Just in case anyone still thinks Prado can ride
 

make sure to check out his gem on Contentious last out.

While there, note how easy a trip the winner gets (with all the in-a-hurry idiots knocking each other out)

it just keeps getting worse and worse with Edgar.

looked like he lost control a little and let the horse bolt a little on the backstretch

FATS:
We have never been a fan of your nebulous prattle. Prado is a fabulous jock. Perhaps you should ride your bike a bit faster. BBB

i brought this horse up a while back... for some reasson i dont think BTW liked it.

Nice.

My cup runneth over with responses from all my IGGY BIN boys.

One hits a 3:1 pick 4 once a year YET is the turf specialist

The other is trying to revolutionize the sport while remaining clueless as to its nuances

Another has no opinion but must be constantly heard

And, our newest member feels the need to constantly quote all of them.


Good thing I value all their opinions so highly.:rolleyes:

mouse in the pocket i'd imagine.

That ride was a chuckle.....no doubt.

I have always been a big fan of Prado but he is not riding at the top of his game.

Id still take him over 95% of the rest.

The gutless wonder is back after taking a month and a half sabatical because he was, apparently, ashamed that he told everyone Big Brown had no shot.

Why did that bother you? You've had nothing but horrendous opinions all over the net. Nothing here. Nothing at Pace Advantage. However, I did enjoy your recent Pick-4 disaster on the Del Mar Forum.

Many rivers to cross but I can't seem to find my way over.

Of course. He's just not riding as well as he's capable of. The bottom line is that he gets good mounts and he still pretty much wins when he should.

I dont watch him enough to see if he has gone downhill or not, but isnt still in great demand to ride in the big races by top trainers?

I know what you mean, I see plenty of dumb rides from gogo, johnny v, and prado who are widely considered the best we have to offer.

I just hate to be the guy that bashes Tiger woods because he missed a ten foot putt.

I don't pay that much attention to be honest but I feel like Gomez is the best rider out there. Then again, maybe I'm just partial to him because he stopped me in the Clubhouse at Saratoga last year to tell me how much he likes the Siro's Seminars.

The again, Johnny almost hit a guy once who gave me a bag of sh it on an airplane.....and I never defend his riding. But, I like him.

gomez is far from the best... he is easily the most overated though.
we could go on for days about who the best is, there is really no way to tell, because trainers go hot/cold all the time, and when that happens, its sometimes not the jocks fault. as for gomez, IMO i would rather have... JV, kent, coa, julian l.... thats just 4, im sure there are more.

After seeing your top 15 jock list a ways back, Im not so sure anyone can take what you say seriously when it comes to riders. Horses too for that matter.

I wasn't thrilled with Gomez' ride on Jazzy.

THAT was a GOOD ride.

I guess you're right, it takes skill to find trouble and get trapped on the rail in a 5-horse field.

huh??
do tell

LOL... yeah, is a bag of sh it considered carry-on? I'd think you would have to check that. :D

The horse sucked up and got loose in the stretch with plenty of room to run. She got the best trip in the field, running the least amount of ground.
Would you have preferred she was with the pace, like the winner? She would've lost that way, too. The bottom line is that she wasn't good enough. When sprinters, that are stretching out slightly, allow cutback horses to run with the pace, THEY CAN'T WIN cause they can't finish with them.

Here are the last three splits of the race: 23.54 23.04 11.37 (projects to 22.74).

It looked like to me that Jazzy lost some momentum about a furlong out as she was still stuck behind the 3,4 & 5.. by the time she got room to get through... it was too late. I agree, she did save ground the whole way, but what good is it when you don't have a clear run in the stretch?

Prado is generally a solid jockey.

He generally sits a nice trip from gate to backstretch. He can get out of the gate and also race-ride others out of the gate.

If use of the whip were banned, only Jeremy Rose would benefit more than edgar. His slow deliberate action does little to rouse a horse. He probably gets as much from showing the whip as he does with his metronome action. With his left he is talented at getting a horse to swing to the outside when needed.

When Prado has much the best horse he wins his share. He very rarely wins with a worse horse than his competition. In other words he doesn't win surprising tactics or exploiting a track configuration or bias.

With certain types of horses on dirt, Prado can be counted on to preserve a top three finish.


