"Charismatic" on ESPN

[justindew]

Originally Posted by Calzone Lord

Her and Menifee were the only two rivals in the race under 9/1 odds... and he had just beaten Menifee twice and Menifee didn't even manage to finish ahead of Silverbulletday in that Belmont.

Bad ride or not - I think his fear was SBD jogging on an uncontested lead and he having to worry about coming from mid-pack behind a slower pace with other jocks trying to race-ride him. Because of the way the film was presented -- it might leave some thinking his brain was cooked from drugs, or from partying the night before, or lack of sleep or whatever. Certainly that wasn't the case. He simply had his eye on SBD the whole way and didn't seem too concerned about Menifee .. the rest were all longshots.

You are giving him way, way too much credit here. There was no logic behind it whatsoever.

[Calzone Lord]

Originally Posted by justindew

You are giving him way, way too much credit here. There was no logic behind it whatsoever.

It happens in dozens of races everyday throughout the country. It doesn't always backfire either... but it looks real bad when it does.

Take Jerry Bailey's ride on Cigar in the Pac Classic for instance. Bailey had Cigar more forward than he needed to be in order to press Siphon (who he said after the race he felt was his only danger) and the hapless Dare And Go roared past them both in the stretch.

[OldDog]

I can’t say whether Antley’s ride cost Charismatic the Triple Crown, but I do like the case that CalzoneLord and others make in defense of it. I remember the disappointment of seeing him falter down the stretch, the gut wrenching feeling when Chris pulled him up, and later the relief of hearing that his injuries weren’t life threatening.

It’s unfortunate that the “story” is about Antley’s drug dependence, although sadly it is and will always be a dominant story line in his career. But man, what a jockey. When he was “right,” he was so damn good. What a sweet time it is when horse, jockey, trainer and owner come together in a flash of perfection, and sweeter still when the horse and rider are enjoying moments of redemption. If only it could have lasted. Barbara Livingston’s photos are a reminder of just how great the good times were.

Finally, I was disappointed that the film didn’t present more about the story of the horse for which it was named.