John Velazquez

[horse]

Anyone with some riding knowledge care to comment on the ride Johnny gave Quality Road in the Whitney Handicap?

[bdw0617]

I think JV did the best he could under the circumstances.

People will say well he should have let him go to the lead. See, JV rode him IMHO like he knew QR had distance limitations, he nursed the speed.

I think the ride was more vindictive of QR's true ability then JV's riding ability though I'm not a fan of JV. He rides every horse the exact same regardless if they prefer it or not. But in this case I don't see any real fault.

At gulfstream you can let a horse win it and get lose on that speedway. Saratoga is a real dirt track, deep. with his limitations, had QR went 23 -45 and change b lames connections could have just went to the winners circle then.

[TJ]

Hi Horse,
At first I thought that JV was trying to nurse him along as bdw said....but after reviewing the race, in my opinion, there was no excuse for QR to get beat. It looked as though he was being ridden much too confidently. This was a big race, there was no need to look back two or three times in the stretch as he did.....no need to see who's trying to run you down, just do your job and race ride him to the wire. Meanwhile Gomez was going berserk trying to get Blame to the wire on time....he was changing holds, shaking the reins at his horse so much he lost control of the right rein at the 1/8th pole, luckily regaining control before they hooked up. In my opinion, if Gomez was on board QR he would have won the race being ridden as aggressively. TJ

[horse]

For what they may be worth, the following observations/opinions come from New Yorkers who are all TB owners:

Paul was at Saratoga sitting in the front row of the boxes. He said JV had no idea that Blame was coming. Said Blame had the perfect trip and had plenty left in the tank; could have done another 1/8 easily.
Marilyn went to OTB & watched on a giant flat screen; she said the the race set up perfectly for Blame who is a closer. Definitely thinks that JV was gearing down on the horse when he heard the roar of the crowd & knew he was in trouble. Tried to get him back into the race but too late. Blame still had a lot left.

[TJ]

For what they may be worth, the following observations/opinions come from New Yorkers who are all TB owners:

Paul was at Saratoga sitting in the front row of the boxes. He said JV had no idea that Blame was coming. Said Blame had the perfect trip and had plenty left in the tank; could have done another 1/8 easily.
Marilyn went to OTB & watched on a giant flat screen; she said the the race set up perfectly for Blame who is a closer. Definitely thinks that JV was gearing down on the horse when he heard the roar of the crowd & knew he was in trouble. Tried to get him back into the race but too late. Blame still had a lot left.

Hi Horse,
Exactly.....if he rode the horse to the wire, there would have been no need to panic at the finish line. Saratoga is known as the graveyard of favorites and having been at Saratoga and seen many of these upsets....more times than not it was because of an over confident ride with a horse that looks head and shoulders over the field........but the icing on the tombstone is, it was a handicap race and you never know when you're gonna hit the weight wall, so you must ride the hair off them to the wire as Gomez did with Blame.....five pounds over 1 1/8th miles means a lot, in the Classic it's even weights.

[Shammy Davis]

I watched the rerun a couple of times. I noticed that JV took a peek back just before entering the final turn. I thought after that JV was either looking for BLAME or he wasn't sure how much horse he had going into the stretch.

I heard a comment on HRTV that QR was used up before the stretch. I don't know. It looked like QR was moving OK.

[da hossman]

It is awfully hard to run down a free-running horse with a big lead - their heart gets bigger and their distance limitations stretch when they are out there on their own winging it. I think JV rode QR well until they straightened out, then I think he should have shook QR up and opened up on the field.

Had JV/QR opened up by several lengths it would have been harder for Blame to keep QR in his sights and it would have put QR at a higher rate of speed when Blame did come to him. I think QR wins in that scenario, maybe by more than a length.

Then again, JV has ridden a few more races than I have.

[TJ]

I watched the rerun a couple of times. I noticed that JV took a peek back just before entering the final turn. I thought after that JV was either looking for BLAME or he wasn't sure how much horse he had going into the stretch.

I heard a comment on HRTV that QR was used up before the stretch. I don't know. It looked like QR was moving OK.

Hi Shammy,
It looked to me like he looked back no less than 8-10 times during the running. After they went the first 1/2 mile and Tom Durkin called "a 1/2 mile in 48 seconds flat....that's a walk in the park for Quality Road". From there on watch JV, when Durkin calls Gomez now shaking up Blame. He looked under his legs, then again when they come out from behind the big screen. Approaching the 1/4 pole he glances outside (a glance is good:>) but...inside the 1/4 pole he looks under his arm for Blame, top of the stretch he abruptly looks left, then right, then right again to make sure it was Blame that was gonna beat him....then must have looked over two or three more times in disbelief that Blame had the nerve to run over him as he watched. It was just a terrible ride in my opinion, all the momentum lost in looking back, what do you think the horse is thinking? I was confused watching the ride:>) On the bright side and a complete 180*, Gomez rode Blame like his life depended on it......watch as Blame drifts inward as he passes Musket Man in mid-stretch.....Gomez was trying to gather up the reins....he practically lost the right rein (they were no longer knotted).....and gathered them up as he was running just in time to beat QR at the wire.....the race id below: TJ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_J47rVD-O68

[Shammy Davis]

Specifically, I guess I noted JV looking back in the beginning of the turn because I thought it was odd. It stood out in my mind for some reason. It just seemed to me that he was uncomfortable, but like the Da Hossman, JV has ridden thousands of races to my zero. I can't tell you what JV was thinking at the time.

I really don't know what to make of it. It was at Saratoga afterall. QR is a better horse than that, so it is possible that JV didn't give him a good ride. I guess we'll have to wait until the BC to see.

[zinn21]

I don't think QR liked Saratoga. JV said that QR was not really into the bit early in the race. That said I think if JV would have asked QR for his life at the quarter pole he would have won the race. He waited then tried matching strides with a horse with a lot of momentum and one of the greatest finishing riders in the game in Garrett Gomez.. Got beat what, a long nose/short head?

[TJ]

Hi Shammy, Zinn, Hoss,
There has been no comment concerning his ride, so I think JV may have been riding to instructions. His camp was very confident in him...thinking no one would be able to beat this horse and after a 1/2 in 48 seconds no one should have. There is also the concern he may have distance limitations....so he may have been told to measure his win, as they will wheel him right back again there by taking less out of him and conserving his energy for the Woodward. That is the only reason why I could understand a rider looking back so many times. Bottom line, Blame's schedule has been flawless (we will get to see him agaiin in the Jockey Club Gold Cup).....Quality Road at even weights will be a contender against him, Zenyatta is magnificent and Rachel Alexandra seems to be coming back to her old form, Lookin at Lucky wants to take a shot at his elders and Rail Trip and Awesome Gem are taking it all in. Let's hope they all stay sound and I think we will have one interesting Classic to look forward to this season. TJ

[bdw0617]

the keep peeking back to me confirms what i thought. he knew for whatever the reason may be, qr wasn't on his A game that day and he was trying to nurse him as much as possible.

[horse]

Would anyone question JV's mental and/or his physical fitness on Saturday, when he rode Quality Road in the Whitney (race no. 10)?


This is race no. 6 on 8-7-10:

http://www.equibase.com/static/chart/pd ... 10USA6.pdf

[reenci]

looking back a total of 5x the entire race was absurd! race ride already for crying out loud...much to confident....should have rolled and knocked them out at the half mile pole..or 6 furlongs into the race.....BLAME ran huge !! JV rode terrible.....hey he's human.

[reenci]

TJ could have a point in not wanting to squeeze the lemon dry so to speak....but i still the the ride sucked.