Ramon Dominguez
 

Snicker - snicker.

Did anyone catch the ride by the most overrated rider in history in Aqueduct's third race today? He was riding a 3-5 closer in a five horse field. He was following the horse moving to the lead two or so wide towards the stretch and instead of angling around, as any sane person would have done, he did the cutesy duck inside and split move, FOR NO LOGICAL REASON OTHER THAN TO APPEAR CUTE, and got totally packaged and didn't even run second!

I am sorry I wasn't at Aqueduct today as even the few fans must have gone berserk. Before commenting, please watch this race, as it is incredible.

Oh, yeah, I am alive with the 10-1 winner in the Pick-3, so absolutely no sour grapes whatsoever. I find this guy to be one of the greatest mirages in history. A decent rider, getting incredible mounts, against a VERY weak colony.

His ride on Rob Roy brought tears to my eyes in the Breeders Cup. Mirage is too nice.

It was so remarkable as to be jaw-dropping... Jaw-droppingly, head-shakingly, speechless-inducing remarkable. In a five horse field yet...

You have to watch this race. Honestly.....describing it can't do it justice. It should lead off Sportscenter.

I'll watch inside racing at 5:30 tonight. Otherwise I won't be able to catch it.

At least this made you stop picking on Chantal Sutherland for a little while.

He does this at least once a card, if not more often. Watch how many of his mounts practically stall coming out of the final turn into the stretch when he tries to take them inside to holes that don't exist. It's like he tries to anticipate the others' moves before they make them. I'd hate to think that the rail bias is so severe that he thinks it's the only way he can win.

Embarrassing...

Here's the replay... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJEraZ-p4Pw

I saw the race and actually laughed. I needed the 2 to hold on but I was so mesmerized by RD's horse ramming his nose up my horse's rear 12 or 15 times that I didn't even see the 1 go by.

All I can say is I've watched dozens of horse tip out 3 wide off that same trip at the top of the stretch over the past few weeks and they almost invariably lose big ground by the time they straighten out. Has to be what, if anything, he was thinking.

This is my point. We don't know what RD was thinking or wanting to accomplish. Who is to say that what he choose wasnt the best way to win the race. Just because a jock doesnt do what you or me or us think he/she should do doesnt mean it was a bad ride, a wrong deicison or what. It is purely speculation.

I wonder what Contessa thinks......
 

Does this mean that Tony Soprano voice whacks Ramon in the parking lot of the A this afternoon.

Andy.....You have been smacking this guy around for awhile. Today you had more than cause....it's pretty simple to connect the dots on this jock. He has dominated at Delaware for awhile now running for alot of the same trainers who have the best horses. Now at a level beyond his skills the poor choices are more obvious but he still gets the best horses from guys he has won alot of money for. He'll either improve his skills or he'll get bounced out of New York like so many other good jocks who failed to be great.

So Steve, you gonna ask Contessa to crtique this ride the next time he's on the show. JJ would swallow his tongue watching this one.

But what do I know I fix bodies for a living......DrD

yet through it all he's got a 5 win advantage as leading rider.

Do you think he's getting better mounts than Coa? I'm not sure but I doubt it.

Eh, it wasn't a great ride, obviously, but I can think of reasons why he did it. At least he's got guts.

Just saw the replay. Really looks like he wasn't too interested in winning. You're already a few paths off the rail entering the stretch, why cut to the inside......unless you really don't want to win?

I think someone made a valid point earlier on how staying wide lately has caused a few horses to hang. It was poor judgment, but like I said, not many guys would actually think about trying to poke their head in the hole or two he was trying there.

LOL yes ramons garbage......... hes overrated?well hes only the leader at the current stand and trumping every1 in earnings far and away so far. blackthroated seems all you like to do is bash jocks.

Andy, Steve...

Are you going to talk about it on ATRAB?

I may very well mention it.. Comes on the heels of the ride on SNS that was 'anxious' and I criticized Monday.. Like I said earlier, I like Dominguez a great deal, but he makes you wonder where his head is on a frequent basis.

And JC.. Considering the horses he gets on a daily basis, Dominguez (and/or Coa too) better be leading Alan Garcia, Channing Hill, Chantal Sutherland, Mike Smith, Eddie Martin, CC Lopez, etc.. No?

I did not see the race either (at work), but I must say that I'm a big fan of Ramon's. I know he takes a bashing on here pretty often & maybe I'm in the minority, but I think he's extremely talented. That said, he (like other jocks) makes his share of bonehead moves from time to time. It sounds like this was one of them. I personally don't believe that he does this any more often than any other jock. You take the good with the bad. Yes, his mount on Rob Roy on BC Day was bad...but what about his ROI & rides on his other mounts on BC Day, Friendly Island & Better Talk Now? What about the Derby on Bluegrass Cat? What about his win on Better Talk Now in the BC Turf when he flat out beat Johnny V and Kitten's Joy to the spot?

I remember when Prado was down here in Maryland, and he used to get bashed exactly the same way. He could do 10 things right, and one thing wrong, and he'd inevitably hear about the one thing wrong. We all know how that one turned out. I think Ramon is here to stay & I think everyone out there has probably already figured out that you bet against him at your own risk...

ahhhhhh Prado in Maryland, now those were the days:)

I personally have not seen the race, but as much as people bash him or praise him he's gonna end up being a top 3 rider at the 'Duct (if not the country) this meet. For those people who don't like him then look elsewhere for value b/c he gets hammered nearly every race. Like evrything else in life you gotta take the good with the bad

-bt-

Even the best jocks make bad moves sometimes. Race riding is as much, if not more, of a mental game as a physical one. I just watched the replay, and it was a gutsy move in which he tried every which way to get the horse through an opening, only the hole that he expected to open never came.

