Edgar Prado's Book
 

"My Guy BARBARO"

Man I gotta tell you guys this book is one of my all time favorites and I am only half thru it. I picked it up at Churchill Downs a while back and man it is such a great, great read. I highly recommend it. Just under 200 pages it is the kind of book you can read in a couple days.

what's the subtitle, "go wide without cover and move too soon at all cost"?

Is there anyone that you think can ride well? If so, who?

FYI this book is not all about 2006 with this horse but rather a collection of life experience well written and well thought out about the sport and life we all share a love for from the eyes and ears of one of the best.

Strangely, I've heard there has been some backlash directed at Prado about the book by Barbaro-philes.. They have complained that there's too much about Edgar's life in it, and not enough about Barbaro.

I am enjoying that aspect of this book Steve. It is a great read and so far half way thru so many interesting stories within a story if you know what I mean.

My impression on this book is that it is to inform folks of what the sport is about and deflect the negative crap spewed around by those uninformed. This quote from page 154 will shed some light on how I came about my opinion of it................................................ ...............................

"If you throw 200 hundred in a field, they naturally start running and trying to beat each other. They were put on Earth to race." "

I plan to read it as soon as I finish Noel Wynter's biography.

Part of the book of short stories called, "Who the hell is that guy anyway?", subtitled 'a journey through Allen Jerkens jockeys'.

I was kidding about him with a buddy yesterday. Rudy Rodriguez winning the Suburban on Saturday reminded me of when Wynter won the 2001 Riva Ridge on Put It Back.

I just finished that chapter. It was riveting.

Is he before or after the chapters on Shannon Uske and Ray Ganpath?

I hope there's one on Lee Moon.

Hey, Ran Ganpath is a Grade 1 winning rider.

Only because Society's Selection was a Grade I 2YO filly.

He actually rode her very well that day.

But not so well in the Breeders Cup that year, if I remember correctly.

Edgar Prado can write?

Now there's a legendary jock. He and Marvin Cohn were lethal in combination.

Yeah Fat Man, with all due respect, name us your top five jocks riding.

I think, right now, Kent D is the top jock in the country. With any number of others possibly in the top five. I particularly like the way Dominguez rides and, lately, Maragh. Any of the top jocks can get a mount home. All of them, including Kent D, have major weaknesses and can screw up a race bigtime.

I appreciate Kent for a number of reasons:

1) He's the most articulate of the jocks when it comes to discussing trips. At least, with him, I get the sense that he understands pace and HOW he's supposed to ride. He understands that the way to take the turn on a horse going into the pace is SLOWLY, as bidding all out on the turn spells certain defeat. He doesn't do this as consistently as I'd want, unfortunately, but he does it enough to where I can appreciate his fine rides and 'understand' his screwups. As an example: his most recent ride on Stormy West. Clearly, she's best in the race but by sending her he nicely takes all the sprinters out of the race and is able to hold the lone closer off.

2) He's an extremely talented 'handler' of horses, being able to easily handle horses other jocks struggle with and is probably the least abusive of the jocks other than Dominguez (with Maragh right up there as well.) So, he's able to handle the very headstrong Sharp Susan, while Castro and Cornelio feel the need to fight were her as if it were a personal thing. Most recently, look at his ride on Remarkable Remy (2 races back) and compare it with Cornelio's the race before. Kent is not only stronger, thus being able to restrain her easier but he's much smoother or 'quiet' in doing so.


But this all means nothing. While I absolutely loathe certain jocks, I'd still bet them if I thought they fit a particular horse OR if the price was right. Well, with the exception of Ariel Smith; I wouldn't bet that hack under any circumstances.

This game sucks in that every possible way to lose seems to be in play in very race. It's a fulltime job to keep from tripping yourself up.