tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8560898823512627114.post7102873664344351168..comments2024-02-01T00:37:24.768-05:00Comments on PTP: Six Thoughts on the Excellent TDN Whipping SeriesPull the Pockethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05082676049275768769noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8560898823512627114.post-57221071372143290192015-05-23T16:09:26.934-04:002015-05-23T16:09:26.934-04:00The whip debate has been going on for a long time....The whip debate has been going on for a long time. I don't have total recall like my longtime friend Eddie Burgart at Los Alamitos Race Course. I do remember issues of the whip. The first that comes to mind would be the late Ismael "Milo" Valenzuela whose use of the crop would leave welts. Nobody, however, could deny the end result this great jockey got. In 1958 I covered racing for the Pasadena Independent. Jack Westrope had a reputation for being a good whip rider. I was sitting in the Hollywood Park pressbox on June 19,1958 when Westrope could not stop a filly named Well Away from crashing into the inside rail midway through the stretch. Most riders said if Jackie couldn't stop a horse from doing such a thing, then nobody could. He died as a result of that incident. Not many years ago I wrote a column on the pages of www.pricehorsecentral.com titled: "Osterman's 'Sick of The Whip' Column Stirs Debate; Former Trainer-Gallop Boy Rose Makes His Case. "Yes, there are a minority of horses that resent the whip," Rose began, "bjut he(Osterman) is clueless about those that actually reach their full potential through the use of the whip. My late friend Osterman was critical of whip use by jockeys. There are many who agree with his stance. Rose worked for famed Sunny "Jim Fitzsimmons and R.L. "Bob" Wheeler. "I'll go no further than to name the 1988 Breeders Cup winner at Churchill Downs," said Rose, who went on to train in California on his own. "The horse's name was Great Communicator, with Ray Sibille up. That horse wouldn't have been worth a dime if Ray didn't stay after him the final three-quarters of a mile, with his stick. I've known, and been aboard many, many of them that only extend themselves through the use of the whip. Of course, when a horse is spent, and has no chance of saving a part mutuel payoff position, the whip should not be used excessively, as there is no reasoning behind that. The key is for the riders and trainers to learn their individual horses and realize every detail that will bring out the best performances in each. I inherited a filly named Celery from northern California that never ran a jump up there in her races. I freshened her, and when the time came to breeze her 5/8ths before I ran her, I was on her myself. She went every eighth in 12.0 for the half-mile, and I drew my whip and showed it to her with intentions of tapping her with it. She pinned her ears and damn near propped! Ahah!......I had found the key to what soon was to be a win in a straight maiden rce at Santa Anita and paid $97. I selected a Panamanian jock that was here from New York, where I had witnessed what a strong hand-rider he was. His name was Angel Santiago, and he had attended the jockey school in his homeland that sent us so many outstanding handriders. I informed him that I didn't want him to show her the whip(I could never take a jockey's whip away from them), so I allowed him to carry it in case of emergency." Osterman mentioned the fact Trevor Denman has advocated banning the whip for a long time. Like I said, there are those against whip use, and those like Rose who make a good argument for proper use of the bat.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09551768594570005203noreply@blogger.com