Smith - awful today

[Boscar Obarra]

Not saying it wasn\'t posted pre race , but the rehash of same is usually reserved for when it\'s right.

 If the horse won, no one would post that there was a knock that didn\'t pan out.

[PapaChach]

...And I don\'t know about you, but I love when Einsteins who don\'t know the difference between their, they\'re, and there deign to comment on the intelligence of others...

[Boscar Obarra]

Someone posted on twitter in ADVANCE that Go Unbridled was reported  as \'not working well\'

 I\'ll assume one of the  \'clocker reports\' had this.

 Winner.

 Somehow, info posted in advance never holds up as well as the the other kind.

[miff]

Mike Welch work report had winner working very poorly!

[Boscar Obarra]

Yeah, no knock on Mike, who I\'m sure tries and does a decent job.  This was apropos my comment  that \"Ex post facto\" information has to be take with a large grain of salt, because the losers are never/rarely  mentioned.

 The mare acted up badly last out, propped, never ran a step.  You\'d have to figure H.A.J. was desperate just to run something for her to be not right.

 2 7F works for the race, like the good old days.

[TGJB]

Overall he\'s been pretty good. He had the bomb that won the last Sunday working better than anyone else in the field.

[miff]

Tough to get a handle on a new circuit.Welch did main, Vesce Oklahoma. Overall worth $1 a day even though they missed a ton of works.They had a few nice winners and did ok with firsters.

Jimbo don\'t wanna hear it,wants his $38.95 back!!

[TGJB]

It\'s getting better, if they go year round it should be a very worthwhile product.

Meanwhile, a) there is no way the Travers was faster than the Pac Classic, but b) it did not come up slow compared to the one turn races nearest to it, late in the card. Early part of the card, before 4 straight grass races, was a different story.

[miff]

Hard to sell fast when you look at the overall lack of splits anywhere in the whole race.Not the first time the Travers raw has been incongruous with the other dirt races at one turn.

The adjusted pace figures for the Kings Bishop off the charts fast so can\'t reconcile track slowing later.

[TGJB]

It didn\'t come up fast, actually came up just as you would think it would with the two from the Jim Dandy finishing close together again. Point is it didn\'t come up slow compared to the sprints late in the day-- if you made the Travers slower and tied it to the sprints you would be giving out some awful figures in the Test and Kings Bishop. This is also one of those situations which might look different to those making figures without ground loss-- big fields and some wide trips throughout the day.

[miff]

While you do not consider pace in the fig,the Test and KB came up much faster than the earlier 7f races,adjusted for pace. Think the extreme early splits in the Test and KB led to slower than normal final raw with the front gasping and the closers hustled more than they wanted early to stay in touch.

[Dana666]

Smith\'s style hasn\'t changed much over the years. Generally he grabs everything and goes wide to avoid trouble. Has he ever sent a horse inside? Yeah, once in a while but that\'s not his game. His best scenario is to ride Royal Delta or Zenyatta in a 5 horse field and show off his skills. He needs that type of situation every race. He pulls up a lot of horses too. Maybe that\'s his intuition; he just \"feels\" something\'s wrong and stops riding. Maybe he\'s scared to death. His instincts have kept him in the game and at the top level all these years, so it\'s hard to argue. I can\'t address the fear issue b/c I don\'t put my life on the line everyday to do my job. The ride on Happy Face was just terrible. Here you have a horse all set to perform at her best on the big stage, and he completely wastes all that preparation and perfect placement by the owner and trainer. He goes wide and against the bias coming from last with a horse that should have been right up on the pace. I guarantee you Happy Face ran a huge new top, but they don\'t pay off for numbers, just who runs first under the wire. If I got paid for every horse I bet who ran the fastest number, I\'d be wealthy! Nothing to do. Smith has great hands and a good clock in his head, so you get the pluses and minuses when you ride him or bet on him. The best strategy is just play him on long shots and toss him on favorites. This year you\'d have made out great, esp. in Graded Stakes races. I\'m sure he\'ll bring in a 20-1 shot in a Breeder\'s Cup race.

[TGJB]

Youknowwho-- shock me. Don\'t take the bait.

[miff]

Smith a bum, getting outquicked from the gate by both the 9 and 7 in Test.......psst take a look at the head on and tell me at what point he could have angled over(not there). Happy Face under a ride most of the way with modest response,last 1/8th in a pedestrian 13.38, barely getting by a couple of slugettes in the last 1/16th.Gigantic pace in front of her and very slow last part should have equaled a win, notwithstanding trip.

Equal trips with the winner, Happy dont win one out of ten.They will meet again.

[jimbo66]

Miff,

Smith was awful.  Outquicked by 9 and 7 is one thing, but he got out last in the race.  You have the PPs.  How does this horse get out last?  ARe we going to say the \"ground disappeared under the horse\'s back legs\" like Palace Malice?  That was a brilliant statement by Smith.  \"Jockey-speak\" after a race, much like \"trainer-speak\" before a race, useless.  

You will get chances to bet the winner back.  Very common IMO.  The horse he beat a head is a hard trying, mildly talented stakes runner.  The winner was on the lead at a time during the day when speed was very good.  (not sure that was the case later in the card, but perhaps>

Smith took two horses with tactical speed and got them out last and next to last, in major stakes races.  

Even if we give Smith the \"horse lost his back legs excuse\" on Palace Malice, where is the clock in his head when they go 24 and 48.  He needs to move sooner when he feels that slow pace, not wait and wait and wait.

Watch Obviously blow the start on Sunday.  Talamo, didn\'t sit back in last, he went forward despite losing 2 lengths at the break.  He didn\'t want to compromise the horse\'s best asset.