Looks like Rich Strike had 7 starts before the Derby, so arguably he’s done it more than many of them have.
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I didn’t see them unbuckle the reins, the pic I saw (link below) shows a lead on him?
Two ponies on one horse? Really? I don’t think I’ve seen that but all I can imagine is a disaster. Besides having its bit clipped on both sides (creating a lot of pressure,) the horse in the middle is going to feel surrounded and will probably do whatever it takes to become un-surrounded, whether that’s going straight back, going straight forward to escape, or just stopping and flipping.
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The only other I can think the pony rider could have tried is to get a good trot going and keep horses moving on.
That is what he finally does at the end, is what pony horse was trying to do all along.
He may have been taking too long jerking back time and again, trying to make an impression.
May have worked on others, didn’t on this one, he kept coming back.
Most colts don’t, are trained to settle when they act up better than that one was then.
When he for a second had horse under control and pony man starts out, he could have pushed faster right then and maybe defuse colt, giving him other to think about than fighting.
Then, we are not the track man there with his hands full of fractious colt that just won the biggest TB race, few will ever be asked to manage in such situation and see what they would do.
Of course, hindsight is always a good way to learn, what happened can’t be changed.
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It was pretty crowded at one point, so I’m not sure he had room to go anywhere.
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If the outrider is “out of his league” as you say then I’m not sure anyone could have handled Rich Strike. That outrider is one of the best in the country at his job.
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What an ugly situation after the race. I was frustrated by the fact that the jockey didn’t seem to be helping (or even paying much attention at the beginning of the attacks.
That catch rider did an amazing job, IMO. I felt bad for him and for the poor lead pony. That was ugly.
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My post was clear that looking back and wondering if something else could have helped is not running the man down, no way.
He was in an extremely difficult situation and handled it best it could have, given the circumstances, that are not very common, thankfully.
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I’m not sure what the jockey could or should have done?
In this situation I assume the pony/outrider is in control and you take your lead from them.
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I haven’t read all the replies, but I will just throw this in here in case no one has already posted it. This is the interview after the race with the owner, trainer, and jockey.
Spoiler alert, the owner replied to a question about how many wins he has had with a pause, and then the answer, less than 10. There was a little bit of a shocked silence in the room! Lol.
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You clearly said the outrider was out of his league. I’m telling you that this is an extremely experienced outrider, so he is not.
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I didn’t see that earlier either.
I did like the comment that said “that horse is jacked up on Mountain Dew and Red Bull”…probably really what it was about. That was a lot of adrenaline to get through that crowd.
I didn’t have an issue with the outrider punching the horse (I certainly would have done so as well), but yanking the reins - but maybe he was holding the lead and not the rein, which is definitely different.
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Ok. 
Nice people those, thanks for the link.
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Agree! These pony horses are so well-trained and calm, and this one was being scared witless (the little rears), but still kept after his job. Hope someone gave him some carrots later.
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I understand the mechanics of riding…do you?
I swear I’m not just saying this with hindsight, but when I saw 21, heard his story, and saw the flashy chestnut, I loved him, but thought, “that’s crazy, he’s the longshot.”
Just because the horse gets studdish/dominant with another horse doesn’t necessarily mean he’s that way with humans (or even mares). And the behavior didn’t arise until after his blood was up, post-race.
The outrider did the best he could. It’s not like Rich Strike bit the lead pony once and then the outrider lashed out in anger. The horse kept coming for his mount. He had to diffuse a potentially dangerous situation. He even got bit himself (although that wasn’t Rich Strike’s original intention).
I think we also need to give the jockey the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps he didn’t want to yank on the reins for fear of Rich Strike going up. Also, piloting a racehorse is different from say, managing a saddlehorse getting ornery in a flat class regarding steering. Pulling back means something different to a racehorse.
This is (obviously) a young horse and his personality is still evolving, so who knows what his temper will be like in a few years.
I am shocked people would say letting go of the horse was an option. A loose horse bolting (if the jockey didn’t have enough control or room to pull up quickly) could end up injuring another person or horse. Not what you’d want with what was now suddenly the most valuable horse on the track.
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To me, Rich Strike is a typical somewhat rank studdy 3 year old colt and they can be lots of fun. The type that the grooms and riders pray will be cut soon and the owners and trainers pray his energy can be channeled into racing.
He loaded into the gate last and broke quickly. He may also be a little rank/little focused on the other colts at the start, but because of his PP, his jockey was able to keep him away from the other colts and focused on the job at hand.
After most races, you don’t have hundreds of people on the track for the walk to the winner’s circle. Triple Crown races are different, and it’s a logistical nightmare.
So the decision to have the horse be ponied back was a good one. It appears that the outrider couldn’t even get the traditional pony strap on him and was using a leadrope. It also appears that the other outrider who approached was trying to give him a pony strap.
I think that original outrider’s decision to waive the second outrider off was the right one. Having another gelding crowd RS was NOT going to go well.
The only thing I will criticize the original outrider for is that CLEARLY the solution was to get the horse moving forward, and that once he was, the situation improved. However, I don’t know what was happening outside the camera frame, maybe he had to wait for a path to be cleared to move the horse forward. Maybe he was praying for a safe path to open on the track so he could get RS moving, maybe that’s what he told the second outrider to do.
It wasn’t pretty, and I wish it hadn’t been televised. But for the love of dog, what a horrible situation for the jockey, the outrider and that poor pony horse.
I agree with the comments above, that if you’ve never been up close and personal with a really rank studdy three old that hates other colts and geldings, you can’t fully grasp the situation the outrider was in. He has my heartfelt sympathy and support.
I hope there’s a better plan for the trip back to the paddock for the Preakness.
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Sure, but does that really mean anything?
His experience is his.
Listening to the post race presser, the trainer commented on how well he did on the walk over, in the paddock… Do those comments mean they expected him not to, or just that they aren’t sure because he’s young and how many horses ever see a scene like the KD… clearly they’re still training these very young inexperienced horses.
.
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