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General Category => Harness Racing => Topic started by: Grandstand Handicapper on October 14, 2024, 02:15:20 PM
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drive you ever saw?
Now, think about it. Greatest drive? Does that mean the boldest move you ever saw a driver make? Does that mean the horse had to win? A great, bold move, if it didn't work out----perhaps some would then call it the "dumbest" move they ever saw! LOL. A driver can make a great, bold move, one that takes real balls.....but the horse has to deliver! So how do we rate that?
I am going to hold off on giving mine, but I will say that I will never forget the one I am thinking of. I am friends with a lot of drivers. I've talked to them, listened, learned, ask questions, and so on. I've heard a lot first-hand as to what drivers say, think, why they do or did what they do or did, and so on. But I saw something that will forever stand out in my mind.
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Sometimes what people refer to as a great drive was pure luck like Scott Zeron winning the Hambo 2 years ago without ever leaving the rail/pylons. Sometimes a so-called great drive is the result of a bad drive by another driver.
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Sometimes what people refer to as a great drive was pure luck like Scott Zeron winning the Hambo 2 years ago without ever leaving the rail/pylons. Sometimes a so-called great drive is the result of a bad drive by another driver.
Absolutely. Luck certainly can have a role!
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One I loved was Morrill Jr. riding the rail with Holborn Hanover. He won the Meadowlands Pace at a big price. Saving ground was the key...because he was not the best horse.
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The 2 boldest moves that came right to my mind, one of them worked out.. the other didn't. The dumb one has to be MacDonell on SBSW in the Meadowlands Pace. The other which did work out but was a bad drive was the LBJ that Campbell drove Life Sign.. trying to go for the lead when he knew how well Riyadh could leave and Presidential Ball closing that hole.. then backing off to 4th and then almost immediately pulling back out. Life Sign bailed out Campbell on that day.
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Mike LaChance on BJ Scoot 1988 Jug. Had to hang Albert Albert the whole mile with a 'FOUR' horse Lou Guida
entry in behind..53.4 to the half. Our boy Roger called it 'UNHEARD OF' at the time. Classic Mikey. No whipping rules then. tmbz1
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Mike LaChance on BJ Scoot 1988 Jug. Had to hang Albert Albert the whole mile with a 'FOUR' horse Lou Guida
entry in behind..53.4 to the half. Our boy Roger called it 'UNHEARD OF' at the time. Classic Mikey. No whipping rules then. tmbz1
I remember that race well Bitter. Hung Chris Boring out to dry.
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Simon allard when doves cry in the hambo Oaks
No one else 2 moves there
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Just watched the replay. Mikey never raised the whip in the stretch. Makes it an even better drive for my money. tmbz1
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One I loved was Morrill Jr. riding the rail with Holborn Hanover. He won the Meadowlands Pace at a big price. Saving ground was the key...because he was not the best horse.
I said "smart" drive, and Jimmy said it was smart because it worked out, but more lucky. LOL.
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The 2 boldest moves that came right to my mind, one of them worked out.. the other didn't. The dumb one has to be MacDonell on SBSW in the Meadowlands Pace. The other which did work out but was a bad drive was the LBJ that Campbell drove Life Sign.. trying to go for the lead when he knew how well Riyadh could leave and Presidential Ball closing that hole.. then backing off to 4th and then almost immediately pulling back out. Life Sign bailed out Campbell on that day.
Campbell had little to no choice once he knew Morrill wasn't going to let him go. Backing off, and then going first up again, no choice. But I think Campbell still drove very smart when first up. He made sure Life Sign could see Riyadh he made sure he pressured him, but didn't go head to head, just making sure Morrill couldn't back down the pace. In the stretch he had to make sure he didn't give Morrill too much room and hope he could get the jump on Jackie Mo in the pocket. But, boy, did Life Sign hit another gear getting up.
All that aside.....It was an absolutely incredible, super-equine performance. Amazing performance.
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There are moments in life when time stands still.
When things transpire regardless of your will.
Like sliding on ice when your brakes have locked,
Or the viewing of the steps, when your child first walked.
A similar thing happened that year at Delaware.
Lifesign had a day to which no-one can compare.
He cruised in the elim', as Campbell put a move on Jack.
But did he have the stamina, for the second heat, to come back?
