P Val

[Silver Charm]

Seriously unbelievable what this guy has been able to do over the course of his career and lifestyle!

Going back to the days of Very Subtle in the 86 BC Sprint this has been a guy who has crash and burned more times than anyone can count. Always was a Money Rider that Big Trainers were never afraid to give a Big Horse....except of course that he might not be available to be found to ride that particular day.

Lotta guys want to come back anmd ride and can\'t. Not the case here! This guy looks like he has never lost anything and has not exactly had the best training table.

Survivor is an understatement! Talented obvious! Somewhere out there Steve Howe is working on his windup in his Living Room.....

[jimbo66]

He had a razor sharp horse to ride today, but rode him extremely well.  

The \"naysayers\" will say that Twirling Candy couldn\'t get the 1 1/4, but they would be wrong (again).  The top two were pulling away from the field at the end, running a track record over a track that was quick, but not overly so.  Coming home in 23 and a piece and then 24 flat for the last two quarters is serious race horse time.

PVal drifted out just enough to intimidate Twirling Candy a bit, in a nice \"race riding\" mood, reminding me of Angel back in the day.

[Boscar Obarra]

He was flapping those reins pretty good there too, something , according to Tony Black, riders like to do to spook the opponent.

[MO]

How many time times, if ever, did PV show up to a race drunk or under the influence of a dangerous drug? And I\'m not talking trace amounts in a drug test. (Drug tests - urinalysis specifically - are really designed to look for pot smokers. Alcoholics can test clean in just 8 hours, cocaine clears the system in 3 days. Pot takes up to 45 days to clear the system).  

I think too much was made of his off track life style. Bottom line, he never hurt any other rider, caused an injury because of drunkeness or drug intoxication.
He\'s cocky, and that rubs people (myself included) the wrong way, but he can back it up on the track. That also rubs people the wrong way.


There\'s a least 1 hall of fame jockey I know of who was known to smoke pot every day of his career and he NEVER had any bad publicity regarding his use. Double standard?

Bottom line: at no time have I even considered NOT backing PVal on a horse because he might be stoned or because of his tarnished past. He is flat out the best gate rider I\'ve ever seen.

[Dana666]

I\'ve followed P-Val\'s career for many years. I agree with you completely. I never saw him endanger any other riders even in the bad times. The guy has a strong faith and a will to compete that has never left him. Plus, he\'s one of the more fundamentally sound riders you\'ll ever find; you\'ll seldom see him out of position. He\'s one of the last ones left from a time when there were so many great jockeys all competing against each other, especially in California but all over really. I met him once. Despite his flashy side, he\'s rather quiet and a modest guy. I\'m glad he was able to continue his career and he could get on a good horse like Acclamation. I never understood the vitriol against him from some fans and the (older) stewards in California, just made no sense to me. We all make mistakes. Look how many athletes today are able to make much worse mistakes than he ever did and still earn a living. If only some of the younger riders today would learn from him, ever see Rosario save ground, I mean EVER??? Geez, if Rosario had P-Val\'s innate knowledge, he\'d be unstoppable. There are not that many young riders I\'m impressed with, with the exception of Joe Talamo. He\'s actually improved his game very much. I think Talamo will be a superstar very soon. The others don\'t seem to learn much. Don\'t know why.

[sixmoreouts]

No more windups for Steve Howe.  He died about a year ago.