RSS Feed for this Blog

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Withering Rose

- If you go to Cal Racing, you can watch the replay of Jeremy Rose's actions in Monday's third at Delaware, for which the jockey was swiftly slapped with a six month suspension. Appeal to the City had dead aim on 4-5 favorite Robin des Tunes but was beaten in deep stretch after having to steady behind that one. The head on angle is the best one to see the short left cross to the head of his horse with the whip which has led to a long summer vacation for Rose. The rider, who is appealing a ruling which will require him to cover any medical bills caused by the incident, is actually pretty fortunate. The obviously stunned Appeal to the City veered out sharply from the blow, and Rose is lucky he didn't get himself or somebody seriously injured.

Rose will be required to attend an anger management course, and that would seem to be a wise idea. Given the unwanted and unneeded attention that the sport has gotten over the last few weeks over safety issues, it would seem quite the self-indulgent flash of temper to physically abuse a horse in full view of the stewards and betting public. (I guess I'm trying to diplomatically say: What an idiot!) It's by far the most egregious, though not the first time Rose has shown questionable judgment with his whip. Some people, myself included, wonder whether Afleet Alex could have won the Derby had Rose saved something for the tank instead of whipping him the length of the stretch even as he opened up vast daylight in the Arkansas Derby. And Rose did the same in Big Brown's debut at Saratoga. I think it's fair to say that Rose wouldn't have eased Big Brown in the Belmont had he still had the mount.

- Santa Anita president Ron Charles, speaking of the decision to install Pro-Ride in time for the fall meeting, told DRF: “I’ve told them what we’re doing and they’re very supportive.”

Like they have any choice!? As you may be aware, I'm all in favor of the synthetic track experiment, and I myself don't have any problem with the Breeders' Cup being run on one of them. But we're just four months out, and we're talking about a brand new surface which has never been used as a standalone surface in this country, or this climate, and which won't even be completely installed until about one month before the start of the Oak Tree meet on Sept. 24. Am I the only one who thinks that's cutting it kinda close? We're talking about one month of racing days before the big day(s). I suppose everything should be fine, but I dunno, wouldn't you have a backup plan in mind if you were Greg Avioli?

17 Comments:

Anonymous said...

Taken from a thread on LVA Sports:

Quote
-----------------------------------
Originally posted by: boyabouttown

Pro-Ride had a big edge, after virtually salvaging Anita's spring meeting after the mid-meet disaster.
-----------------------------------

I agree. I suspected Santa Anita would opt for either Pro-Ride or Tapeta, assuming they didn't go back to dirt. I thought it was obvious they wouldn't go with Polytrack, considering all the complications that Del Mar encountered last summer. Tapeta has been well-received at Golden Gate, while of course Pro-Ride saved the recent Santa Anita meet by mixing part of their own surface into the existing Cushion Track. I think Santa Anita felt more comfortable with Pro-Ride, not only because they've been using a Pro-Ride mixture already, but perhaps more so because they know that Pro-Ride will be around to back up their product, if need be. Conversely, the Cushion Track people were nowhere to be found.

Myself, since the beginning of new synthetic track era, i've been rather shocked that Tapeta hasn't been the surface of choice. It has been in use for over a decade now (at Michael Dickinson's Tapeta Farm training center), and it was designed and implemented by a master horseman. If it were me, that would've been the first option. How Tapeta ended up being low-man-on-the-totem-pole, i have no idea. Politics, i guess.

-------------------------
www.DiscreetPicks.com

Anonymous said...

The back-up choice is the favorite for the 2010 Breeders' Cup: Woodbine.

Anonymous said...

Alan,

Can you explain how to watch the race on Calracing of Rose's actions from Delaware Park? I have accessed that site and all I see is video replays available from California tracks, nothing else.

This may be one of the glaring problems with racing. It DOES NOT cater to the younger audience. You cannot seem to access any account wagering site with a Mac, and they seem to target only the well heeled gambler, not the guy with $50 to $100 in his pocket, hoping to score a few hundred more.

That, and who on earth new to this game feels as if they should have to pay for data? Come on, somebody, anybody, better wise up and realize that squeezing people at the Breeders' Cup is only going to shut more people off.

Back to the question, how do you watch video on Calracing of tracks outside of California? Thanks for your help.

Anonymous said...

i just found it on this blogger's website...www.thoroughbredblog.com

Anonymous said...

