Question on Mike Smith

[covelj70]

Why did Mike Smith give up the mount on Richard\'s Kid in the Goodwood to pick up the mount on an unproven 3 year old in Twirling Candy?  Note that on the TG\'s, this horse was very slow going in.

Is it just because Smith already has his BC Classic mount in Zenaytta and so he wanted to try and pick up what could have been a BC Turf Mile horse in Twirling Candy?

All Richard\'s Kid has done for Smith was win 2 Pac Classics in the only 2 times Smith has ridden him.

Quinonez gave RK a great ride by the way.  Saved ground all the way around and didn\'t panic when TC started to spurt away at the top of the stretch.  Well done by the Kid, hope Baffert sticks with him for the Classic.

I recognize that I am totally biased on the subject relative to rooting for all of the Lemon Drop Kids but I think that Richard\'s Kid is going to be pretty live at a HUGE price for the Classic.  Baffert didn\'t have him fully cranked for yesterday (look at his breezes compared to his breezes before the Pac Classic) and he still ran well.

He will be understandly overlooked given Z, QR, Blame, Lookin at Lucky, etc in  the big race but he has won 2 G 1\'s and a G2 this year, not too shabby for a horse we will likely get 30-1 on.

[Michael D.]

Hi Jim,

I\'m guessing Baffert wanted his BC guy up for the race.

And Twirling Candy was gonna be the next Slew. Sadler had all but handed the horse the BC Classic trophy.

If Smith had been up, I\'m quite sure RK does not win the race. Look at the guy\'s #\'s at Hol, path and ROI. Atrocious.

As for the BC, RK\'s value takes a hit after the Goodwood. Maybe 30-1 before the race, but 20-1 or lower after. The last thing you wanted if you like the horse, at least when it comes to BC value, was a perfect inside trip. I love betting closers off tough, wide trips from the back switching to races with small fields. You\'re getting the exact opposite here. No name jock (at least outside of Cal) helps the price though, and the young man does know how to save ground when the opportunity is there.

[covelj70]

Hey Mike,

well, if Richard\'s Kid and Zenaytta are running the same kinds of numbers (which I know they are) and Richard\'s Kid is going to be 20-1 or higher and Zenaytta is going to be 2-1 or lower, I think I know where my money will go.

Of course, this is the same thing I said last year right before I tore up all my tickets for the Classic (left the big mare off of everything last year, not good).