Jose Santos retired today

[2Hot4TV]

Originally Posted by Charismatic1

The '03 Preakness is one of my favorite moments since becoming a race fan. Santos opening his hand in joy and in response to the buzzer allegation is my favorite celebration easily.

Hell Santos hit Funnycide about a 1,000 times when he was going to win easy. I think he's the one that ruined Funnycide.

[AeWingnut]

Santos rode a few nice winner's

oh and thanks Pillow
made my day

[Danzig]

a guilty laugh at that pic, poor kid!

sorry to see that santos has to give up the saddle, altho i'm not surprised. hell of an injury to attempt to comeback from...

[largo1]

Good luck to one of my longtime favs, Jose Santos. "The pinniest pinhead of all. The pinhead of all pinheads"

Ha ha, couldn't resist that quote from P.G. Johnson in Joe McGinniss' book "The Big Horse". Its a great read.

Suzanne

[gamblin4ever]

Thanks for the memories and enjoy the retirement Jose.

[Holland Hacker]

Enjoy your retirement!

The one Santos ride I will never forget was his 1988 United Nations Handicap at Atlantic City Racecourse on Manila. Some how or another he got through a hole on the hedge that I don't think anyone else could have gotten thorugh. It was truly amazing!


My second favorite Santos memory was a picture of his wife (ugh I mean him and his wife), in the SI swimsuit edition in 2003.


Thanks for all of the memories.

[horseofcourse]

Originally Posted by 2Hot4TV

Hell Santos hit Funnycide about a 1,000 times when he was going to win easy. I think he's the one that ruined Funnycide.

Someone explain horse physiology or recovery to me in more detail. I have never understood this argument. The horse expanded energy in the Preakness regardless. So if Santos wraps up in mid stretch, that makes all the difference in the world in a race 3 weeks later?? I can't understand that. If I run a hard mile or jog an easy mile...24 hours later I feel exactly the same. I don't see how a half second slower when running that hard and fast makes one hill of beans difference in a race 3 weeks later or 5 weeks later whatever the case may be. If he were running a race 1 hour later I can see it...but to me several weeks seems to me like ample recovery time that those couple tenths of a second slower would make no difference whatsoever in his next race.

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by horseofcourse

Someone explain horse physiology or recovery to me in more detail. I have never understood this argument. The horse expanded energy in the Preakness regardless. So if Santos wraps up in mid stretch, that makes all the difference in the world in a race 3 weeks later?? I can't understand that. If I run a hard mile or jog an easy mile...24 hours later I feel exactly the same. I don't see how a half second slower when running that hard and fast makes one hill of beans difference in a race 3 weeks later or 5 weeks later whatever the case may be. If he were running a race 1 hour later I can see it...but to me several weeks seems to me like ample recovery time that those couple tenths of a second slower would make no difference whatsoever in his next race.

it's called selective memory.

his huge work a few days before the 12f test of champions is what cost him the tc. he was rank early in that race, and expended valuable energy that he needed in the stretch by fighting his jockey. a nice, slow work was what he needed, not one that put speed into him.

as for after, i think the lack of time away from the track and from training contributed to his up and down ways. but then again, he wasn't a picture of uniformity before the tc races. he had his good days, and his bad days. luckily for him and his connections, he linked two good days together in the span of a a couple of weeks, and came away a dual classic winner.

[2Hot4TV]

Originally Posted by horseofcourse

Someone explain horse physiology or recovery to me in more detail. I have never understood this argument. The horse expanded energy in the Preakness regardless. So if Santos wraps up in mid stretch, that makes all the difference in the world in a race 3 weeks later?? I can't understand that. If I run a hard mile or jog an easy mile...24 hours later I feel exactly the same. I don't see how a half second slower when running that hard and fast makes one hill of beans difference in a race 3 weeks later or 5 weeks later whatever the case may be. If he were running a race 1 hour later I can see it...but to me several weeks seems to me like ample recovery time that those couple tenths of a second slower would make no difference whatsoever in his next race.

