How was there no inquiry for 2nd?

[cj]

At the very least there should have been an inquiry, and after seeing the full head-on of the stretch run, an easy DQ. The stewarding in this country is abysmal.

[Parkview_Pirate]

Good point. Didn't follow the post race chatter too closely, but didn't hear any mention of the bumping except from the race call "shoulder to shoulder". The head on clearly shows the bumping and herding the enough to affect the nose difference in outcome.

Like you wrote, should have at least been an inquiry. Even one of the analysts at Sha Tin just mentioned that the 2nd and 3rd place horses bumped and might have had the stirrups hung up between them.

My first guess is that because the winner wasn't affected, and the shadow of the 2019 Maximum Security DQ looming large, they let the finish stand. Or, as Still Riled Up often used to say, "they paid the winners!"

[JustRalph]

Didn’t the 11 jock drop his whip?

[lamboguy]

he should have come down, but better for us, he will pay more when he comes back and wins his next race.. that horse looked great to me

[burnsy]

It was forcing and herding at its finest . But like most derbies there is some of that involved . I’m not positive cause I only saw it once yesterday but part of the reason that Forever Young I think loses the whip is because he’s being crowded . I gotta see it again but that was my first impression. I don’t know how people think that horse looked great because he has this habit in many races . If they straighten him out he’s probably undefeated. But Forever Young definitely took the worst of that entire deal to lose so closely. He literally lost second on the bob. And they said nothing . Of course , the one time they did do some inquiries…… I lost a lot . That’s why I bitched about it back then because they never usually say a thing ….. like yesterday. But you had people saying it was a “good call” years ago. The inconsistency is pathetic. If you’re going to pull out the rules one year , you have to do it every year . And of course Forever Young pushed back a little , he’s being pressed on for the entire stretch drive . I mean, I’m not bitching entirely because they didn’t take him down. The horse I didn’t have was Mystic Dan but to say absolutely nothing . No blink , no inquiry? Cmon . Agree with CJ , the officiating in this sport is clueless and has no discernible pattern . Joke .

[classhandicapper]

I agree that there should have been an inquiry and DQ, but it doesn’t surprise me that there wasn’t one. The Derby has always been like the NBA playoffs. They allow for more physicality in the Derby than other races. They don’t want to put a subjective decision into the hands of stewards in the biggest race of the year. That’s “part” of what made the DQ of Maximum Security so controversial at the time.

What’s kind of a shame is that the rider of Forever Young may have been less familiar with our procedures and standards for claiming foul or there may have even been a communication issue where he wanted to but didn’t communicate it. IF that’s the case, that’s a shame.

[bisket]

CJ I saw your video Friday evening and I hope you put a winning wager on Mystik Dan. I think the winning horse could have easily been Forever Young. I really think racing needs change the "officiating" of races. Baseball and Football have taken steps to make their games better officiated and safer. I just feel like racing doesn't even attempt to get things right. Racing is still calling fouls like it's the 1950's

[wiretowire68]

Are you guys saying Forever Young was interfered with by Sierra Leone or the other way around? From the front on, it was a classic case of two horses coming together and herding and competing, it cost both horses the possibility of a victory. It goes back to the Bluegrass, the greenness he seems to have a running style of wanting to really lug in to his left once he gets into open ground.

Once they did come together Forever Young pushed back with his left because it is a natural thing for them to do when they are running hard with each other. That would have been one heck of an interesting decision to be made if Mystik Dan had not one. And from my perspective, as usual the Japanese are very honorable in not putting in an objection.

I did mention in another post that I wonder if there will be blinkers used to correct this and I know Blinkers are about focus and to stop that constant looking around. I said it before and I will say it again, no disrespect to T. Gaffalione, I would have Irad on this horse.

[PhantomOnTour]

Sure, they came together and exchanged some 'competitive bumps', but that left handed shove by Gaffalione at the wire deserved scrutiny.
The margin between them was a whisker.

[classhandicapper]

I only watched the head-on a couple of time but I thought the initial bump may have been caused by Forever Young coming out a bit. It was at least close. Then the rest of it was Sierra Leone doing his usual lugging in through the stretch.

I'm also not really sure who got the worst of it.

Forever Young had the jump on him. Sierra Leone was moving better to pull even when the incident started. Then he started lugging in and couldn't be whipped.

[cj]

I don't see Forever Young ever come out even an inch. One time when slammed his back end goes out. Maybe that gives the illusion he was coming out.

[classhandicapper]

Originally Posted by cj

I don't see Forever Young ever come out even an inch. One time when slammed his back end goes out. Maybe that gives the illusion he was coming out.

I watched it again. I think he came out a hair and SE came in a little more than that. They bumped and then all hell broke loose.

[MJC922]

I don't know what that work accomplished with this horse pinned to the rail and the kid working on the other horse. If I'm involved as an owner I'm suggesting working this horse in the 8 path outside of another horse and actually try to teach him to run a straight course down the stretch because that's where he's going to be every race anyway widest of all not on the rail. smh This business with running head cocked and cutting across the field in the stretch every race, you'd think world class trainers would be trying to remedy the situation. Certainly Chad did a great job training the horse but still... if I'm owning he's hearing it from me today. Cost the horse the race. Oh well. Aside from that I'm not sure the Japanese horse under that first left handed strike wasn't moving out a step for the initial contact, after that yes there's a lot of back and forth but in the Derby I think you have to be more lenient due the field size and the relative inexperience of the horses. Even the 3 is not without fault IMO taking a left turn out of the gate to crowd the 1 out of every chance to send to the front, changed the pace of the race from potentially fast to more neutral IMO and one less horse tiring on the rail which the 3 ended up pin-balling his way through at the top of the stretch. I suspect behind the scenes there was probably some scrutiny for a lot of what we all can see but they didn't post any inquiry, I'm ok with it in this case.

[cj]

There is no back and forth. One horse is trying to run straight, the other is bearing in 10 paths.

[MJC922]

Originally Posted by cj

There is no back and forth. One horse is trying to run straight, the other is bearing in 10 paths.

If you've done your homework and you place yourself there, don't you know by now what's coming?