First, let me apologize for my lack of racing knowledge. But I caught a race on tv yesterday that was amazing! In the last bit of the race, she was running maybe 2nd or 3rd and suddenly veered over to the middle of the track…and won the race anyway! It was amazing.
That was Blue Prize (ARG) in the Juddmont Spinster at Keeneland. She’s a terrific racemare–who sometimes lets her attention wander when she gets an easy lead.
Here’s what her jockey Joe Bravo had to say:
“She got lonely,” Bravo said of the drifting incident. “She made the race exciting, didn’t she? She’s got a lot of talent. Ignacio gave me a heads up in the paddock. He said, ‘Listen, make sure to keep her attention at all times, keep her focused,’ and now we see why, right? We weren’t expecting that. After she went out there, I left her alone. She has a beautiful stride–I thought, she’s better than everybody in here.”
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I heard that jockey and loved what he said. Real understanding of the individuality of that horse!!!
Reminds me of the great Broad Brush blowing the turn in the 1986 PA Derby. He was as quirky as his trainer Dickie Small. Broad Brush might have been just another horse in the hands of another trainer.
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I was also watch Blue Prize (ARG) in the Juddmonte Spinster yesterday.
I was thinking as she made that first dart to her outside that it was a good thing there wasn’t another horse there (of course, if there was, maybe she wouldn’t have done that). Raised my eyebrows a bit more when she took another dart to the center of the track.
Was impressed that she managed to win after those two drifts but that also could have been potentially ugly.
She’s a nice horse; hope the “focus” gets addressed 
LaurieB and Gumtree, thanks for pointing us to those videos… I’ve always had a weakness for the quirky ones.
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The quirky ones are fun to watch but I wouldn’t want to be the owner or the rider. 
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:lol:
Mostly wouldn’t want to be the jock! I am much impressed he stayed on her during those duck outs. Often when I see a horse do that, they have a hard time recovering enough to really complete the race competitively. I was also impressed that she recovered enough to continue to really race and win.
I didn’t see the complete interview with Bravo but in the replays looked like the left handed whip is what pushed her out. Bravo started out with the right hand, switched to left and she ducked, hit her again left and she ducked again. Switched back to the right hand and she stayed straight enough to get her act together.
:eek:
love Joe Bravo!!!
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Me neither. I should say they’re fun to watch until they have a wreck, then not so amusing.
Like Silky Sullivan’s owner, who had a heart condition. At one point apparently his doctors would not let him watch the horse race.
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