considered a better than average handling of that horse, probably with a great deal of the decision making being done on the fly.
SuperPickle
02-16-2017, 06:33 PM
Pena is perhaps in the infant stages of building a reputation as a rider of late closing runners. Many of his wins have come from deep stretch runners. They haven't even been the type that start a sustained run at the 3/8ths pole and ultimately wear down the pace setters. They have been with horses that he has waited until the 3/16ths pole, assessed the situation, and then put the hammer down. It may be that he has a knack for conserving his horse, and then being an opportunist of sorts. He reminds me of TBaze a bit in that he has an inclination to put his horse on the rail at the 1/2 mile pole and hug it around the far turn. He hasn't shown a real desire to ride the rail to the finish, a move that TBaze has become quite proficient at, as the winners I've noticed him ride in this fashion have been swung off the rail a path or 2, or however far he feels he needs to get out.
I have gained more and more confidence in him over the past few months, and though I'm not quite looking for him when I handicap, I don't shy away from him when I find him on one of my contenders, particularly if it's a late runner.
Haven't watched the race the previous poster is referring to, but I'm familiar a bit with the horse Pena rode, and that horse has usually been placed forward, at least in his route attempts. Riding the horse as the poster stated would have to be considered a better than average handling of that horse, probably with a great deal of the decision making being done on the fly.
Pena's claim to fame will always be the longest apprenticeship in the history of horse racing. He rode his first race in 2008. He won his first race in 2014. He didn't lose the big till the second half of 2016.
He was an apprentice jockey for 8 years so I hope to learned something.
Broad Brush
02-17-2017, 09:42 PM
I don't know if this is the right place for this:
Go to you tube and watch the 1981 Belmont (15min version).
George Martens was a young jockey, who I think won an eclipse
as an appr.
The ride he put in on Summing was perfect.
And Martens was born and grew up in Elmont.
ultracapper
02-18-2017, 05:13 PM
Pena's claim to fame will always be the longest apprenticeship in the history of horse racing. He rode his first race in 2008. He won his first race in 2014. He didn't lose the big till the second half of 2016.
He was an apprentice jockey for 8 years so I hope to learned something.
Don't want to turn this into a Brayan Pena thread. He's not worthy of one yet anyway, yet his early career looks like it's mostly undocumented, most likely foreign of North America. When a jockey takes one mount all year, one single mount, and it's on a Sadler-trained FAVORITE at summer Delmar, he hasn't just been sitting on the couch since his most previous mount almost 4 years earlier.
dilanesp
02-19-2017, 02:31 PM
Pena is perhaps in the infant stages of building a reputation as a rider of late closing runners. Many of his wins have come from deep stretch runners. They haven't even been the type that start a sustained run at the 3/8ths pole and ultimately wear down the pace setters. They have been with horses that he has waited until the 3/16ths pole, assessed the situation, and then put the hammer down. It may be that he has a knack for conserving his horse, and then being an opportunist of sorts. He reminds me of TBaze a bit in that he has an inclination to put his horse on the rail at the 1/2 mile pole and hug it around the far turn. He hasn't shown a real desire to ride the rail to the finish, a move that TBaze has become quite proficient at, as the winners I've noticed him ride in this fashion have been swung off the rail a path or 2, or however far he feels he needs to get out.
I have gained more and more confidence in him over the past few months, and though I'm not quite looking for him when I handicap, I don't shy away from him when I find him on one of my contenders, particularly if it's a late runner.
Haven't watched the race the previous poster is referring to, but I'm familiar a bit with the horse Pena rode, and that horse has usually been placed forward, at least in his route attempts. Riding the horse as the poster stated would have to be considered a better than average handling of that horse, probably with a great deal of the decision making being done on the fly.
In the 4th race on Thursday the 16th, Tyler Baze rode exactly the type of race you described, coming down the rail on Starr of Quality. It was beautiful.
dilanesp
03-06-2017, 03:15 PM
:5: Small Town Hero, Alex Solis, in the second at Santa Anita on Saturday the 4th.
