18 August 2007

RATING THE JOCKEYS AT FORT ERIE AND WOODBINE

UPDATE: Apparently I upset a few jockeys with my analysis and ratings. First off, I want to say that I'm not a licensed horseman (jockey, trainer, owner, groom, or jock's agent, etc.), the ratings and comments are my personal opinion as a handicapper and fan. Secondly, why do jockeys get pissed off over these things? Buy a fantasy football guide and you will find ratings for every offensive player from 1 right to the bottom. Why should jockeys be immune to public opinion and ratings? Do jockeys get mad because Equibase publishes stats for the public to see? If some jockeys think I have given them a bad report, be my guest, prove me wrong. Maybe they will climb up the list next time I publish one.

I know I'm going to piss off a few people with my analysis. It is not my intention to do so, and many will most likely not agree with my rankings. I realize that hot jockeys get the best mounts as well, and some talented jockeys just get in a rut because they can't put a streak together. Streaks are hard too when struggling, because jockeys who aren't on winning streaks tend to get average to poor mounts. Generally though, below average jockeys get below average mounts. All I can say is that I've been following Ontario horse racing for many years, since I was a kid. I've been doing speed figures since the late 70's as a teenager. And I base my analysis on how well jockeys do when they are on horses who figure to be right there, and also if they tend to move up horses who don't really figure. Most jockeys, like horses, usually look good in a wire to wire victory, so I am trying not to count these type of victories when rating them. If a jockey has more mounts at Fort Erie, I consider that jock a Fort Erie jockey. Same thing applies to Woodbine jockeys.

FORT ERIE

1. Daniel David- He is probably the most natural rider on the Ontario circuit. He is an extension of the horse. He constantly battles weight and health problems, but when he is on, he is the best.
2. Robbie King- Fort Erie suits him. He owns the track right now. Uses brains and finesse. Gets the choice mounts deservedly. Sometimes he gets overbet because he is a fan favourite.
3. Kristopher Robinson- Injury prone so far. He moves up many horses with his ability to rate.
4. Chad Beckon- Money jock. Gets the most of his good mounts.
5. Christopher Griffith
- Best of the rest. With Villeneuve gone, he is probably the best grass jockey on the grounds.
6. Cory Clark- Usually is right there when she is on one of the top 3 horses. Good on the turf too.
7. Roderick Dacosta- Has put up good numbers on limited mounts over the last couple of years.
8. Happy Ando- Just back from an injury. Was improving before the injury.
9. Sunny Singh- Close to being considered a low ranked Woodbine jockey, he gets a lot of good mounts at the Fort from Woodbine.
10.Schemlin Montoute- Good numbers in limited tries. By appointment only.
11 Brian Bochinski- He'll hit the board when given the talent.
12.Regina Sealock- I don't mind her on route horses that figure. Her style suits the track. She is slightly underrated.
13.Dale Hemsley- Rides a lot of bad horses. He knows the track well. He doesn't move a horse up, but he doesn't hurt a horses chances either.
14.Monique Dionne- Her numbers tell the story. Just a little below average.
15.Mike Quong- Rides a lot of bad horses too. Good on front runners and horses who come from last when the pace collapses. Not much when in between.
16.David Piques- Give him a mount, and he'll ride it.
17.Maree Richards- Admirably she at least attempted a comeback. I can't say she moves a horse up anymore.
18.Michael McMullen- Rides mostly for family. Usually just a passenger.
19.Eldridge Lindsay- If the race is over 6 furlongs, look elsewhere. Can go wire to wire in sprints though, and he'll pull out all the tricks to get one over.
20.Jeff McLaren- Still learning. The jury is out. Can't bet with any confidence yet.
21.Marty Mercieca- Doesn't seem to make good choices when rating a horse.
22.Valerie Thompson- Only rides one horse these days, but she got him to win. In 1981 she owned Greenwood.
23.Lisa Cadedu- Has had some opportunities as a bug girl, but hasn't done much with them.
24.Gilbert Searchwell- Will his mount get past the vet?
25.Rawle Mitchell- Couldn't get many mounts if he rode for free.
26.Richard Morrow- Richard who? Juries out.
27.Dennis Persaud- Not impressive at all.


