Opinions on Leparoux

[adwplayingfool]

Does this guy give his mounts a fair shot? Me and a buddy spent a whole day fading Leparoux when he rode favorites or low priced mounts a few weeks back and made a killing and have been tossing horses he is the fave on since and looking for a mid to long price and doing pretty well. I don't know if we just magically miss his good rides and are not betting those races or if he really hurts the chances of good mounts he gets . Seems he gets a lot of favorites and then disappoints. I know many here don't think the jockey makes a huge difference but I am from a very contrary school of thought. The jockey makes a huge difference in certain spots,races, conditions etc. I really like Santiva to be in the money at a price and possibly win partially because of the semi recent win at CD with Bridgmohan aboard who will be aboard again in the derby and the fact I disregard the very poor Bluegrass because of Leparoux being aboard and from my recent viewing experience that he is just not able to do anything with them. Hate to redboard but I threw out Santiva in the bluegrass just because of Leparoux and did alright with some money on the price Brilliant Speed. I know he has done well on Dialed in with all his rides so maybe they have chemistry and will click and run well or maybe Dialed in is just "that good" he can overcome his jock but I think Santiva may be the most overlooked horse in the field and partially due to his Bluegrass performance that seemed tainted. Any other opinions?

[cnollfan]

I have liked Leparoux in the past but I thought he gave several bad rides at Gulfstream this meet. I hate to see a horse fight the jockey, and it seemed like more than a few of the horses Leparoux was taking back were rank in response. It was as though he thought Gulfstream was polytrack.

[rispa]

IMHO, he is not very athletic on a horse, nor is he a good positional rider. He gets a lot of live mounts, and I think his win pct. should be a lot higher all things considered. He is a rider who loves to 'sit' and then make a late outside run. A strong finisher he is not. Good luck to him and Dialed In in the Derby trying to navigate a twenty-horse field.

[adwplayingfool]

I am right there with you, it just seems like he is really good on occasion but really bad most of the time considering his mounts. Or again maybe when he wins it is just that his mounts are that good they do it with him aboard anyways. Just scanning today at churchill and he rode four faves/close second choices in short fields and he only managed to show on all 4. Not the type of result he should be getting with the quality horses he is riding against short fields. Anyways I will be taking this opinion to the windows with Santiva and hope it pays off.

[NikeUnlimited]

He reminds me of Desormeaux who stops trying once he feels he can't win and finishes out of the money

[gm10]

Leparoux is one of the top 5 jockeys when it comes to thinking the race through, and sensibly handling his horse. He goes through drier spells, too, of course.

[Robert Goren]

Good enough, but way overrated. He runs very hot and cold.

[Valuist]

The guy is very good at coming off the pace. But.....he tries to rate too much. Obviously, a track like Gulfstream doesn't fit his style well. But on non-speed biased tracks he should be fine.

[Beachbabe]

He had an excellent meet at Gulf in 2010.
He seems to do his best riding on closers and I think that's given him better percentages on the turf.

[PhantomOnTour]

Leparoux is in my doghouse.
I hate him on dirt, and only like him on closers on the turf.

Let's take yesterday's Manhattan:
Lemme first say that i didn't see the race, only read the charts. Did Windward Islands have trouble at the break (other than the jock on his back)?
None was mentioned in his brief chart comment. Maybe WI wouldn't have won anyway, but he has a definitive stalking style and Julien took him 10 lengths off of that pace by the time they had gone 1/4m in 24.9 secs.
WI was capable at the distance (4 wins) and over non-firm turf, had competitive Beyers, and was a GrStks winner (multiple GrStks placed as well).
He does his best work when near the pace but this guy pulled him to the back immediately...? Maybe WI wasn't of this ilk, but imo Leparoux gave him no shot.

In the previous race (Just A Game) Leparoux put Gypsy's Warning (also a stalker) in the right spot...about 3 lengths back. She had nothing to offer late but at least she was in a decent spot early.
Just can't get right with this guy

Again, maybe I missed some trouble at the break for WI.
Anyone know?

[toussaud]

re: awesome act

i'm starting to think it's the jockey after what I just saw at churchill. The pattended, the horse is ready to make a move, the jockey chokes him half to death in the backstretch, then in the turn he's beating the horse for dear life to keep up in the stretch.

I don't think it's ever been clearer that the horse wants to use his speed earlier in the race than everyone is letting him

[Cholly]

Originally Posted by toussaud

re: awesome act

i'm starting to think it's the jockey after what I just saw at churchill. The pattended, the horse is ready to make a move, the jockey chokes him half to death in the backstretch, then in the turn he's beating the horse for dear life to keep up in the stretch.

I don't think it's ever been clearer that the horse wants to use his speed earlier in the race than everyone is letting him

I saw it like you did. Does Leparoux really think he's helping the horse save energy for the stretch by fighting with him for six furlongs? Damn, if the horse is hell-bent on running, let him run.

[Robert Fischer]

Leparoux is an average jock

[Valuist]

Good grass and Poly rider but he really should avoid Gulfstream. If you aren't a speed rider, you will burn some money there.

[toetoe]

If you're betting Santiva because of the presence of Bridgmohan, I'm opening up a contrary school myself ... tomorrow morning.