Jara on thin ice with Al Maktoum

[Rupert Pupkin]

I can't believe some of the comments I'm reading here saying that a jockey should not look back. Every good jockey looks around and looks back. Most of the decisions that a jockey makes in a race are based on how the race is unfolding. The jockey needs to be aware of where the competition is.

With regard to Jara, it was important for him to look back to see if anyone was coming. As long as nobody was coming, he could ride more patiently. If he saw some horse making a big move, he would have needed to move a little sooner.

Anyway, I wouldn't have much problem with the Sheik's criticism, if the criticism was legitimate. However, the criticism was not legitimate. Jara rode the horse perfectly. I'm not saying that just because he won. I've seen plenty of horses win that get bad rides, but this was not one of them. The stretch is very long in Dubai. You don't want to ask your horse for everything at the top of the lane if you think the main competition is behind you and you think you have the horse in front of you measured.

If Jara would have asked his horse for everything at the top of the lane and then got run down right at the wire by Discreet Cat, that would have been a bad ride. That would have been a premature move.