Yes he had staved off a top challenger when he beat Presidential Ball,
But Riyadh had the rail in the final and was sure to get the first call.
Still Campbell had no choice, he had to try and leave.
For him, Riyadh had one answer, ask and you shall receive.
Yes Campbell soon found out that he'd have to take a seat,
And when he went first over, in my mind, he was beat.
The third quarter went in twenty seven and four, and Lifesign was still there,
Though keeping 'The Ball' locked in had become my only care.
But that day will live on in my mind and in Jug history go down,
As the day Lifesign wouldn't quit, and Riyadh lost the triple crown.
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There are moments in life when time stands still.
When things transpire regardless of your will.
Like sliding on ice when your brakes have locked,
Or the viewing of the steps, when your child first walked.
A similar thing happened that year at Delaware.
Lifesign had a day to which no-one can compare.
He cruised in the elim', as Campbell put a move on Jack.
But did he have the stamina, for the second heat, to come back?
Yes he had staved off a top challenger when he beat Presidential Ball,
But Riyadh had the rail in the final and was sure to get the first call.
Still Campbell had no choice, he had to try and leave.
For him, Riyadh had one answer, ask and you shall receive.
Yes Campbell soon found out that he'd have to take a seat,
And when he went first over, in my mind, he was beat.
The third quarter went in twenty seven and four, and Lifesign was still there,
Though keeping 'The Ball' locked in had become my only care.
But that day will live on in my mind and in Jug history go down,
As the day Lifesign wouldn't quit, and Riyadh lost the triple crown.
tmbz1
Thanks for posting this!
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You're welcome. Glad you liked it. ;D
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There are moments in life when time stands still.
When things transpire regardless of your will.
Like sliding on ice when your brakes have locked,
Or the viewing of the steps, when your child first walked.
A similar thing happened that year at Delaware.
Lifesign had a day to which no-one can compare.
He cruised in the elim', as Campbell put a move on Jack.
But did he have the stamina, for the second heat, to come back?
Yes he had staved off a top challenger when he beat Presidential Ball,
But Riyadh had the rail in the final and was sure to get the first call.
Still Campbell had no choice, he had to try and leave.
For him, Riyadh had one answer, ask and you shall receive.
Yes Campbell soon found out that he'd have to take a seat,
And when he went first over, in my mind, he was beat.
The third quarter went in twenty seven and four, and Lifesign was still there,
Though keeping 'The Ball' locked in had become my only care.
But that day will live on in my mind and in Jug history go down,
As the day Lifesign wouldn't quit, and Riyadh lost the triple crown.
Great post bitter.. the only reason I say it was a a bad drive which Campbell even admitted was he should of known that there was no way he was getting to the top at the start. It turned to a great drive like Grandstand said when he didn't try to get by when he had to pull first over so quickly. That 3 year old crop was so fun to watch. So much talent.. drivers and horses.
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A few more posts.....and I am going to post the boldest, the bravest, and the biggest pair of balls move I've ever seen a driver ever make!
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Here is another that popped into my mind.. Stig Johansson sitting dead last in the international trot at Yonkers for almost one mile and then he made the move and Peace Corps just took off... and he timed the move perfectly to win at the wire. It was a world record at the time. I loved that horse so much.. her gait and the way she sticks her neck out and stretching for every inch. To me that is a ballsy move.. sitting that far back with the best horse and timing it perfectly.
https://youtu.be/Jh1_hA_Kfrw?si=Ggh-sP3UgrB69RvT
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Here is another that popped into my mind.. Stig Johansson sitting dead last in the international trot at Yonkers for almost one mile and then he made the move and Peace Corps just took off... and he timed the move perfectly to win at the wire. It was a world record at the time. I loved that horse so much.. her gait and the way she sticks her neck out and stretching for every inch. To me that is a ballsy move.. sitting that far back with the best horse and timing it perfectly.
https://youtu.be/Jh1_hA_Kfrw?si=Ggh-sP3UgrB69RvT
Absolutely! While he knew who and what he was sitting behind, the timing was to say the least, perfect! I guess we wouldn't be saying that if he finished second, LOL. Stig H was one of the greatest horsemen of all time.
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Ron pierce single handidly beat Sbsw in the pace.
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Ron pierce single handidly beat Sbsw in the pace.
