Mike Smith is a great jockey
 

Watched the replay of the race and his stretch run navigation of the field was excellent. If Zenyatta was more used to the dirt or if Mike could have cleared the field a fraction of a second earlier, she wins.

Good read -

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/hor...se-Racing.html

excerpt from -

Later Smith confided that he had even contemplated pulling her up after the field passed the post first time. "I was thinking what do I do? Do I pull her up?" he told me as we walked through the dark streets of Louisville.

My God - could you imagine what would happen if he did?!~

I don't think he did a thing wrong.

Stunning to watch that replay again

How much the camera had to pan away just to keep Z in the picture with the other horses coming down that lane the first time

I mean, if that was the first horse race I ever saw in my life … and was watching with a few of my drunken homies … it'd be like … Hey, Rick, is that your horse … number eight? … LOL … dead last … LOL … look at that f'n slow pig … LOL … LOL



Ah, but the joke would've been on me the next time they came around … as my naive azz probably would've had a 20 spot on the 'uber fast' QR



Let there be NO doubts … the GREAT Cali mare has the heart of a CHAMPION :tro:

He's not great and never has been....Occasionally he gives some great rides. Let's not throw around the term great with jockey except for a very few.

Let there be NO doubts … you have the brain of a MUSHROOM.

Byk must really like you, Indian boy…



CM was great, randy.

I agree.

He is the Eddie Maple of our time!

My problem with Mike Smith is that he seems to ride almost every other horse that he's on, like they are Zenyatta. Most of them don't fare too well by trying to come from the clouds and then going 5 wide at the top of the lane.

Again the chills, excellent read. Tell your homies, whats up? From Joey S

His Jaycito ride gave a whole new definition to wide trip. Just think if ol' Mike could have figured out a way for the horse to run straight earlier. He's at least on the board, IMO.

I know Mike Smith loves the ambulance path, but that was kind of ridiculous.

Of course he is a great jockey, he's in the Hall of Fame.

I think that more of a case of Jaycito getting hit with REAL DIRT for the very first time and no reacting well to it. Mike was just trying to keep him out of harms way.

:tro:

Yeah, I know, but that was still one of the more bizarre moments of the weekend. He closed purty darn well though all things considered.

Earlie Fires is GREAT.

So is Point Given :eek:

I don't want to argue about his talent as a rider, but one thing I am totally convinced of is that he loved that horse and is a pretty classy guy.

B/c he drinks wine with Chantal? He may well be classy but I don't know exactly what you are basing it on....The stories I've heard of him when he was in the Toga colony in the early 90's surely aren't too positive behind the scenes.

Yeah.

And Byk must really think you are an idiot. Like everyone else besides Prudery.

On Saturday before the races Smith signed 100's and 100's of Zenyatta posters before going into the jocks room. That shows some class IMO.