Solis simply stole the race on a 40 to 1 shot, slowing down the pace and then opening up inside the 3/8ths. His mount had plenty left in the stretch.
rsetup
03-06-2017, 10:08 PM
Julien LeParoux on Dream Dancing GP R4 3/4/17.
JustRalph
03-11-2017, 08:24 PM
Tyler Baze on Denmans Call in the Triple Bend.
16-1 up the rail to beat Maochistic.
johnhannibalsmith
03-27-2017, 03:54 PM
Jesus Osuna in Sunday's 3rd at Turf Paradise. He ended up last, but you have to watch it to appreciate it. Particularly the head-on.
You can find it here if you want to see some real talent:
http://www.turfparadise.com/race-replays--live-video.html
Edited to point out that you are looking for the :4: in there.
Dahoss9698
03-27-2017, 04:23 PM
Jesus Osuna in Sunday's 3rd at Turf Paradise. He ended up last, but you have to watch it to appreciate it. Particularly the head-on.
You can find it here if you want to see some real talent:
http://www.turfparadise.com/race-replays--live-video.html
Edited to point out that you are looking for the :4: in there.
That was pretty amazing.
dilanesp
04-17-2017, 06:23 PM
I didn't know anything about Israel Ocampo before the 9th race on Sunday 4/16 at Santa Anita, but boy did he do a great job on 23 to 1 Malko. He saved all the ground in a grass race where the temporary rails were up and you didn't want to go wide, sat inside and waited patiently into the stretch until the holes finally opened, and then shot his horse through to score the upset.
rsetup
04-17-2017, 06:32 PM
It's ironically interesting about those inside trips. When they work out, they're a thing of beauty. When they don't, the jock is vilified by the trip handicapping intelligentsia.
Such was the case for poor Luis Saez in the Carter. Chartman writes:
TOMMY MACHO saved ground near the rear, came under coaxing just off the inside midway on the turn, continued just off the inside for home, shifted to the rail three-sixteenths out, had GREEN GRATTO shy in in front, altered out to the two path and was met and bumped by UNIFIED, paused briefly in tight between foes near the sixteenth marker losing some momentum as a result before gathering himself torun on safe for the show honors.
I didn't know anything about Israel Ocampo before the 9th race on Sunday 4/16 at Santa Anita, but boy did he do a great job on 23 to 1 Malko. He saved all the ground in a grass race where the temporary rails were up and you didn't want to go wide, sat inside and waited patiently into the stretch until the holes finally opened, and then shot his horse through to score the upset.
Yes nice ride by Ocampo in here, definitely got an assist from Pena who rode his horse like he was a rabbit with no other intention other than making the favorite lose. Looked like Prat looked over at him with a WTF look down the backstretch more than once.
SoCalCircuit
04-18-2017, 12:10 AM
How about Javier on American Patriot on Friday. Wow.
EasyGoer89
04-18-2017, 03:12 AM
Irad Ortiz rode an incredible race on Melodramatic Miss on March 26 in the 9th.
He changed her running style and got her to stay straight and was able to get the Bob, that horse doesn't win any other way or with any other trip.
dilanesp
04-24-2017, 06:13 PM
Stewart Elliott on Awesome Image in the 2nd at Santa Anita on Sunday the 23rd. He opened up on the field mid-race with a 13 to 1 shot and stole the race.
Dahoss9698
04-30-2017, 05:52 PM
Joel Rosario in the finale at Belmont today. He did exactly what Jose Ortiz should have done but was too afraid to.
dilanesp
05-01-2017, 12:52 AM
Flavien Prat on the :5: Starlite Style in the first on Saturday 4/29 at Santa Anita. He somehow figured out that the leader was going 21 4/5 in a mile race, so he took his mount so far back last that he practically lost contact with the field. When the leaders tired, he flew down the outside in the stretch and won pretty easily. The proverbial stopwatch in the head.
SuperPickle
05-01-2017, 02:02 AM
Joel Rosario in the finale at Belmont today. He did exactly what Jose Ortiz should have done but was too afraid to.
I think we need to preface he was 3-5.
