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Originally Posted by pgardn
Beat your horse to death while your halfway thru the last turn? Thats not trying to win. Thats killing a horse. I just dont see a jock killing a horse at Belmont that far from home. And this is coming from someone that was not a great fan until after these races.
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Anywhere else but here in the Belmont with a Triple Crown on the line, and Bailey is just making the favorite earn it the hard way.
You see good horses get loose on the lead a lot in Australia, and it usually never fails that some jock will fly around horses to come up and pressure the leader. Pressure will usually wilt most front runners, the great ones stay on and fight. I think Smarty showed a lot of fight that day, and if the Belmont were 1 7/16 miles he would be an undefeated Triple Crown champion.
An example of this is Sunline, the New Zealand mare who won 13 Group One races in three countries.
She almost always led, and every once in a while they would get her with a lot of pressure. Especially when going 1 1/4 miles.
But she still won two Cox Plates and won one with pressure for every step except when the hit the stretch and she spurted.
Another example of one who could go to the front and stay under pressure is Might And Power (another Aussie)
I stole this description from wikipedia, but it is better to watch it.
"On Melbourne Cup day several large bets were wagered on Might and Power despite a quality field including 1995 Cup Winner Doriemus, AJC Derby and LKS MacKinnon Stakes winner Ebony Grosve, and a strong contingent of internationals. At starting time he was 7-2 favourite. During the race Cassidy again took Might and Power to the lead. In an extraordinary display, Might And Power withstood three distinct waves of challenges - Crying Game at the 1600 m point, Linesman on the home turn, and Doriemus over the final 200 m. Might and Power shook off Linesman and led by more than two lengths with 300 m left to run but in the last 200 m Doriemus closed strongly. Edging closer and closer, Doriemus appeared likely to score with 50 m to go but Might And Power found again in the final strides. In a thrilling finish, there was little between the two horses, and Greg Hall, on Doriemus, waved his whip in salute after crossing the line but the photo showed Might and Power had held on for the victory.
After this stirring win Might and Power was acclaimed the best stayer in the world and was sent for a spell."
Check out the link to this victory.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ItMRKzUd2yE