a thought

[Scav]

need to try the pavlov dog thing that she gets a peppermint every time she switchs leads when asked. We are going to need a real agile jockey that can reach over and feed her during the race

[Riot]

Originally Posted by Scav

need to try the pavlov dog thing that she gets a peppermint every time she switchs leads when asked. We are going to need a real agile jockey that can reach over and feed her during the race

I can't recall, was it Affirmed or Alydar that would never switch leads coming down the stretch?

[Riot]

Found this (and, it was Alydar who would switch leads in the morning, and not during the race):

"McCarron recalled the Triple Crown battles between Affirmed and Alydar in 1978. "I can't help but think that if Alydar had changed leads in any one of those races, he might have had a little better chance of getting by Affirmed," said McCarron, who won the 1987 Kentucky Derby and Preakness aboard Alydar's son Alysheba."

"Not every horse needs a lead change to win, however. Arazi burst into prominence by winning the 1991 Breeders' Cup Juvenile and never switched leads in the stretch. Point Given in this year's Preakness switched leads close to the wire, but had already put away the rest of the field.

McCarron rides a talented filly for trainer Ron McAnally, Janis Whitman's Beautiful Noise, who also doesn't always need to switch leads. "She's done something that in 27 years of riding I never had a horse be able to do," McCarron said. "Twice she has run 71/2 furlongs on her left lead and won. She's very, very stubborn about changing leads. She's done it her whole life." The jockey has learned not to push the filly to change leads. "I can interrupt her momentum by fighting with her," he said."