I think Russell is a true and reliable rider who will always put his horse in the best chance to hit the board.
I'm not a training expert, but I do think I've seen more than a handful of races where Russell backed off on a horse with nothing meaningful more left to give to save the horse for another day.
I have no fault with Russell in one iota for the recent incident.
(did I get the first use of "iota" today?.....:-)....)
I hate that it happened, but after over 9,800 wins, and probably at least 40,000+ rides, he certainly has earned professional discretion and fan respect.
He's got mine.
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