In the replay of Contentious, he appears to allow Contentious to make headway too fast, almost as if he let out "too much". However I do not disagree with the idea of him making some gradual headway at that point. Contentious showed no response in the stretch and would not have won with any jockey, regardless of any toll that the headway on the backstretch.
We are bitching about the difference between 6th and 3rd or 4th. I do not see Contentious as contesting the top two spots in that lane. The #8 was the superior animal that day. You can see the #8 stampede at the break and secure a rail spot. Racing close to the pace he still finished well. The #5 had the superior kick that race, even accounting for rides. Contentious(#10) was simply not as good as either that day, no matter who or how we imagine a dream trip moving her up.

I was less than thrilled with the ride I got from Prado on Waquoit's Love in that same race (as Jazzy.) She's a big mare and they lost position and ended up dropping out the back of a tightly bunched field. When they turned for hom he was stuck trying to get this huge mare out from a tangle. She came flying late and missed by a nose. He's not as sharp at grass sprints as some.
Of course then he comes back to beat me in the next 2 races.

Agree with BlackThroat, I haven't always been a fan of Gomez on a ride by ride basis but he is the most consistent and he can get a horse to the wire first who might not normally get there. JV is very solid but he has his very poor periods. Last summer when he could stay on a mount he was absolutely terrible. Kenny D. (he hates being called Kenny) has an occasional good to great ride but is incredibly unpredictable. He is a know it all and if he feels your horse has a chance he'll ride him/her. If not, he doesn't. And given that his judgement is not good on that question, he's cost horse players money over the years. Surely you don't think Big Brown was a unique ride for him. And there is more than one trainer who has went to Sellito, his agent, and told him to "lose my number". But he now has his house up for sale in NY and hopefully he'll be gone from here for awhile.

Now Coa is interesting. He is a good rider but his aggressiveness gets to him and he'll race ride himself out of contention. Plus I don't tend to like Joc's who don't like horses. So I am not sure where I am with him. Julian, where for arte thou, Julian. His head has gotten too big I hear and is having problems this year. That Cobra Venem sunk more than one boat!

julian has the most upside of anyone... great hands, and considering he was first call for patrick b, i think he's done very well under the circumstances.

True. I may be biased against anyone connected to Biancone.

if we are talking all about jockeys, give me Dominguez, Flores or Mike Smith in a turf route with the controlling speed. Even better with an inside post and short run to the turn.

Borel or Desormeaux on a dirt route

I'll take Gomez on synthetic track. Bejarano aint bad either.

The whole story is very funny but I'm not telling it here. The part with Johnny on the plane just showed that he's a good guy. We were last on the plane, and I had an aisle seat, and the guy with the middle had conveniently taken my seat. When I asked him nicely to move he told me to go whatever myself. Let's just say Johnny was about to move the guy before I said it wasn't worth it.

I was impressed.

Just like no sane man will phuck with a jockey on an airplane, there are situations at the track that suit certain skill sets more than others. :D

i love borel

did you say mike smith?lolololoololololol:zz:

have you ever looked at the back of a $20 bill ... on an airplane
 

sadly any jockey could kick my butt on or off an airplane. I would do damage to myself by swinging hard. 10 years ago... or any big guy in decent shape could smash a jockey. On an airplane that big guy is in cramped quarters lol. I can't even stand up on a airplane without my head touching the ceiling and it is hard enough to scoot around the seats. A jockey has no restrictions. He is throwing haymakers , roundhouse kicks :D, juking and jiving. That big guy hes fighting can't even throw a big punch or standup straight. Klitscho the Heavyweight Champ might lose to the middleweight champ ... on an airplane. You don't believe me get into a duel with a jockey... on an airplane:rolleyes:.

I don't think that's what you were driving at, but you are missing the point.
Go watch Mission Approved on cal racing. Dominguez wins the Singspiel Stakes on an inferior animal with a great ride.

Go watch Wheels Up At Noon in his last race at Delaware. Jeremy Rose wins the Eight Thirty Stakes with an inferior animal by navigating the chuteTurn and 1st Turn in a great ride.

like every other discipline, jockeys have their own strengths and weaknesses, and sometimes they affect the outcome of a race.

believe it or not :zz:

yea, he is surprisingly good on a turf route with the controlling speed. That is pretty much the only thing he does at a high level compared with other jockeys.

Disagree?

In regards to Mission Approved - I'm not so sure about the inferior animal part. . . or the great ride by Dominguez part. He did what he was supposed to do - go to the lead on a lone speed horse and slow it down. I'm sure their plan from the beginning was to try and steal it. . . it was the right ride - not necessarily a great ride.