SoCalMan2 Wrote:
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> Also, Garcia blew the turn before the turn. He
> had the horse in the 2 hole and took the horse to
> the outside of all 6 horses before the turn even
> started. He gave up the rail instantly. Now maybe
> it was a dead rail at Hollywood that day,
I don\'t
> know.
Maybe he had instructions not to get her
> stuck inside on the rail on the first turn. These
> jockeys have a tough job, so
maybe there is a
> counter argument I am not aware of.
You answer your own question when you say \"I don\'t know\". Its unbelievable to me how many expert jockeys there are in this room. It is similar to guys that have never faced Major League pitching question why a guy swings at a slider in the dirt. Until you have faced that type of pitching, you have no idea what its like.
Maybe the rail was dead, maybe he did have instructions. You don\'t know.
> But the original poster asked for comments on the ride on
> ST, and, to me, Garcia went needlessly wide on the
> first turn. Maybe our host can let us know what
> the comparative ground between Garcia and Smith
> was on that turn. I realize it is sensitive, but
> it seems to me possible that Garcia gave up more
> ground than Smith did on the turns and it was
> enough of a disparity to cause the result to have
> been different than it would have if the rides
> were neutral.
I don\'t need our host to tell me how much ground was lost. Watch the race. No he didn\'t give up more ground. Smith was tracking Garcia because he knew that was his main threat. Smith followed the same path Garcia did on the first turn, there was no differnce in ground loss. If there was, it was minimal at best. I\'m watching another replay as I type this, and there is no way that first turn altered the outcome.
As for the last turn, Zenyatta went widest of all. Explain how ST lost more ground there.
\"Well, if we assume that Garcia was one path wider than Smith on the first turn, then there is a physical limit to what Smith can do, isn\'t there? I mean, it is called the rail.\"
If you are going to be a condescending smartass, at least be factual. How do you know Zenyatta, who was tracking ST, wouldn\'t have taken the same path?
\"What exactly do you have Smith doing to pick up the extra length of ground, if Garcia takes ST to the 1w path (just like Rosario had been doing with ST in the prior two races)? There is no path inside of the 1w path, so there is no way for Smith to gain back the length of ground he picked up by being one lane inside Garcia if Garcia had ridden the mare the same way Rosario had ridden her.\"
Again, Smith followed Garcia. What makes you think Smith wouldn\'t take the same path as ST?? You make a lot of ASSUMPTIONS not based on fact.
Its amazing how after 17 straight wins, we get these posts after the fact explaining ways she could have been beaten. Many of them focus on jockey rides by people who have never been on the back of a horse but somehow feel they have the necessary knowledge to judge them.
Bottom Line:
- You don\'t know the instructions given
- You don\'t know if the rail was dead.
- You don\'t know if Smith would have followed the same path along the rail if that was where ST chose to run.
- You just don\'t know.
Jim Mora would have a field day with you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHipzGL4dwM
