People are bashing Garrett Gomez for his ride....Why?? He rode a horse that cannot be rated and cannot finish. With all the backlash over the Pino ride, I\'m sure he was told to sit behind the speed no matter what and make his move...I\'m sure he sat there and knew the pace was slow but followed instructions and still after very slow fractions Hard spun spit the bit...Hard spun is a very good horse, but he just can\'t run that far no matter who rides him. Everyone needs to acknowledge that.
Speaking of Jockeys, did anyone have a doubt in the stretch when they saw Johnny V on the outside versus Robby Albarado in a stretch duel, I wonder if the outcome would have been the same with if the jockeys were switched?
Lost Cause hearing you pour out sympathy for Poor Garrett because he took back when the Trainer told him take back reminds of a story from 20 years ago.
The race was the Jockey Club Gold Cup and not coincidentally the race was being run at One Mile and One Half. All Java Gold needed to do was win and he was Horse of the Year even though the connections had already stated they were not going to the West Coast to run in the Breeders Cup. Their year and the horses career was finished after this race.
Woody Stephens had Laffit Pincay riding a former Belmont Winner, Creme Fraiche, for him. Pincay went straight to the lead, slowed the pace to crawl, had a ton of horse turning for home and a late closing Java Gold ran out of ground trying to get there.
After the race Pincay was asked about the ride and responded with this, \"The Trainer told me to take back, but I knew there no speed in the race so I went to the lead anyway and slowed down the pace. I figured this was the horses best chance to win.\"
I don\'t even think he was under instructions to take back. If anything, Jones was pissed off he wasn\'t on the lead.
I think there are really multiple debates when it comes to HS.
1. Whether the move he made in the Preakness was Pino\'s fault or the horse\'s fault.
2. Whether Gomez should have gone to lead this time because the pace was so slow. (keep in mind that this assumes that if he let HS go when he started tugging a little that the leaders would not have responded and gone quicker also, hurting all three)
3. Whether keeping him under tight control in the Belmont took something out of him.
Here\'s my view:
1. Pino\'s fault. Gomez\'s ride in a slow paced race proves he could have been restrained against the very fast pace of the Preakness.
2. 50-50. Flip a coin
3. No. Despite tugging a couple of times, he was in a very relaxed stride all the way.
Creme Fraiche??? Oh man the memory floodgates just opened up...
I loved that horse, I was the ripe old age of 12 when he won the belmont and I had the exacta with Cheif\'s crown coming in third because Stephan\'s Oddysey ran second as his entry mate...It seems like it was yesterday.......
I hated Java Gold, played against him every time.
In Garrett\'s defense he is not Laffit Pincay...I\'m simply saying he did not give the horse a bad ride by not going to the front, the horse would have lost regardless of what he did...
Lost Cause I got a few years on you, maybe about a dozen. But that was my first visit to the Big House.
I was working a two week gig in Philly with a pal who was a racing nut himself and we went to that Belmont. We drove up to the Big Top and absolutely crushed\'em that day.
Drove back totally wasted to Garden State Park for the night Card and gave it all back.
At least we had big hangovers to show for it the next morning......
PS-I have settled down a lot since then, or grew up.
Please, someone give Larry Jones some cheese! First it was Hard Spun didn\'t take to the racing surface, then it was Pino\'s fault, and now it\'s Gomez\'s fault. Stop it already. Someone has said this before but Hard Spun is War Chant all over again. Please Mr. Porter, take Hard Spun away from this hillbilly, lay the horse off and bring him back on the turf. Give him a start or two at Monmouth before starting him in the BC turf mile.
Without making apologies for Garrett Gomez, I tend to agree that regardless of a very questionable ride on the subject pace, that it was not going to be Hard Spun\'s Day. Then again, Choking Hard Spun back on a 1.15 and change six poles was not smart and could have discouraged the horse.
Its pretty clear Gomez choked as badly if not more so than Hard Spun and should have been fired pre race. Hopefully they\'ve learned their lesson and will fire him now. Who knows, maybe he can talk his way back onto Rags for the rematch.
Lost Cause Wrote:
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> Creme Fraiche??? Oh man the memory floodgates just
> opened up...
> I loved that horse, I was the ripe old age of 12
> when he won the belmont and I had the exacta with
> Cheif\'s crown coming in third because Stephan\'s
> Oddysey ran second as his entry mate...It seems
> like it was yesterday.......
>
> I hated Java Gold, played against him every time.
>
> In Garrett\'s defense he is not Laffit Pincay...I\'m
> simply saying he did not give the horse a bad ride
> by not going to the front, the horse would have
> lost regardless of what he did...
Exactly why did the Jones/Hard Spun camp NOT let Gomez out of riding this horse when the filly entered? Maybe GOGO rode that horse on protest in that fashion, who knows.
