johny V.

[shanahan]

anyone have a take on his record outside of NY/FL?  Suddenly I can\'t remmeber a big win for him away from home...exclude BC day.

[NoCarolinaTony]

How about Bluegrass Cat @ Monmouth, Bandini @ old KEE in the Bluegrass for recent history.

FWIW - He has been in a slump of sorts ever since his injury at Kee this year, at least to his most recent stats.

NC Tony

[miff]

Tony,

It\'s not a slump. Johnny V is not nearly the same rider today as he was pre- injury.He sits a horse differently, is not a strong and doesn\'t \"send\" the way he used to.It\'s very noticeable if you are used to watching him every day.Minor grumbling from some TAP owners to use Garret Gomez.

Mike

[NoCarolinaTony]

Miff,

I guess I was trying to give him the benefit of the doubt. His performance yesterday at CD was another example that he is not at his best. I agree, he has just not been the same since his accident. This is not unusual to see either.

Hopefully, he gets it all together again, as I have no axe to grind with Johnny V.

NC Tony

[Boscar Obarra]

Didn\'t Jorge Chavez disappear  from top competition after his accident?

He was golden for years.

[spa]

Sunday,he gave Ready To Please a poor ride at Hollywood Park at 19/1....Next time....

[NoCarolinaTony]

Jorge, Mike Smith and I\'m sure a few others all suffered from the big spill.

I hope Johhny V gets over it.

NC Tony

[richiebee]

Strictly my opinion, but Johnny has no significant edge (physical or in terms of
horsemanship) over his 3 main competitors in NY (Prado, Gomez, Coa).

One of the NY Post racing writers used to occasionally publish figures which
showed which jockeys had the highest win percentage in races decided by less than
a certain margin (neck, head, length, I do not remember which).

It could be a very interesting Inner Course meeting jockey wise, with Coa and
Desormeaux slated to stick it out, to be joined by the Brothers Bridgmohan and
Ramon Dominquez. Chuck Lopez will have the lead after a half in 90% of the races
he rides in. The \"bug\" riders are always worth following on the Inner Tube,
and I will be interested to see if Travis Cunningham, a 5 pound bug with a decent
win percentage at tiny Zia Park, can have any impact.

Speaking of Dominquez, he still has to prove to me that he is more than just a
\"man amongst boys\" riding at Delaware. His chances of success will be greatly
enhanced if he hooks up with Gary Contessa again (owner Wining Move Stable is
currently the only owner playing the claiming game with any success or
enthusiasm).

[mchmura]

WHEN YOU RIDE FOR PLETCHER YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE 100%.  WATCH AT GULFSTREAM PARK OVER THEE WINTER.