Honestly the most impressive part of ride was he was pinned on the rail had to steady and never panicked. Also when the horse hit the horse finally got out he had no idea what to do. Switched leads and tossed his head. Rosario never panics.
dilanesp
06-25-2017, 02:33 PM
Kyle Frey on Online Request at 40 to 1 in the 1st at Santa Anita on Friday the 23rd. He took her out on the lead, slowed the pace down, and then opened up on the far turn, getting the jump on the field. She had just enough to hold on.
dilanesp
06-28-2017, 09:06 PM
Chantal Sutherland on Rockport Babe in the 2nd on Sunday 6/25 at Santa Anita. Completely stole the race--opened a big lead in a 5 horse field and the 3/5 shot just couldn't catch her.
dilanesp
08-17-2017, 10:56 PM
August 10, 4th race, Del Mar, Tyler Baze on Angel Allie.
He made a move that I first saw Eddie Dellahoussaye make on Deputy Governor in the Eddie Reed Handicap about 30 years ago.
There's a gap in the inner rail on the Del Mar turf course where the chute comes in from the infield. Baze, lacking room, waited until the gap and then turned his horse left into the chute and left the main course and shot through on the inside to win the race.
Dahoss9698
08-23-2017, 03:57 PM
Jose Ortiz has given two of the better rides this year the last two racing days at Saratoga.
His ride on Tusk on Monday in the last was top notch and what he just did on Business Expense was as impressive. He seems to be the lone rider intent on saving ground on the grass.
dilanesp
10-12-2017, 02:21 PM
Stewart Elliott on Avail in the 2nd race at Santa Anita on Sunday 10/8. He caught the frontrunners napping (and bearing out) on the turn and shot his mount through to grab control of the race.
dilanesp
03-29-2018, 02:12 AM
March 24, Santa Anita, 7th race, Corey Nakatani on Rainbow Squall at 8 to 1. Sat behind a 5 horse speed duel in a 6 horse race, saved all the ground, waited, split horses, came through, and just got up in a driving 3 horse photo finish. Perfect.
dilanesp
06-27-2018, 05:51 PM
Joe Talamo on Just Grazed Me on 6/24/18 in the 8th at Santa Anita.
He just let four horses in front of him completely kill themselves off in a suicidal pace duel, and then cruised up on the outside and buried them.
dilanesp
06-28-2019, 05:26 PM
Efrain Hernandez on Miss That Kat in the 2nd on June 8 at Santa Anita. I am sorry I posted this one late.
You really have to watch this race to see everything that went on. She was the favorite and shot out to a clear lead in a 6 furlong race. So far so good.
But then going into the far turn she must have taken a bad step or something went wrong. She literally looked like she was going to be pulled up completely out of the race. Instead, however, when she had dropped back about 4 lengths (the 2 she was in front and then 2 more behind the leader), Hernandez was able to right the ship, somewhat, and then asked her to get back into it, making a move 3 wide. At that point, the leader, Jack's a Diva, with Velez, drifted out, pushing her out into the middle of the race track. The horse kind of panicked at this point, and Hernandez had to work hard to get her straightened out. In the meantime, I Belong to Becky and Norberto Arroyo had come down the rail, so now she had two horses to run down.
And Hernandez urged her and she indeed ran them down and won a 3 horse photo finish.
You can watch races for years and not see as unique a winning ride as this one.
deelo
06-28-2019, 06:52 PM
Carlos Olloa on Willow Ridge R1 @ Arlington 6/28
Couldn't run with the pace under 6, couldn't last over 8
Entered at 7f they were right where they needed to be throughout, easy beautiful ride en route to putting up $53 on the board
dilanesp
07-22-2019, 05:09 PM
Flavien Prat on Hollywood Hills in the Fleet Treat Stakes at Del Mar on July 18.
Just a perfect judgment of pace and timing. The 1-10 favorite got hooked in a speed duel at 7 furlongs, a distance where the speedsters can come back to the field. Prat took his mount, Hollywood Hills, way back, about 5 lengths behind the next to last horse. He started his move on the far turn, was able to save some ground, and then came flying at the favorite to get up in the very last jump and win it by a nose.
dilanesp
07-25-2019, 03:52 PM
Giovanni Franco on the :7: Lostintranzlation in the 8th race on Sunday July 21 at Del Mar.