Hey did anyone notice how Gomez ensured to watch Curlin all the way around and keep him in tight and boxed to ensure the filly got a shot at him. If you watched him around the turn he made sure that the spot was tight to get through because Curlin\'s momentum was stopped for a moment around the turn while Rags to Riches was in the clear wide. I am tired of hearing about the wide trip of Rags to Riches because that is the place to be at Belmont on the Main and Widener Turf Course (Ask Julie Krone who rode Colonial Affair wide around the Belmont Stakes in 1991 I believe.) Wide at Belmont is a good thing because of the big sweeping turns. I watched Gomez and he is not a speed jockey at all. He choked Wait a While about 5 times in the race and let My Typhoon get away. Come on Garrett, don\'t you have a clock in your head like other jockeys. Pat Day would have never let that happen. Then GoGo rode Dream Rush to an eye popping 22:1 opening quarter going a one turn mile, which proved to be her undoing in the end. Yes, I am Garrett bashing because I say three questionable rides on Saturday that affected the outcome of each race. I would love to see Curlin versus Street Sense versus Rags to Riches in the Travers. This is exactly what racing needs.
I think Hard Spun realistically would have finished somewhere between a close up third and far off 5th no matter who or how he was ridden.
That premise aside :) ... I think he deserves some bashing
here are my key points to the ride:
1. pre start) = Gomez decides not to ask HS out of the gate
2. pre start = Gomez should anticipate Prado about to take it wide into turn1
3. out of the gate = Gomez appears to react/anticipate well moving behind/inside of CPWest
4. prior to first turn = Gomez has both the rail and/or lead offered to him on a silver platter as Prado opens wide entering the turn
4A. = here Gomez makes a significant error by swinging back out widest of flight1 and turning down the pace on the rail
5. Turn1= Gomez appears to be doing a nice job of rating Hard Spun
6. Into Backstretch= Gomez misjudges Prado\'s pace OR is purposefully rating a very slow of a pace.
7. 4-6 furlongs= Gomez still does not allow Hard Spun to enter into his cruising-speed stride = this is about the point of no return
8. 6-8 furlongs= Hard Spun no longer has the OPPORTUNITY to gain a positional advantage from his talent of highcrusing stride
9. 8-10furlongs split= moving with the group as they mildly increase pace Gomez actually has Hard Spun at the fastest velocity he will reach in the Belmont Stakes(a mediocre 53.6 ft/s)
10. 10-12furlongs = Hard Spun is asked to out-kick Rags To Riches and Curlin from even terms. Gomez and Hard Spun finish 4th as Hard Spun is unable to out-kick the animals which posses the talent of a strong late closing kick. His final quarter is 5th fastest out of 7 horses.
subjective conclusions:- Hard Spun did not appear to save any energy racing under a hold as opposed to breezing in his optimal natural high-cruising speed (1:11.5?? 1:12?). His pedigree advantage of the ability to cruise for a sustained time period was nullified by racing under a hold. HS gained no positional advantage(lead) during the first mile. HS did not appear to enjoy the last 2 furlongs. It was very hard to tell if HS was in worse form or if the tactics and possibly the distance affected his performance so significantly that his form appeared worse.There was a very good chance that Hard Spun\'s form wasn\'t at a new high. Gomez may have been given poor instructions and/OR has a poor understanding of the relative strengths and weaknesses of HS and would likely be a poor choice for future races.
See today\'s NY Post for Gomez\'s own take on this. In a nutshell, given the circumstances as they unfolded he had Hard Spun fairly relaxed with position to get first run and Curlin where he wanted him locked inside him and behind leaders. He said there was no response when he asked. From my own perspective Hard Spun looked a dead piece before he left the walking ring (did not make me happy as we were alive to him) and when Garrett asked the bag was empty. Nice horse, the Preakness probably put him over the top a little. He needs a rest.
twoshoes Wrote:
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> See today\'s NY Post for Gomez\'s own take on this.
> In a nutshell, given the circumstances as they
> unfolded he had Hard Spun fairly relaxed with
> position to get first run and Curlin where he
> wanted him locked inside him and behind leaders.
> He said there was no response when he asked. From
> my own perspective Hard Spun looked a dead piece
> before he left the walking ring (did not make me
> happy as we were alive to him) and when Garrett
> asked the bag was empty. Nice horse, the Preakness
> probably put him over the top a little. He needs a
> rest.
Yea I just read that. It was unfortunate because Gomez says: \"I was in a great stalking position. The race was in my hands from that point on. At the half-mile pole, we\'re head and head for the lead, and I\'m waiting to press the \'go\' button. But when it came time to race for the money, there was nothing there.\"
According to his statement he believed it was \"great position\" to be head and head with two animals (Curlin and Rags to Riches) who have far superior closing kicks.
yikes! this game is hard to guess with sometimes!
Hard Spun is just an average horse who runs like he\'s peering over a fence. His problem is he\'s mediocre with an arrogant, huge ego owner...
Buck;
If Street Sense gets anything less than a perfect trip, Hard Spun is a Derby winner. Average? Get real.
If you compare Street Sense and Hard Spun\'s careers and past performances with a neutral eye, unless you are in denial, you would find HS to be a somewhat fast but relatively average three year old.
\"If Street Sense gets anything less than a perfect trip, Hard Spun is a Derby winner. Average? Get real.\"
That alone tells you that the only way Hard Spun can beat SS, Curlin or R2R is if they have a problem trip.
He is the third or fourth best three year old,period...
At a mile or under he would be more competitive other than that I would play the others over him every time...
Should TG install a dictionary in addition to spellcheck?
Do you know what \"average\" means?
Throw in all the \"relativelys\" you want, Hard Spun ain\'t average.