jock change for hard spun?
 

http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/p...82/1002/SPORTS

i think if hard spun runs, they should call edgar!!!

This has been a long time in the making.....Pino definately moved too early in the Preakness, but I don't think Pino is necessarily the entire problem...All you heard from the workout on Derby week through the post race interviews from Saturday was his high cruising speed. It just sounds to me that high cruising speed or not, you still have to bottle that speed at some point and I don't think they've done that at all. I would love to hear some professional opinions on that....Chuck? Steve? etc.....

imo, they should keep HS at 1 mile. he'd be MIGHTY tough to beat .

Belmont Park is the most unique track in America. If the connections can get Edgar Prado to ride Hard Spun I think it is a no brainer. An experienced Belmont Park rider like Edgar Praso could be a substantial edge in the Belmont Stakes.

I don't know if you can pin this loss on the ride. I thought Hard Spun looked warm before the race. if it took 6 weeks to prep for the Derby why is he ready after 2 weeks in the Preakness?

I don't see anyone cracking the top three in the Belmont
but have to see who enters

"I admit, when we came back to the barn on Saturday, we were disappointed we didn't win. When we had time to think about it, we're proud of our horse. The winner tied a stakes record. We ran four-fifths of a second off that record. Secretariat, Citation didn't do that. He ran a good race. He didn't lay down in the stretch." - Larry Jones

I think he forgot about the clock malfunction. Secretariat wooped em'.

I'd like to see Larry Melancon get the mount.

I think that he got antsy and moved too soon. Should they replace him? That's not for me to decide. I could see both sides of the story. I really dont like him in the Belmont anyway regardless of riders.

I don't know whether they should replace him or not...my question is more from a training perspective....you have a horse with what they are considering "high cruising speed" Does it make it harder to train it to rate? At the end of the day rating is rating isn't it? He's still has to be able to lay off the pace and longer than a half....

He has rated sucessfully before, I dont know why he couldn't now. The only thing that may work against him is if he adjusts the horses training and maybe does a little less with him figuring the horse is coming off of two really hard races in 2 weeks, Hard Spun may get a little more rank earlier in the race since he has not done as much training. I dont know the horse at all,trainingwise, just suggesting the possibility.

Hard to not take him if you can get him

sounds like Pino is on if they go.

Will they PLEASE stop suggesting that CP WEST was a threat to win the race!

"that Zito horse was pressing..." that Zito horse had Zero chance. CP West was not a win candidate and There was 3.5 furlongs to go! Terrible nonsensical excuse.

Its not good to hear something like this from the trainer of a horse who needs a strategic adjustment to compete at the very top level.

:confused:

just guessing here but, ummmm, in my experience silence or no commitment in this case, means that Pino is out...

Prado isn't just a good jock for that track either, he has shown great ability in this particular race. In the last five years he has gotten to the winner's circle with Birdstone and (somehow) Sarava.
Many talented jocks have ridden terrible races in the Belmont the last few years, probably because of the number of 12f dirt races contested here is very small. Prado won't do that.

I really don't think Hard Spun is the type of horse who will be impacted much, either positively or negatively, by any rider change.

As I'm sure CJ will be reminding us---he's been consistantly running a fast early/slow late race shape on his figures for quite a while---and unless he gets loose on an uncontested early lead and is able to relax in the process...that trend sure won't bode well for him in the Belmont Stakes.

That's almost right. Assuming I'm properly interpreting 'early/slow late race shape', the exception would be the Derby, where he ran a faster last than next to last split.

It's irrelevant anyway. He's not doing much in the Belmont.

Put me in the minority but I still don't think that the rider did wrong on Hard Spun in the Preakness. The horse would have had no shot if he was only a couple of lengths in front of the top two at the top of the stretch. His only shot, IMO, was to open up when he did and hope that he had put enough ground between himself and the top two. Unfortunately for them, those other two are just that much better. As Jones said, he just ran 4/5ths off of a track record. There was nothing wrong with his race, IMO. He just was third best behind two really good ones, the same place that he likely would have been had Curlin had a better trip in the Derby. I felt like that was the time for Pino to go. I felt that at that point, if he goes, he makes the riders of SS and Curlin make a decision, maybe take something out of their late punch by forcing them to move earlier. Maybe it was the wrong move but I felt that it was the only choice he had. He wasn't going to outrun them in the lane and he needed a cushion heading into the stretch.

Include me in that minority.

dont change the jock and dont run the horse in the belmont, time for a little R&R before the other big races this year

This is what they should do with Hard Spun, but I seriously doubt they are.

AND, I would like to see Edgar on Tizzy.

the belmont would be his 7th race as a three year old, after an eight week layoff heading into churchill. what does he need R&R from?

six week...

That was my first thought when I read that comment also... Hard Spun couldn't warm up Secretariat.

you serious?

yeah, it's that new math...

and yes, playa, i AM serious. horse ran, took off six (or eight!!lol) weeks, runs two races, he needs a break? trainer thinks he's fine. these horses aren't cookie cutter, they don't all fit the same mold....he's a happy, healthy, fit three year old.

well it's a done deal now. Gomez takes over the reins.


http://tcm.bloodhorse.com/viewstory.asp?id=39096

Rick Porter is more and more ridiculous every time he opens his mouth. If he honestly thinks Hard Spun was going to rate comfortably behind the two dying speedhorses when CP West came outside of him, and then somehow extract himself when the speeds backed up into his face, then he knows even less about this game than I give him credit for, which is about zero.

The horse was third best and that's where he finished. At least now I have a significant root against in the Belmont. Considering the absurdities that came out of this camp regarding Rockport Harbor I think it's fair to expect a great deal more lunacy in the coming months. Keep the laughs coming.

too bad because I share your sentiments, and I really sort-of liked this horse...but I can't take the nonsense.

A voice of reason. That's exactly the thing I think. He was the third best horse in the Derby and he was the third best horse in the Preakness. A better trip for Curlin in Kentucky and Hard Spun would have finished third in both races; right where he should have. The people that are saying that Pino moved too early must not have watched the Derby. He was not going to outrun those horses in the lane and his ONLY chance at springing the upset would have been to open up as much as he could and hopefully have them come after him and lose some of their late punch. Being 2-3 in front of them at the quarter pole wouldn't have been enough.

you all are going to be eating crow when Gomez carries this horse to victory at 12 furlongs.

well, as always, rick porter needs someone to point fingers at--so now it's pino.

altho the connections (as has been noted here on several occasions, but many people) aren't the most heartwarming, i'll still be pulling for him rather than oh, say...curlin.