[todko]

Interesting:

"He shuffled back and checked himself a few times. He really didn't level off. He'd never had that experience before to be behind like that. But turning for home he came running."

—jockey Robby Albarado on CURLIN (Smart Strike), who suffered the first loss of his career when third in the Derby

Why did the horse "check himself"? Maybe because Robby was bouncing him off other horses? "Checked himself" when Robby chose to run up on the back of a wall of horses instead of taking the rail?

Sad when a jock blames the horse. The horse is just an animal. And before this wreck of a ride Robby was saying how Curlin was a "push button horse that you could do anything with". Now it's the horses fault.

It's lucky that Curlin even lived through that ride.