Worst Ride of the Year

[the_fat_man]

My perspective is from the most ideal trip possible.

An IDIOT would've rushed the horse to duel, and set the race up for a closer.

A better ride would be the one given by the MIG, not engaging early, but bidding on the turn.

The best ride is waiting till (straightening out in) the stretch to launch a bid.
I'm of this opinion from not only having watched countless races but also from experience with (semi) competitive (track) cycling.

Of course, this move is not the correct one on short stretch, speed favoring tracks. That's why we have all these premature moves -- jocks can't quite grasp that they don't work on 'fair' tracks. (This is also a problem for all the 'pace' handicappers who only understand the game in terms of their figures.)

The problem with putting a horse in a drive on the turn is that, eventually, the horse needs to straighten out. In almost every race you have horses going sideways as a result of being sticked while trying to straighten out for the stretch run. My suggestion: hand ride till straightening early stretch, then go to the whip in an all out ride. This assumes, of course, that the jockey is capable of shaking the horse up and putting it in a strong drive (something very, very few are able to do).