Quote:
Originally Posted by Calzone Lord
I hate golf as much as anyone -- but guys like Tiger Woods, Michelson, etc. are guys with exceptional skills.
Chantal Sutherland is a terrible judge of pace and tactics ... and she can pass as a top level rider.
I know you're a sharp guy, NTamm. If you tried to work with an avg mid-level circuit jockey -- you'd want to kill them in less than two weeks.
I remember the first time my rider was on a post-time favorite in a race. The horse was 8-to-5 on the morning line, went off at about 4-to-5, and was lone speed from an outside post in a paceless race at a time when a huge inside-speed bias was in play.
The trainer, Mike Rodgers, told the jockey he wanted to rate the horse -- because he thought the horse ran its best races from off the pace.
I told the jockey that the trainer has no idea what he's talking about. Just make the lead, get to the rail, and you'll crush them. The jockey agreed with the trainer and he told me not to 'worry about telling me how to ride' -- he got the horse off slowly, raced wide throughout from off the pace, and finished 4th by about 5 lengths.
A 15/1 shot who looked hopeless on paper and had no early speed wired them from post #2.
That night, when I met the jock upstairs, I asked him "how many lengths would we have won by if you rode a smart race?" -- he blew up on me and claimed that the horse wouldn't have won no matter what he did.
This was a guy who was a top 10 jock at Del Mar and Hollywood Park when he had his bug. He seriously didn't know anything about anything.
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Oh you certainly don't have to sell me on some of them not being the brightest lights in the chandelier. What would David Cohen be doing if he wasn't riding? That's a frightening question.
I think they have incredible athletic ability, but as you initially said, it is a product of their size. The best riders combine balance, strength, and at least the wherewithal to understand what makes horses go, what doesn't, etc. I don't disagree that trainers and agents will have the greatest impact on a rider's success. However, I don't think relative to the money that is thrown around in the game that they are overpaid.