This was just a thing of beauty. 1 mile and 3/8ths on the turf, Franco shot to the lead and then restrained his horse, throttling back, slowing the pace, throttling back some more, slowing the pace, while not being so obvious that any of the other riders came up to put some pressure on. Then, turning for home, he opened up and he had enough left to go wire to wire. Perfect.
dilanesp
08-08-2019, 03:13 PM
Edwin Maldonado on Boa Nova in the 2nd on August 4 at Del Mar.
You don't get to steal too many 5 furlong turf races on the front end. Usually there is plenty of speed. But Maldonado stole this one-- he opened 3 lengths on the backstretch and never looked back to pay 5 to 1.
MooseDog
08-08-2019, 03:49 PM
Espinoza in the Pacific Classic.
And just a few months later Mike Smith on Arrogate in the BC Classic against CC.
https://www.paulickreport.com/news/people/im-gonna-fool-smith-describes-ride-aboard-arrogate-bc-classic/
BCOURTNEY
08-10-2019, 01:13 AM
2019-08-10 - Del Mar Race 7 - Rafael Bejarano :8: LYNNES LEGACY. If you watch the whole race, first turn chooses the rail instead of taking wide on the first turn, saves ground, conserves energy, perfectly timed close, incredible ride. This race will be in the DQ thread for 2nd place as well.
jimk849
08-10-2019, 08:47 AM
Watch Irad. looks impossible at about eighth pole, white with a red hoop #5 some how finds a seam and absolutely explodes. Pulling up all alone at club turn. Lit-up twitter like crazy after race,
burnsy
08-10-2019, 12:22 PM
That's Jose in the 10th yesterday. But you are right that ride was sick.
jimk849
08-10-2019, 12:41 PM
stand corrected
Last race at Gulfstream today, Jeffrey Sanchez sneaks up the rail on the backside to take the garden spot away from Irad on the even money favorite, then tips out top of the stretch & is able to box the favorite in successfully for the majority of the stretch, he kicks clear for an 18-1 win & Irad can only shake clear too late to just grab 2nd. Probably biased cause I had the winner, but I thought that was a thing of beauty on Sanchez's end.
dilanesp
06-15-2020, 03:19 PM
Abel Cedillo on Crystal Ball in the 4th yesterday at Santa Anita. He basically put on a clinic as to how to ride a frontrunner. He got clear and then rated her. But each time the second and third place horses moved on her, he let out a notch and kicked clear of them, then relaxed her again. As a result, he had the race won with 5/16ths of a mile to go. They never got to her and she beat a 4-5 favorite.
Abel Cedillo on Crystal Ball in the 4th yesterday at Santa Anita. He basically put on a clinic as to how to ride a frontrunner. He got clear and then rated her. But each time the second and third place horses moved on her, he let out a notch and kicked clear of them, then relaxed her again. As a result, he had the race won with 5/16ths of a mile to go. They never got to her and she beat a 4-5 favorite.
The best part is he wasn't setting a slow pace, it was legitimate. In my figures probably something like 119-115-101. That is my favorite ride on a front runner. It also saps some energy from the closers.
dilanesp
11-02-2020, 05:08 PM
Mike Smith on Pizzazz in the 6th at Del Mar 11/1.
It's just good to see Smith has still got it. The leaders went out fast but then tried to slow the pace down on the backstretch. Smith's internal stopwatch was working (he's probably more accurate than the timing devices at Gulfstream Park) and the moment they tried to relax up front, he sent Pizzazz running up to the leaders and then opened up on them on the far turn. The race was over.
Beautiful job. Riders are sometimes afraid to do this, because you look like an idiot if you send your horse early and then the horse tires and gets beat.
dryrunguy
11-02-2020, 11:16 PM
Mike Smith on Pizzazz in the 6th at Del Mar 11/1.
It's just good to see Smith has still got it. The leaders went out fast but then tried to slow the pace down on the backstretch. Smith's internal stopwatch was working (he's probably more accurate than the timing devices at Gulfstream Park) and the moment they tried to relax up front, he sent Pizzazz running up to the leaders and then opened up on them on the far turn. The race was over.
