Quote:
Originally Posted by SharpCat
Mike did not go balls to the wall to clear he established the lead in hand as the footnote said. As for being wide he's been wide in everyone of his races so far and almost all of his works I watched. I did see one work at SA where he came off the turn 2 wide, the jockey put him on the rail and he just exploded threw the stretch running the final 3/16 in 17 flat. My guess would be Mike keeps him wide so he relaxes somewhat and does not run off. No offence but I think Mike knows a little bit more on how to ride Life Is Good than you do.
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No offense taken.
He may or may not know more about riding LIG than me.
Whether he does or not. IMO opinion the tactics he chose Saturday were a total disaster and the horse lost as a result.
The chart says 21.4 & 44 flat. He may have been in hand around the turn and into the stretch. But to my eye he looked to be sending, trying to clear for the first 2 or 3 hundred yards. Sitting still on a horse that fast "after" you got him rolling isn't rating. 44 flat is 44 flat regardless of what you're doing.
Truth be told when I saw what he was doing I thought it made sense. JW is all speed. Clear a speed horse, one that's always in front and you can take him out of his game. Throw some dirt in his race. I thought it was going to be a good strategy.
But then staying out wide wasted any tactical advantage he had gained. Put pressure on. Make a horse do something different. MAKE HIM GO FREAKEN AROUND. Rather than letting him re-engage like they were working in company.
Many are making a big deal about how he urged him though the stretch. Just showing him the whip. I saw only one true overhanded strike with the crop. I don't care much about that. He may very well know his mount doesn't respond favorably to heavy whipping. Maybe it's counterproductive. It's not a great visual if the horse loses. However, that aspect isn't for me to say.
Question: Do you think if the jockeys were reversed and Rosario had ridden LIG he would have won the race? I do, and I think the great majority of racing fans and bettors would agree.
One final note, just because I'm 6'4" 310 and have never ridden a race. Doesn't mean I don't know as much or more about that skill set than many who do it.
