I didn’t know Clement. But I knew when you'd handicap a NYRA long distance turfer - say, 1 3/8 miles or so - the paramount factor was who the trainer was. Most of the time, half the field could be eliminated because the trainer just didn’t win ultra-long. Clemente could. Interestingly, he could also win at 5 1/2.

Finally, when I think of Christophe Clement, I’ll think of how his TONALIST beat me by a head in the 2014 Belmont, costing me zillions. I’d under-keyed MEDAL COUNT (25-1) for 2nd, 3rd and 4th and that played out perfectly as he sat a great close-up trip. COMMISSIONER (28-1) was wiring the field and muscling his way to the wire, almost home. TONALIST was closely stalking him, but was perilously wide wide wide all around the track. I told myself: “There ain’t no way TONALIST can find more here and win!� But he did with a final surge. Sigh. With CALIFORNIA CHROME off the board, the payoffs were enormous. I coulda been in pizza for the rest of my life. But I settled for a ham sandwich. Those tough beats stay with you forever.

RIP