Beautiful job. Riders are sometimes afraid to do this, because you look like an idiot if you send your horse early and then the horse tires and gets beat.
In a sense, the best part is that the same strategy didn't work for Smith earlier in the card. In that race, he got nipped. But he tried it again in THIS race, and it worked.
Mike Smith on Pizzazz in the 6th at Del Mar 11/1.
It's just good to see Smith has still got it. The leaders went out fast but then tried to slow the pace down on the backstretch. Smith's internal stopwatch was working (he's probably more accurate than the timing devices at Gulfstream Park) and the moment they tried to relax up front, he sent Pizzazz running up to the leaders and then opened up on them on the far turn. The race was over.
Beautiful job. Riders are sometimes afraid to do this, because you look like an idiot if you send your horse early and then the horse tires and gets beat.
Smith has been doing this constantly over the last several months, usually I'd say without success. Strange how he was able to be patient for an entire career & all of a sudden this has become his go-to move. On the big stage he did this a few times with Abel Tasman a few years back, but otherwise this seems like a pretty recent phenomenon.
dilanesp
11-17-2020, 04:45 PM
Interestingly, Jen Pyfer tried to do the same thing on Capital Heat in the 2nd on Sunday 11/15, and she came back to the field and lost.
Interestingly, Jen Pyfer tried to do the same thing on Capital Heat in the 2nd on Sunday 11/15, and she came back to the field and lost.
Huh?? Are you talking about the ride where she lost her iron for almost half the race? Not exactly strategy when you're just trying not to fall off.
dilanesp
11-17-2020, 10:17 PM
Huh?? Are you talking about the ride where she lost her iron for almost half the race? Not exactly strategy when you're just trying not to fall off.
I did not realize that was the explanation.
dilanesp
02-21-2021, 01:02 PM
Tyler Baze on Let's Go Now in the 5th at Santa Anita on February 19.
4-1 shot, and I am not sure exactly what the problem was, but he was completely fighting the horse the first 1/4 mile. His leg may have been out of the iron, he was standing up in the saddle, and the horse was rank. The horse went clear of the field by a few lengths.
But Baze didn't panic. He righted the ship. He settled the horse down and got the horse to relax on the backstretch, coming back to the field while still leading.
And then at the top of the stretch, 2 horses came at him, one on the inside and one on the outside. They looked like they were going to pass him. But Baze, herding the other two horses just a bit (not enough to result in a foul), kept Let's Go Now to his business and somehow got the horse to go entire 1 1/8 miles and won it in a thrilling finish.
dilanesp
04-19-2021, 02:10 PM
Flavien Prat on Cezanne in yesterday's Kona Gold Stakes. The favorite, Brickyard Ride, went out way too fast (and unnecessarily so; it was a 4 horse field and there wasn't a ton of pressure). Prat stayed way back, moved at the proper time, and then was able to come through on the inside when the tired favorite bore out at the top of the stretch.
Prat's a really good rider. He doesn't make many mistakes.
Spalding No!
04-19-2021, 02:34 PM
Flavien Prat on Cezanne in yesterday's Kona Gold Stakes. The favorite, Brickyard Ride, went out way too fast (and unnecessarily so; it was a 4 horse field and there wasn't a ton of pressure). Prat stayed way back, moved at the proper time, and then was able to come through on the inside when the tired favorite bore out at the top of the stretch.
Brickyard Ride is a run-off anyways, but you don't think Ax Man was on a mission the first 1/4 mile?
Not going to give Prat props for successfully negotiating a 4-horse field in which a stablemate was in there solely to hound the front-running favorite.
He rode about as well as Bill Shoemaker did in the 1980 Woodward.
Brickyard Ride is a run-off anyways, but you don't think Ax Man was on a mission the first 1/4 mile?
Not going to give Prat props for successfully negotiating a 4-horse field in which a stablemate was in there solely to hound the front-running favorite.
He rode about as well as Bill Shoemaker did in the 1980 Woodward.
That was as clear a tag team effort as you'll see. Ax Man was in that race for one reason only, to set it up for Cezanne.
