I don’t want to hijack the other thread so I am starting a new one about Mike Smith. I came across this article about him in Sports Illustrated and thought I would provide a link. Even though it was written in 2014, I thought it was interesting.
I wonder how much longer he will continue to ride? He’s still at the top of his form.
https://www.si.com/horse-racing/2014…-shared-belief
I posted the following on another thread:
I adore Mike Smith. Not only is he a great rider and a winning rider, I think he is also a sensitive rider and I like that he is very sparing with the whip and seems to use it more to get the horse’s attention or communicate, not to beat the ** out of it like some riders.
When he rode Richard’s Kid to his first win in the Pacific Classic, he dropped his whip somewhere before entering the stretch. The same thing happened with the next win in the Classic. I always assumed he did it on purpose the next time because in some interview (or maybe on the Jockeys reality show) he said he was superstitious. In any case, he brought that horse up in a late finish to an exciting win, twice, without a whip. And he was never heavy handed with Zenyatta.
Edit to add:
That was wrong. He didn’t lose his whip in the second win in the Pacific Classic. I just checked it out. But I’m sure Smith dropped his whip a second time with Richard’s Kid, unless I’ve lost my mind. Which is possible.