WOODBINE

1. Patrick Husbands- He deservedly gets the top mounts. He owns the turf course too.
2. Emile Ramsammy- He has usurped Kabel as the jockey who can get a horse to the lead, who didn't necessarily look like the speed of the field, and then steal the race.
3. Chantal Sutherland- As predicted earlier by me, her style is perfect for the Polytrack. And she is very good on the turf as well.
4. Emma Jayne Wilson- Moves a horse up. She takes a lot of obscure mounts though, which hurts her percentage.
5. Tyler Pizarro- The go to apprentice. Always a threat to hit the board. Gets live mounts especially with Rainford and Deverell on the shelf.
6. James McAlaney- Gets real good mounts. Rides sprint races (7 furlongs or less) better than routes.
7. Todd Kabel- Better when he is not on the figure horse for some reason. Looks like he is in semi-retirement these days. Still above average. Doesn't have as much of an edge on the Poly which is not kind to speed usually.
8. Martin Ramirez- Style is suited for the Polytrack. He just doesn't seem to get good mounts. Give him David Clark's mounts and he'd have 60 wins at Woodbine right now. Needs to relax when he is on a horse with a fringe chance. He is trying too hard on them out of the gate.
9. David Clark- Gets great steer jobs. Probably has the best agent at Woodbine. I don't think he moves a horse up though...but he is 50 plus. Might get a well earned vacation soon.
10. Constant Montpellier- Better on the turf. Just a little better than average when he has the horse. Was better on the dirt track.
11.Garry Cruise- Does well on limited live mounts.
12.Jono Jones- Better on the turf. Just a passenger on the dirt.
13.Justin Stein- Could easily be in the top 8 with a little more experience.
14.Eurica Rosa Da Silva- Doesn't move a horse up, but doesn't move one down either. Too aggresive a style for the Poly.
15.Corey Fraser- Could make better decisions during the race. Needs to get Tiller's confidence back.
16.Slade Callaghan- Average jockey who doesn't get many live mounts.
17.Jerry Olguin- Not overly confident when he is on a selection, which is a rare event.
18.Richard Dos Ramos- Rides like he is trying to get third but will take the win. Another jockey who should thank his agent, oh and Attfield.
19.Jerry Baird- Having a better than average year so far. It is early still. Knows where the rail is, which is a plus on the Poly, usually.
20.Steven Bahen- Pretty much a passenger.
21.Ray Sabourin- Doesn't get many mounts these days. His better days are behind him.
22.Robert Landry- Gets some OK mounts, but doesn't move them up at all.
23.Dino Luciani- Isn't riding much anymore. Not sure if it is his choice or the choice of trainers. He is very good when given a good horse on the lawn.
24.Jack Lauzon- OK going short. Kinghaven days are way way gone.
25.Stephanie Fedora- When she is on a figure horse, she isn't all that bad.
26.Catherine O'Brien- Improving a bit. Still a shaky bet. Gets better mounts than Fedora so far.
27.Na Somsanith- Can't remember the last time he was on a real live one.
28.Matt Moore- Take away Arden Belle and what do you have? Too one dimensional.
29.David Garcia- Below average so far.
30.Rui Pimental- Not sure if he is a Woodbine, Fort Erie, or a Kingston jockey.
31.Julia Brimo- Probably should move her tack to the Fort.
32.Simon Husbands- What I said about his brother, only the opposite.
33.Anthony Stephen- Not liking him at all yet.
34.Shane Ellis- If he is one of your top selections, sit out the race.

REMEMBER, IF YOU NEED TO BET WOODBINE, BET WITH A REBATE SHOP. WEG DOESN'T GIVE A RATS ASS ABOUT THEIR CUSTOMERS, THE BETTORS. THEY NEED TO BE PUNISHED FOR THAT. MAYBE THEY WILL START TO CARE IF PUNISHED.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

what about Dino

Anonymous said...

I had him written down, and then somehow forgot to include him.
OK, I added him now. He had a nice win today on a horse that figured to win.

Anonymous said...

Why would you bother wasting time doing this? Do you get pleasure from hurting people, that is all you are doing. People at the top will be happy and all the others will be offended. What is your claim to fame?

Anonymous said...

Anon, I did it because I felt like doing it. I'm also a member of the Thoroughbred Bloggers Alliance and since blogging is all about opinion, I decided to give mine.
Why do people rate football teams or football players or hockey players? Do the Equibase jockey stats also offend jockeys too? Maybe Equibase shouldn't publish them.
I don't get any pleasure out of hurting anyone either. But damn if I'm going to walk on eggshells about what I will put on this blog.
Lets see, maybe I should take out the article link to the Baze whipping incident. I might hurt his feelings.

Like I said, maybe the jockeys on the bottom of the list have some work to do to get better. Maybe they should take this as a positive instead of letting their egos get in the way of criticism.

Anonymous said...

You're obviously not in a position where anyone can publicly criticize you and affect your career.
Equibase stats are completely irrelevant to your personal ranking, they publish statistical facts not obnoxious slanders at innocent people trying to make a living.
Russel Baze incident has no relevance to jocks rankings either. If you're going to do something like this, you should be more professional and at least have a reasonable argument when you reply.
Maybe the jocks on the bottom of the list can't get better but are trying as hard as they can. That may be good enough for them and they don't need someone's opinion hurting them any further.

Anonymous said...

Anon, I used statistics as a guide in some cases, so stats are very relevant to my list.
Your opinion is that the Russell Baze incident has no relevance on my list, my opinion is that it does. How dare you voice your opinion. Are you a hypocrite?
What you call slanders, I call opinion.
If I ranked football running backs, would you be whining about what I had to say about the bottom running backs?
You are telling me what I shouldn't do. How about this, you shouldn't be telling me what to do. (Actually, I don't mind because I can take criticism, though I obviously don't agree with you at all).
If I lose money betting on certain jockeys, am I not allowed to voice an opinion about the jockeys or the rides they give? Or are you gonna say that if I'm stupid enough to bet on a bottom jockey, I deserve what I get. But whatever I do, don't rant about it.

There are sites on the internet that rate doctors. Is that OK with you? Or should a bad doctor not have his career hurt by comments that are made in a public forum?

I doubt my list will hurt anyones careers. I get around 60 hits a day her. If it does hurt a career, it wasn't intentional.

Much of the private feedback I got on this list by gamblers and horsemen has been very positive. I'm just repeating the obvious. And many people I know may refer to this list as a betting tool.

If you want to rank my blog as the worst blog ever. Go ahead.

And yes, I've been in positions where my performance has been open to public opinion. If you don't want such a job, work for the government, but not as a politician.

Anonymous said...

There are jockey's and rider's im sure a real horseman or horse player can tell them apart.

Unknown said...

what do you think of woodbine jockey skye chernetz