Robert Fischer
04-19-2021, 05:04 PM
It's debatable that Maldonado gave the better ride
dilanesp
05-28-2021, 07:35 PM
Cesar Ortega on Maybe Sometime in the 6th at Santa Anita on May 22.
Just a beautiful trip, saving all the ground and moving through a momentary hole on the inside, and then he got the horse to outfinish a shorter priced runner in the stretch and win at 25 to 1.
Just a beautiful job by a totally unheralded rider.
taxicab
05-28-2021, 07:44 PM
Cesar Ortega on Maybe Sometime in the 6th at Santa Anita on May 22.
Just a beautiful trip, saving all the ground and moving through a momentary hole on the inside, and then he got the horse to outfinish a shorter priced runner in the stretch and win at 25 to 1.
Just a beautiful job by a totally unheralded rider.
He's based @ Los Al.
He won't be there much longer.......his talent level will take him to bigger things.
dilanesp
06-20-2021, 02:15 PM
I don't know if this counts as a ride, but in Friday's second race at Santa Anita, Ricardo Gonzalez anticipated the start with Summer Rose, rousing his mount forward a split second before the gate opened. The result was he broke 2 lengths in front. And he won the race by a nose, so that might have made the difference.
dilanesp
07-21-2021, 10:59 AM
Jessica Pyfer has already shown me a lot, and Sunday, July 18, in the 4th at Del Mar, she was on a 30 to 1 shot, Cute Impact, and she made a big looping move to engage in a stretch duel with a ONE TO FIVE shot, Sally Stanford. And darn it Pyfer didn't win the duel. If you bet her horse, you got $63.
taxicab
07-21-2021, 09:10 PM
Jessica Pyfer has already shown me a lot, and Sunday, July 18, in the 4th at Del Mar, she was on a 30 to 1 shot, Cute Impact, and she made a big looping move to engage in a stretch duel with a ONE TO FIVE shot, Sally Stanford. And darn it Pyfer didn't win the duel. If you bet her horse, you got $63.
Plus:
Give her extra points for understanding the outside (main track) played much better the opening three days.
On the grass you needed early speed.
Kent D on the winner of the Yellow Ribbon at Del Mar today, just wow. To split horses like that 2 times in a row at the critical juncture of the race, very impressive.
Afleet
08-07-2021, 10:30 PM
Kent D on the winner of the Yellow Ribbon at Del Mar today, just wow. To split horses like that 2 times in a row at the critical juncture of the race, very impressive.
I agree, well done
dilanesp
10-11-2021, 12:37 PM
Flavien Prat on Aqua Julia in the 8th on Friday October 8. Prat managed a Silky Sullivan finish in a Maiden race- she didn't seem to even start running until the quarter pole when she was several lengths back of the next to last horse, flew past the entire field in the stretch and just got up.
dilanesp
11-17-2021, 01:14 PM
Emily Ellingwood on Back Ring Luck in the 4th on Sunday November 14 at Del Mar.
She STOLE this one. She decided they were going too slow and made a big sweeping move to the lead and opened up with 3/4 of a mile to go. The other riders let her go, and her horse never stopped and won easily, upsetting a 4-5 favorite.
dilanesp
11-20-2021, 03:27 PM
Mike Smith on Kristi's Tiger in the 7th at Del Mar on November 19.
He just let 6 horses go out on the pace and tire themselves out, then made the balcony move at the perfect time and blew by them to win at 5-1.
Maximillion
11-21-2021, 10:54 AM
Mike Smith on Kristi's Tiger in the 7th at Del Mar on November 19.
He just let 6 horses go out on the pace and tire themselves out, then made the balcony move at the perfect time and blew by them to win at 5-1.
I wouldnt call that a great ride, if anything that was as much of a passenger ride as you can get imo.
dilanesp
11-21-2021, 01:19 PM
I wouldnt call that a great ride, if anything that was as much of a passenger ride as you can get imo.