You all don't realize how hard it is to make split second decisions and to ride these horses in races. You have no clue. And the jockey bashing around here needs to stop. Most of you could have never done what some of these jockeys have accomplished in the first place.

You better watch watch it again then because it's clear by your analyisis that YOU haven't a clue.

That ride was a disgrace and if you have a problem with KNOWLEDGEABLE posters actually saying so, then too bad.

What we may consider a "bone head" move might not be the case. Again, we are not in the saddle. We do not know what RD was thinking, how the horse was acting, or the horses tendencies etc etc. It is easy to watch the tv and to say go here, move now etc etc. Just like it is easy to watch a football game and tell the QB to throw it here, or for the RB to run there.

Well I guess you told us. Hmmph.

Well, why don't you go show the successful multi-millionaire jockeys how it's done then?

I don't have a clue? Excuse me, but do you have any experience in riding horses? Also, you have no clue on the extent of my knowledge for this sport because I hardly reveal anything on this message board anymore because of attitude problems.

And quit calling jockeys gnomes. They are people.

Well then, I guess the little gnomes should be paying for their own insurance then shouldn't they.

This inexperienced set of eyes saw a horse with a nice trip coming around the turn set to take the lead on the outside but instead the jockey slowed momentum, in my opinion, by turning towards the rail and thus slowing down that momentum as well as hampering the horses clear view of the lead, but rather the rear end of another horse.

How did I do, is this close?

I did not see the race,but the only thing i can tell you is when Mike Smith first came here from New Mexico you could find him on the rail all the time saving ground.Julie Krone was the same way.I still remember a race where she got bottled up and had no place to go with a horse of Mike Hernandezs.She was tons the best but i had no reason to complain.She won enough races for me with those same exact rides.After some bad falls and everybody remembers them, both jockeys never rode the same way.In fact i'll have to say Smith was even worse than.The amazing thing was Jerry Bailey,i can never remember him in a really horrific spill.There will be days Ramon will win you races by saving ground and i'm sure there will be no complaints then.

I watched the ride again for the 3rd time. I am wondering if RD thought the 6 was going to drift wide and force the 1 wide as well. Maybe that is why he went for the opening.

He most likely thought that he would be able to get through some kind of a way. He actually tried to force his way through a few times, but the jock on the outside horse was hanging tough.

The 6 and 1 ran a nice race. If they veered at all to the outside then RD shoots up the rail and wins and everyone is happy.

I can definitely agree with that.:)

If you go to a bar and there are two entrances....one is completely empty and wide open and the other is surrounded by seven drunk and disorderly dudes.....which do you use?

Ramon came to the stretch completely unencumbered, he was clear with two horses in front of him, and ground loss was no longer a question, as the turn was finished. To duck inside cost as much as going outside. He chose to attempt to split horses, which regardless of what ended up happening would have required room, instead of going outside where there were no other horses. Being that he was on the deepest closer in the race I highly doubt he thought anyone was coming from behind him. The simple fact of the matter is that he chose a path of resistance for no good reason and ended up finishing third with a horse that most likely would have won. A rider's job is to stay out of trouble and this rider looked for trouble and found it.

If you think this was a decent ride, while you are entitled to your opinion, I think you are very wrong. This is not an isolated incident for this rider. He constantly looks to do this and sometimes it works out. Often the only way a rider can win is to save ground, be patient, and hope a hole opens. It's all judgement and the better riders usually have better judgement. This rider exercized very poor judgement and most likely cost his horse victory.

Part of doing serious trip handicapping is watching races over and over again and with meticulous care. Since I do this, watching somewhere around 35-40 races daily ( and carefully ) five or six days a week, I believe I have developed a good understanding of how races develop and different rider's habits. Thus I am critical, because I have to be critical of all that I see, as it is part of trying to understand the races as effectively as possible. I am more than happy to discuss differences of opinion about certain races or rides but the constant attacking of posters, instead of topics, makes discussions impossible.

You very well may be right, or eurobounce may be correct. There is really no way of knowing without hearing the jockeys instructions or talking to the jockey. Anyway, thanks for a different perspective.:)

I generally dont bash jocks and RD may have the talent, but no way can you dfend his ride today. He took a horse full of run inside and got blocked and lost MOOOOOOOO mentum and this is a race he lost. It helped me because I singled the 1on top of a cheep tri.

Watch the race. He was outside and making up a ton of ground and steered him inside and got blocked for no good reason. No explination just a dumb move. It didnt cost him 2nd place it cost the win.

He didnt duck inside in the turn but deep stretch,it wasnt A GROUND SAVING MOVE . hE WAS ALREADY OUTSIDE OUT OF TROUBLE.

What about Coa in the 7th aboard the 6 horse?Watch that again.He has a clear lead for home ,and QUITS RIDING! He put his whip away at the sixteenth pole,and was standing up before the finish line,as the 1 horse passes him.Robbery,I tell you,Robbery!!!!!