8/1 (MTH): Haskell (G1), Oceanport & Matchmaker (G3's)

[cakes44]

The guy keeps good horses out of trouble...period. If he would have lost either the Preakness or Haskell with his rides in those races, I can't imagine the sh!t he would get with those wide rides.

What is his record and ROI on the turf again, Drugs?

[the_fat_man]

Let's put things in perspective: Garcia is to Baffert what Velasquez is to Pletcher. It's not about saving ground or putting in good rides on these horses but, rather, about keeping them out of trouble so that the elixir can kick in late stretch. So, Johnny V is pretty much always wide on these horses, as, even though he's basically a EUNUCH when it comes to race riding, he knows that they'll have something xtra when they need it.

Garcia can't finish as well as JV but he doesn't need to as, most of the time, he's on speed types, and, let's face it, outside of Bejarano and Rosario, who does he really need to outfinish these days?

Baffert had a difficult choice: continue riding the Mongoloid Idiot Espinoza or the 'wait a minute while I twirl the reins' Gomez OR go to someone who can at least get the basics correct. Tough choice. I mean, at this point, he'd ride Pedroza over the other 2 bozos.

[The Indomitable DrugS]

Originally Posted by cakes44

The guy keeps good horses out of trouble...period. If he would have lost either the Preakness or Haskell with his rides in those races, I can't imagine the sh!t he would get with those wide rides.

What is his record and ROI on the turf again, Drugs?

He sucks on the turf because his inability to save ground gets exposed and because Baffert's barn isn't loaded with turf horses.

Here are Martin Garcia's stats in turf routes:

2010: 11-for-113 (9% wins) $1.12 ROI

2009: 6-for-109 (5% wins) $0.56 ROI

2008: 11-for-114 (9% wins) $1.00 ROI

2007: 8-for-111 (7% wins) $1.76 ROI


But hey, put him on some caddy's and let him get widest, and he's brilliant.