I SWEAR THIS HORSE WAS STIFFED

[delayjf]

Sept 16 , Fairplex, seventh race, Number 2 Savona Heat.

I happened to watch this horse leaving the gate, and I swear it looked like Joy Scott stiffed this horse. It looked to me that Joy Scott was pulling so hard on this horse coming out of the Gate that his head was about the same height as Scotts. Then the horse practically blew the turn. He was allowed to run on the backstretch, but Joy again had a tight hold on the horse down the stretch.

Anybody else see the samething I did or am I paranoid??

[so.cal.fan]

Somehow, I couldn't pull up the replay on the Fairplex site.
However......I know Joy Scott.....she is very poor, really struggles to even get horses up for 3rd and 4th. Gets really weak mounts.
I find it hard to believe she would stiff any horse......but wasn't the horse trained by Doug Peterson? Now, I can't vouch for him,
but it could have been the horse is just very rank or even crazy. I know Joy won't take stupid chances, especially at Fairplex where there have been fatalities.
I'd say, she didn't stiff it, delayjf.....but I could be wrong. I'd sure like to see the tape.:confused:

[kenwoodallpromos]

Joy's horse wore blinkers but still drifted out; its SP was 8 and it was 4 back at the 1/2 pole, then faded on the slow part of the track.
leader did 1st 4f at 11 1/1 seconds per f; last 2 1/2 was 33 seconds about 13 seconds per furlong.
At 18-1, the trainer probably wanted to see if the horse could run straight and keep up with the $15,000 maiden claimers.
Since the horse did ok on the fast part of the track, and Fairplex has been running just a normal speed but not Ca fast, I think the trainer told Joy to run even and hope for a good start, which it not get.
I expect the horse to run back soon at BM. That is my prediction.

[Valuist]

I tried to pull up the replay from the Brisbet site but didn't see Fairplex listed. I didn't think Fpx was a Magna track. I wonder why they aren't in Brisbet's replay bank. As for the horse, I believe we miss many stiff jobs. If it walks like a duck......you probably saw a duck.

[delayjf]

Perhaps I was a bit strong with my impression of the race, I'm not saying the horse was in fact stiffed, only that it looked like it to me. Coming out of the gate, it appeared to me that the horses mouth was pulled up about level with his ears. And that the horse was not only not asked for anything down the stretch, rather seemed to be in a hammer lock.

The trainer was Cervantes. Maybe the problem was the horse, I don't know. It just looked odd to me.

[DJofSD]

Hey, Jeff,

Didn't see the race and certainly I'm not questioning what you saw.

However, I'd point out that the last thing any jock would want to do is lose control of their mount. And purposefully pulling up the head would do just that.

Very often what you see happening is a jockey trying to maintain some control by raising their arms or moving upwards out of the saddle. They do this to try to keep the bit working on the bars of the horse's mount. If the bit is pulling on the corners of the mouth and not putting any pressure on the bars, they have very little influence over the horse.

Another possibility is Joy lost her balance and landed on the horses back. A horse will react by throwing its head. This is especially true if the horse has a sore back. Try this as a test. Find a horse with a sore back. Make sure it's not a kicker. Then push down on its back and watch what it does.

DJofSD

[Steve 'StatMan']

...and if you survive the experience, you can tell us about it! :D

[kenwoodallpromos]

$400 is the purse through 10th place so why kill the horse for 6th place?

[Tuffmug]

Maybe the horse was stiffed. If you really believe he was, I'd put him on Stable Watch and bet him heavy on his next race

[delayjf]

I plan to do just that, but I would like to watch the race again and confirm what I saw. I don't blame Scott for not pushing down the stretch with no chance at a desent purse. Whether or not the horse was stiffed or Joy was simply fighting for control, that was not his best effort. question is, how good is he.

[Hosshead]

Originally posted by delayjf
question is, how good is he.
We may not know how good he is yet, but I can tell you how good SHE is(Joy),-- not good at all !! She has always been bad at controling her horse ESPECIALLY on the turns. (Even 1mi tracks.) I bet most jockeys don't want to be anywhere near her on the turns. (after the last race is another story ;) )
Her horse has to be tons the best to win. Usually at lesser tracks than Fairplex. She kicks ass at Ferndale :D