Non-California races (the ones that are available, anyway) can be accessed on the Cal Racing site by typing in the horse's name after clicking on the "Horse" tab. It's one of three tabs you'll find after looging into the replay area. Incidentally, i've found the site very useful for checking on a horse's status. If you want to know the last time that any horse raced, just type in their name, and it comes right up. It's a lot easier than digging through the index section of Simulcast Weekly, which is how i used to do it.

Brooklyn Backstretch said...

The tricky part of Cal Racing for me is that you can't type in the horse's name and hit "enter." If you do, nothing comes up. You have to hit "search." Self-evident, perhaps, but it drove me nuts.

Anonymous said...

J. Rose is my buddy. Keep your nasty remarks to yourself. Nothing was done on purpose. Shit happens"""" and by the way YOU are the idiot with your questionable judgement of Jeremy without finding out the facts. Now I understand why some posters get on your case with some remarks you make. You are a clueless but know's how to speak with a BIG tongue.

Alan Mann said...

>>J. Rose is my buddy.

Your buddy fucked up. The facts are caught on tape and still photographs. I didn't suspend him - save your rude remarks and name calling for the stewards who took prompt and decisive action...including reporting him to the ASPCA. If a further hearing vindicates him, I'll be the first to acknowledge that. But until then, the horse has a "serious hemorrhage of the left eye," and your friend is on the hook for his actions.

Alan Mann said...

>>Can you explain how to watch the race on Calracing of Rose's actions from Delaware Park?

Hopefully, Discreet Cat and Brooklyn Backstretch helped you out. As the latter indicated, you do have to cursor the "search" button and click; simply hitting your 'enter' key won't do.

Anonymous said...

Alan before you open your big mouth get all of the facts straight. Give him the benefit of the doubt before you make accusations and call him an idiot. You seem to be the one using inproper language. That guy never used the F bomb word to you and you did. You need your mouth washed out with a milkshake.


“Jeremy has told me that (the whipping incident) was not intentional,” said Foreman. “It was an accident; he knew something was wrong immediately when he brought the horse back. He reported it immediately to Howard Wolfendale that he thought he might have hit the horse in the eye.

"I can tell you that there’s nobody more upset than Jeremy Rose," Foreman continued. "There’s nothing more upsetting to Jeremy than the fact he may have injured this horse.

Alan Mann said...

>>You need your mouth washed out with a milkshake.

Chocolate please.

ljk said...

Anon: Your "buddy" should be upset, he should be sorry, and he should sit for 6 months.

Erin said...

Anon:
Of course Rose's attorney is going to say it was an accident, that's what they're paid for. Did you think Foreman was going to come out and say he did it intentionally? Especially if, as Alan says, the ASPCA was informed, who have demonstrated they'll employ the justice system when it suits them?

I am so grateful to Delaware Park for acting swiftly on this matter unlike in the Molina case. By the time the story broke one could also read what I think are some pretty satisfying punitive measures - great.

And I'm also grateful to you, Alan, for sticking up to this guy and not backing off on your criticism.

If nothing else this mare is going to be a unwitting martyr for the anti-whip cause, one I hadn't supported until the events of this year.

Alan Mann said...

Thanks Erin and ljk for the support. I'd also like to add that it doesn't even matter even if it was an accident (a claim which is really hard to believe, considering that I've never heard of anything like it in my 30+ years following the sport). The jockey is responsible for the use of his whip, period, end of story. If it was an accident, then maybe he needs the six months to take some riding lessons and re-apply for his license.

Anonymous said...

I was going to say the replay was inconclusive in the stretch, because you can see the horse duck out, and you can see Rose tried to do something just before Appeal to the City ducked out. I was going to lean on the side of "innocent until proven guilty".

But when I saw the head-on view at Cal Racing, just shy of the wire, there is no doubt in my mind either that he slugged the her on the side of the head with the whip. I don't know if he meant to do something else, but the head-on just confirms that this wasn't much of an accidental mistake. Six months seems appropriate, at least. And if anyone was willing to give the jock the benefit of the doubt, they should go to Cal Racing, do a search for the horse, and watch the head-on view in deep stretch. That should confirm it enough.

Erin said...

It's all over youtube.

Anonymous said...

The fact that they gave him six months speaks for itself.

Anon 9:37
If they new he was "your buddy" maybe they would have only given him five months and twenty-nine days.