Once Smith put the horse in the right place, he could be a passenger. That's what sometimes happens when a rider nails the pace scenario.
dilanesp
01-08-2022, 02:27 PM
Diego Herrera, a 17 year old apprentice, did a nice job on :4: For Love Not Money in the 4th at Santa Anita on 1/7. The horse got a bad break and was left at the back. Herrera did not panic, moved the horse back up into contention, and then made a nice darting move to the inside around the 1/4 pole.
He couldn't catch the winner, who won off, but he salvaged second place and cashed a check for the owners with that ride. He might be a jockey to watch.
dilanesp
01-15-2022, 11:11 PM
Prat on Spielberg in the 7th at Santa Anita on Friday the 14th. When you see two horses dueling on the league, take back to a position where you are going to stay out of trouble and make a run at them when they tired. Prat did the whole thing- he saw the speed duel developing, which included a 4-5 favorite, took about 4 to 5 lengths back of it, alone, and then waited for the pacesetters to tire. When they did, he just inhaled them at the 1/4 pole and the race was over.
Spalding No!
01-16-2022, 12:47 AM
Prat on Spielberg in the 7th at Santa Anita on Friday the 14th. When you see two horses dueling on the league, take back to a position where you are going to stay out of trouble and make a run at them when they tired. Prat did the whole thing- he saw the speed duel developing, which included a 4-5 favorite, took about 4 to 5 lengths back of it, alone, and then waited for the pacesetters to tire. When they did, he just inhaled them at the 1/4 pole and the race was over.
Not sure why you think it's brilliant race riding when a jockey takes back on a horse while its stablemate goes on a suicide mission on the front end. See the Kona Gold Stakes from last year (and your comments on it in this thread).
Props for not mentioning that the 4-5 favorite was said stablemate.
A really good ride was David Cabrera on Rated R Superstar in the Fifth Season today.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSK_GFjj8sY
dilanesp
01-16-2022, 09:51 AM
Not sure why you think it's brilliant race riding when a jockey takes back on a horse while its stablemate goes on a suicide mission on the front end. See the Kona Gold Stakes from last year (and your comments on it in this thread).
Props for not mentioning that the 4-5 favorite was said stablemate.
Prat is presented with the race shape he is presented with. E.g., if the other horse doesn't go out he has to rude differently
Spalding No!
01-16-2022, 10:32 AM
Prat is presented with the race shape he is presented with. E.g., if the other horse doesn't go out he has to rude differently
So when he's presented with an easy layup he's a genius? I'm sure the trainer had no strategy going into the race and offered no instructions to his riders.
To be fair, Prat was able to stay out of trouble in a 5-horse field.
So he's got that going for him...which is nice.
dilanesp
02-14-2022, 09:01 PM
Juan Hernandez on Stones River in the 1st at Santa Anita on February 11.
The horse took a terrible stumble coming out of the gate. Hernandez looked like he was going to fall off but somehow stayed in the saddle. The horse sped off to clear the field in the first 1/16 of a mile. Hernandez was patient, rated the horse on the lead, careful not to go too fast, and the horse had just enough left to hold off a closer at the wire.
dilanesp
04-15-2022, 08:35 PM
A good ride / bad ride combination.
Ryan Curatolo on Classical Romance in the 2nd on 4/8 at Santa Anita delivered a beautiful ride. A 4 horse race, and they all went to the lead. Only Curatolo saw what was happening, and took his filly off the pace, letting the other 3 duel on the lead. Of course, they tired each other out and Curatolo brought his 14 to 1 shot around all of them to win the race. Terrific.
The terrible ride was by Mike Smith on the favorite, Midnight Jamboree. Going 4 wide on the first turn and 3 wide in the second, while being committed to a 3 horse speed duel, is a really good way to get a 4-5 shot beat. Smith did it.
Been awhile since some love in this topic, but a shout out to Kyle Frey in the 1st race at Santa Anita on Oct 1 getting the longest shot in the field home by a head with an absolutely beautiful ride. The drone camera work on this really highlighted his nifty stretch moves.
dilanesp
02-13-2024, 05:34 PM
Prat's ride on Big City Lights in last Saturday's Palos Verdes was excellent. He never panicked even as the horse didn't run up to challenge Hopkins. He timed his move perfectly and got up in the last jump to win.
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