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Originally Posted by ultracapper
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.
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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.
