I didn\'t play the race, so here are some unbiased thoughts. I saw the race replay, but not the head-on. I also looked at the horse\'s lifetime PPs on DRF.
Here\'s a little more devil\'s advocate stuff I thought of, in addition to the possibility the horse doesn\'t like the whip.
Scenario 1
The 1st thing I notice in the PPs is that the horse was coming off a long layoff. My thoughts are that maybe Pezua was instructed to try to win, but not abuse the horse, because the trainer has seen a spot in the future. My guess is the trainer is looking at future starter handicaps & starter allowances and needed this $10k race to renew eligibility for them. There are a lot of those starter alws & hcps in his PPs. He may also look at this horse as a better router and the 6.5f return race was just a tuneup. So, if Pezua wants to get future mounts from this trainer, he better not go against instructions.
Scenario 2
Pezua has such little regard for Studart that he thought he could pass the horse any time he pleased in the stretch.
Scenario 3
Pezua is just an incompetent rider and there was no stiff job involved. Also, the trainer doesn\'t look like anything special either. He\'s 0 for 10 for the year and unfortunately since the race day is in the past, I can\'t get detailed trainer info from formulator on him until he runs another horse.