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He was still taking a pull while Buick was almost into a full drive.
The guys a Clown and shouldn’t be riding G1 horses.
I need to watch the race again but that was my impression as well, ham.
Unfortunately, elite level sport often comes down to fine margins. Buick got them right and Shoemark didn’t.
Not an absolute shocker but in the context of today’s race it didn’t need to be to make the difference.
Jockey was far too confident imo
He didn’t need to drive him as such but at least give the horse a nudge or two to see what’s happening and then decide if he needs driving earlier or be happy to sit longerGaelic Warrior Gold Cup Winner 2026
I think it was an absolute shocker.
There was a good chance of no pace and a tail wind to make things worse.
A top jockey takes these things into account.He pretty much had a perfect sight of his main rival and yet when that rival went into a drive, Shoemark foolishly remained hard on the bridle.
You can’t give horses like Ruling Court a headstart with a tailwind.
It was an extremely arrogant ride from a jockey who is in absolutely no position to be trying to look stylish.
Gosden gave him the benefit of the doubt many times but now, after costing him maybe his last shot at the Guineas, should definitely give Shoemark the boot.
Lots of pocket talk on various forums about Shoemark. That wasn’t a terrible ride – Buick got first run but it was fractional – yes he was caught on heels just at a key moment and should have been nearer the pace but plenty of other jockeys will make a similar mistake and not get called the worst jockey ever just because they’re not the skint Italian. As for the trainer he’s got form for slagging off jockeys and should remember the Alex Ferguson adage- keep it behind closed doors. If you wanted more pace in the race that’s down to you Johnno- run a pacemaker. Remember what old Sir Henry did with Bullet Train.
On a positive note Ruling Court will go to the Derby and who knows he might have a crack at taking 2 mill off Fred Done. A Triple Crown attempt- now that would be something.The only shocker is the inevitable pile-on of snark and spite GM23. There was nothing of Ruling Court’s class in the Craven. He quickened better than Field Of Gold and won fair and square at a mile. FOG looks like an Eclipse horse and I hope Shoemark keeps the ride.
You got it Moody Man.
There was nothing of Ruling Courts class in the Craven which is why Shoemark shouldn’t have been sitting swinging on the bridle like a fool when Buick was clearly building momentum on his charge before the dip.
Still not convinced FOG would have quickened like some on here seem to think, even if KS had got after him 10 strides sooner.
Shoemark was still taking a slight pull while Buick was going for the race. That’s the part which I find astonishing.
Watch the race back and concentrate on the two jockeys, not the horses.
I missed it but someone told me Barry Geragthty just pretty much said the same on RTE.
I was surprised that Field Of Gold even got as close as he did at the line.
He’s clearly a special miler.
Maybe, but he doesn’t appear to me have a top miler’s acceleration. Still reckon 10f will ultimately prove to be his gig.
Well said GM23.
I was expecting Shoemark to take closer order as the race progressed but instead he just delayed his challenge allowing the other big guns to get first run. As a result, it allowed the Appleby pair (particularly Ruling Court) to acelerate and steal a good 2 length advantage.Fair play to Shoemark in coming out and saying he was too confident on the horse rather than blaming the horse like the tv experts were doing
Gaelic Warrior Gold Cup Winner 2026
Good on him. That was a brave statement to make but I think it is one that people will respect. I hope he keeps the ride and is given the chance to make amends at Royal Ascot.
He has also shown up the racing media and all the so called experts on ITV and RTV. It was perfectly obvious what happened yesterday but it sounds like none of them were prepared to call it.
Mr Davies, late of this parish, was absolutely right when he said the best TV pundit is the mute button.
Fair play to him for that comment and it shows far more stones than any of the TV pundits could ever hope to have.
Just now needs to set the matter straight on the track (assuming that will be at Royal Ascot) and I just hope that he doesn’t make an over correction with his tactics. Ascot has a short enough home straight on the round course that finding the balance between siting back far enough (off a fast pace) but not being too far back (off a slower pace) can be hard to get right.
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