Saddlecloth--

I let your previous posts on Smith go because it's no big deal, and I don't want to spend a lot of time on this, but

1) he had no choice with Total Impact, but it was a good ride

2) 17% (by memory) is no big deal when the average field is 6 horses and you are usually on one of the 3 favorites

3) he is white, speaks English well, and is personable. This has always been a big deal-- it is much tougher for the latin jocks to break in, and

4) the jockey colony out there is very weak, especially now that Pincay and Stevens (and most of the time Valenzuela) aren't there. You will almost never see anyone try to come through inside-- and it seemed to work pretty well this weekend with the two races we are discussing. That's why Smith and Julie ended up there, and did well-- everybody plays it safe, and only has to deal with 6 horse fields. There is a limit to how wide you can be.



TGJB