Garret Gomez sucks

[The Indomitable DrugS]

Originally Posted by docicu3

And so the question begs asking.........

What determines ,other than order of finish, what a good ride is???

IMO, a "good ride" is when a jockey simply makes an effort to put his horse in a position to be successful. After he does that, the rest is up to the horse.

There are times when jockeys will end up in can't win type situations...they might have a need-the-lead type, in a race with four other speeds. They might be breaking from an inside post on a dead-rail track, and end up finding themselves unable to reasonably work their way outside. They might be on a deep closer in a race void of speed. When off the pace, and unable to get out into the clear---they might choose to follow a well-bet rival who appears to have horse..and if it turns out that rival doesn't have horse, they might find themselves in a bad situation.

However, in most cases, a rider should be able to put his horse in a spot that fairly suits him....especially if he's riding a tactically gifted horse.

IMO,a "great ride" is when a jockey steals a race---or does something either tactically brilliant....or works out a perfect trip in a situation where the likelyhood of having a perfect trip is slim.