It was the textbook Jerry Bailey ride, at Belmont.
He put him in the pocket, got the horse to relax, and gradually worked out his way out for a clear run in the stretch.
When you're in the pocket like that, you're covered up and you're not taking much dirt in the face. The dirt doesn't get up high enough.
Obviously, I agree that he should have tried to make the lead. However, he wasn't exactly pulling his way to the front. He wasn't so sharp after the break. And, had he made the lead, he ran the risk of getting run at in-waves like other horses going for a triple crown have.
It was a trip that a horse who is good enough should handle.
It's not exactly like he took a ton of dirt in his face, like in the California race last year, where he blew the break and got beat:
Obviously, his trip could have been much easier if he made the lead and they let him relax like they did for Commissioner. But, it's really hard to say that the trip beat him. That was sort of the generic, text-book Belmont trip.