Quote:
|
Originally Posted by GenuineRisk
Rupert, I know oracle has made it clear he thinks Gomez is very physically gifted, but not bright-- my question to you, Rupert, is, do you think maybe he is perfectly bright but just doesn't do his homework with the DRF before the races? I know plenty of gifted actors who don't do their prep work before auditions; counting on talent alone to get them through, and I imagine lots of athletes who are extremely physically gifted could be lazy in that way as well.
I remember Jerry Bailey saying he didn't think he was the most talented of jockeys, but that he always, always did his homework before the races. Maybe Gomez is neglecting his homework and it's showing this season? What do you think?
|
I honestly have no idea how much preparation he does for a race. I think that all of these guys look at the Racing Form before the race. Some guys may spend more time than others. I have no idea how much time Gomez spends reading the Racing Form.
All the good jockeys know that the race may not unfold the way they expect, so all the preparation in the world often times goes out the window once the race starts. I wouldn't want a jockey to decide what he's going to do before the race starts. You will sometimes see a race with a ton of speed horses and the pace ends up being slow. Other times you see a race where it looks like there is not much pace and yet the pace ends up being very fast.
The great jockeys are the ones who are the best at adapting to the race as it unfolds. Let's say that you've got a horse that likes to be 2-3 lengths back when the half-mile is run in :47 and let's say that from looking at the Racing Form it appears that the pace will be somewhere around :47. In that situation, the jockey may expect to be sitting 2-3 lengths back. But if the pace ends up being :46, the really great jockey will realize how fast they are going and will be sitting 7-8 lengths back instead of 2-3 lengths back. If the pace ends up being :48, the really great jockey will be on the lead instead of sitting 2-3 lengths back.