Wrong! SBSW's driver got him beat. Bonehead drive. Should have let things settle and then brushed. He would've won easy. Expected to be given the lead and Pierce told him not so fast. tmbz1
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Funny coincidence with the BJ Scoot-Albert Albert combination...Fal con Almahurst was BJScoot's sire
Abercrombie was Albert Albert's sire and oddly enough Falcon Almahurst [Billy Haughton] hung Abercrombie
[Glen Garnsey] in 1978 Jug just like the other two, though not the whole mile like Albert Albert. tmbz1
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Ron pierce single handidly beat Sbsw in the pace.
Yannick was a huge factor. Screwed the race up for SBSW. Pierce had the right horse at the right place at the right time. Always felt this race was a set-up to take down the Beach. Art Official wasn't much of a success at stud.
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So, I've seen some incredibly bold, brave, and great moves by drivers----and like I said, if it worked out, they were a genius, knew what they were sitting behind, and so on. If it didn't, they were a moron. LOL.
Regardless, based upon the time, when it happened, perhaps the greatest move any driver has ever-----intentionally-----made was none other than George Sholty driving Sonsam in the Meadowlands Pace! You can't see all of it on the video, but you can see a lot of it. Sonsam had post 10.....spoiler alert, LOL.....he won the Meadowlands Pace, with a world record purse at the time, in a world record (for those of you who only look at teletimers, LOL) time of 1:53.2! George was parked (virtually) the entire mile, and was driving and moving forward from the 1/4 on, and then he had to get arounds horses on top of that, LOL. He was 3 and 4 wide, and Bob Heyden says 5 wide. I was there that night, I saw it. It was incredible.
When George moved Sonsam to get him outside and rolling, closer to the leaders, into contention, it was amazing. I remember Stan Bergstein after the race said that when he saw Sholty move he actually said, "LOOK AT THIS!!!" The amazing part was that Sonsam was going his fastest.....going around horses and around the turn, and passing horses while he was 3 and 4 wide! It was like George was going and it didn't matter what or who was in his way, George was going around them. If they were 3 wide, George was going 4, and if they were 4 wide, George was going 5, LOL. George had so much belief in that colt that night, he drove with balls, and with so much confidence, and what might be overlooked is that Sonsam did it! He got the job done and impressively!
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I didn't see the race myself and from your description the horse had a brutal trip and ran a great race and won. Do you personally think it was a great drive or was the horse that much the best that he overcame a brutal trip? Not really sure a driver's strategy is to be 3 and 4 wide for three quarters of the mile, but if that's his best chance to win from post 10, then you take a shot. A driver can make the right move several times during the same race but still not win. Does the horse have to win for it to be the greatest drive ever? There was a time my horse was given a great drive or was it luck? He passed a few horses on the outside, snuck back to the rail, and several horses in front of him pulled and in early stretch it was like the parting of the Red Sea, he fanned out four wide and blew by the field. Of course, there's definitely luck involved too because he couldn't have known all those other horses were going to pull.
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The 2 boldest moves that came right to my mind, one of them worked out.. the other didn't. The dumb one has to be MacDonell on SBSW in the Meadowlands Pace. The other which did work out but was a bad drive was the LBJ that Campbell drove Life Sign.. trying to go for the lead when he knew how well Riyadh could leave and Presidential Ball closing that hole.. then backing off to 4th and then almost immediately pulling back out. Life Sign bailed out Campbell on that day.
Great race, I watched that one live.
John did make a tactical bad decision by pushing off the car, but his greatness , talent, coolness etc came out and he went to winning plan B.
Talk about bad decision on that race , Jackie Mo is supposed to put Campbell in the pocket past the 1/4 and then move first over and sit rt beside LS the whole mile. LS never sees daylight. It was a 3 horse BR entry and Jackie Mo, Jim M, Pava , Bill R & Monti G still couldn’t out think JC.
2nd to that drive was YG Karl Hambo. YG drove and absolutely perfect Strategic race
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Niatross
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Guttiest performance was, Steve Lobell, Sept 4, 1976, Hambletonian, 4 heats DuQuoin Fair grounds !!!!!! He also won the Yonkers Trot, in the Kentucky Futurity he was beat a head by Soothsayer, 1st heat, and Peter beat him with Quick Pay in the 2 heats, by a head and a neck. Unbelievable day, 1976 Trotter of the year.