Quote:
Originally Posted by CSC
This is an interesting point about handicapping that isn't discussed enough, there are no 2 correct ways of riding horses. The main point I am trying to stress is the often mentioned premature move is not necessarily accurate and really for this board is far too simplistic. For horses like a Gio Ponti, who are deep closers you wait and make that one big run, for others simply saving that horse for the final 2/8ths and not pay attention to race dynamics is a closed way of thinking, if one watches Interactif's best turf races, his runs are on the turn, where he separates himself from the opposition as he did at Saratoga last year when he beat POP. I don't know if he would have beaten POP this Saturday if he was allowed to run this same way, but he would have been in a better position to succeed IMO.
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Completely agreed -- just after your last post, I didn't want it to seem like I was an advocate of ALWAYS cutting a horse loose 3/8 from the wire. Some horses don't have that run (Interactif not being one as I think we've seen in the past), but sometimes (and I hate to keep harping on the American Derby, but it was brilliant and a great example) when the only runners near the front are cheap speed you can easily put away and are getting tired and you know all of the real, legit threats are going to be charging hard late, that is ABSOLUTELY the right time to give your horse some more run. If the closers are going to be charging from the moment they straighten in a race like that and no serious contender is around you at the moment, I'd rather the closers have 8 lengths to make up rather then 3.
Again, not always cut and dry, but with horses with tactical speed, a great call.
And now I'm going to stop responding to this for now because the idea of agreeing with you so much on something like this is making me totally rethink whether I even have a legit point.
07-19-2010, 10:27 AM
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