I appreciate some objective news on John - and readily admit to a biased "fandom", a state that was frustrated for years by JRB getting first pick. The time frame starting with Jerry's retirement, (when it would have been valid in my opinion to call JRV the BEST) until the the wreck after the finish in KY was too damn short for moi. I was also soft on Angel, even thought he could condition a horse if someone had risked it. It's also true that John has aggressively come back successfully after his injuries, including emotional ones like when Marjorie Cordero walked into the traffic, so I was slow to accept this I guess. Truth be told, as much as I admire his work, Ron Anderson peeved me a little, maybe just because he was always swinging the biggest stick, at least for so long. It will hurt my feelings if he can get John's business, but among other things he has the "now" rider again.

I can see the lack of what seems like a real plan in JRV's riding, a lack of creativity, like just now it looked like he didn't have an answer to what Baffert's horse would probably do. But it did seem to me he got out fine and I was attributing a lot of the decline originally to him being trapped between people not wanting to start with him, knowing he would go to Pletcher, and the races being carded not allowing TAP to get the money he and his clients needed if he didn't spread out geographically.

I have really liked John since he had the bug, and was delighted that Angel got to make some dough with him. This craps me out a little. It crapped me out less, but in a similar manner to watch Mike Smith hit the hedge that time when he was leading at Sartoga, and Phipps give up later, and then Julie's deal, and I was very anxious to believe Antley was back. The worst two for me was the one in '87 that was a death, and then watching Angel twang off the rail.

I digress. This is not the brain I use to bet with.

skip
miff Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Stillinger,
>
> Johnny V is not riding near his best, imo.In
> addition to TAP having a cold streak and slow
> horses lately, Johns dad was recently ill in
> Puerto Rico and his head was not totally on
> racing,imo.At the SPA, he gave several rides that
> looked amateurish.
>
> Cordero and Barbaro go way back as friends and it
> is not that surprising to see Johnny V pilot.
>
> Since he was injured last year, JV has not come
> close to being the number 1,2 or 3 best rider in
> the country which he arguably was before he fell.
> He does not sit the same, send one the same or
> finish on one as strongly, pre accident.
>
>
> Mike
>
> P.S.It would not surprise me to see the "great"
> Garrett Gomez take some mounts away from JV at
> owners insistence even though TAP remains solidly
> in Angel/JV's corner.