Jose kept beating the horse when he was already giving all he had and leading by 2 lenghts. I must assume that you have never seen the whelts on a horse after a race and if you were beat endlessly for giving all you had would you still give it a maximum effort the next time? Why beat the horse when going to win and he is not stopping? Watch the Funnycide's Preakness win and judge it for yourself.

[SlewsMyHero]

I'll remember Jose most for a couple of memorable rides on the awesome Manila. He won the 1986 Turf Classic at Belmont, and then won the BC Turf at Santa Anita, defeating the 1/2 favorite Dancing Brave. In both races, Santos got him up in the final strides to win photos. I still remember Durkin's call in the BC Turf. "A masterful ride by a master..."

[AeWingnut]

Originally Posted by 2Hot4TV

Jose kept beating the horse when he was already giving all he had and leading by 2 lenghts. I must assume that you have never seen the whelts on a horse after a race and if you were beat endlessly for giving all you had would you still give it a maximum effort the next time? Why beat the horse when going to win and he is not stopping? Watch the Funnycide's Preakness win and judge it for yourself.

I thnk I saw the whip move 3 times at the most
a tap at the 1/4 pole and then is was working the reins but not the whip so much.
The video quality is so-so.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWncMnDunLE

[largo1]

Agreed, the video quality isn't the greatest, but I don't see the whip moving much at all. Nor do I remember Funny Cide being hit numerous times, which is something I would normally notice. I have this Preakness on tape, I'll have to re-play it and see if I think Santos was overusing the whip.

And Pillow Pants, thanks so much for posting that picture. I *LOVES* that pict!! Wonder if I can buy it to add to my racing pix collection???

Now, I have a question for the trainers/trainer-types about fast workouts before a big race causing a horse to be rank, but I will have to post it in a few, as I have to go pick up a Za. You know you've moved to the country when you cannot get a pizza delivered!! Also when you have to mow your driveway, whcih I did earlier today.

Suzanne

[largo1]

Okay, here's the question....

Can someone explain to me how working a horse fast before a big race would make him rank? I understand that it should "sharpen" him up a bit, but does *one* super fast work make a horse rank? I am familiar with an expression about 'leaving his best work on the training track" (thats not the expression exactly maybe, but something to that effect). Now, to me, the problem with Tagg working Funny Cide so fast before the Belmont wasn't that it made him rank, but that a workout that fast so close to the big race didn't leave enough recovery time. I know that muscles are torn down with anaerboic work(like a fast work versus a long, slow gallop which is aerobic) and need time to recover and repair, which is what builds them up. And lactic acid builds up and makes the muscles sore, yadda, yadda, yadda.(okay, I don't exactly remember the whole scenario, but I get the gist)(and is "yadda" spelled with one or two d's, can't remember that either) So do you guys think the fast work so close to the Belmont made him rank, or do you think it was just too much too close to the big race?

Suzanne

[Danzig]

i think in general, a trainer works a horse prior to a race to get him to do certain things in a race. if you constantly ask a horse for speed, speed and more speed, that's what he'll give you in his races, til he runs out of gas. so a five f work, and a very fast one, will put a horse on his toes-which is what happened with funny cide.
it's somewhat like when they take the horses to under tack shows. they drill the fast furlong into them, and then you buy the horse, and have to essentially retrain them to learn to relax. so funnys work didn't show him relax, it showed speed. so he broke fast, fought the jock (a losing proposition for the jock) expended too much needed energy fighting the jock, and then finally gets set loose-or broke loose-and then had nothing left for the finish.

[ELA]

Originally Posted by 2Hot4TV

Hell Santos hit Funnycide about a 1,000 times when he was going to win easy. I think he's the one that ruined Funnycide.

Oh yeah, that's it, Santos ruined the horse. He hit him at least 1000 times. LMAO.

Eric