Quote:
Originally Posted by The Indomitable DrugS
Yes - Rupert obviously got the 42% stuck in his head when I told him that about 42% of Martin Garcia's total wins this year have come for Baffert and 58% for other trainers not named Baffert.
Having first dibs in the Baffert barn is huge.
In 2009, when Baffert and Gomez teamed up - their record was 95-41-19-9 - for a 43.2% win percentage and a $2.38 ROI.
Gomez is a different type of rider than Garcia ... he'll save ground and every once in a while one will get trapped or stopped. Garcia will put them in a position so that if the horse is 2 lengths the best - he'll win by a half length - but he very rarely gets stopped.
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I completely agree with you that having first dibs for any of the top barns is huge. But practically all of these top trainers have great eyes and they won't use jocks that are making mistakes. The only reason Baffert starting givng Garcia first dibs was because Garcia was riding great for him.
Even if a jock is lucky enough to get in with a big barn, they will be out very quick if they are giving bad rides. Baffert won't hesitate to give a guy the boot if the guy isn't riding well. We will see if Garcia lasts with Baffert. If you are right and Garcia is not a particularly good jock, he probably won't last long. If I am right and Garcia truly has become a top jock, he will probably be riding for Baffert for a long time.
By the way, the number for the Garcia/Baffert combo in 2009-2010 is 30% wins and an ROI of $2.12. That is from 194 mounts.
08-01-2010, 11:01 PM
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