Quote Originally Posted by Dot View Post
And your point is Diablo? We all know Chris Alford and the Emma Stewart stables record, it includes many short priced, first up going hard early, holding the lead, or in the middle stages to get the lead, running fast time and winning often by open lengths. Yet when one gets beaten by likely a better horse on the day and perhaps a better drive you come out with a thread titled Chris Alford and "does Chris Alford think he's God". Maybe you should have titled your post Matty Craven "gee looks like he had the fitter horse and got the better of Alford in the last at Hamilton today" or do you expect Alford to have a 100% strike rate!

You didn't ask if a junior driver would be grilled you said they would be. You said strike rate doesn't matter but that Alfords strike rate might be a little higher if he showed better judgement. One race where maybe he could have done things differently and his strike rate isn't good enough for you? No doubt he expected a challenge for the lead, does anyone expect that he should have known that challenge would result in a 25.9 quarter before it was run? If Alford and Craven had persisted at that speed, or one and a junior, or two juniors beyond the quarter then they would have been called in, but they wernt juniors and they weren't called in. Maybe the result would be different if he handed up, maybe it wouldn't but how do you know better then the driver and the stable that a horse that has won 5 times leading will be better if it takes a sit? Time will tell if he has a case to answer, I'd say it already has, the stewards haven't queried the drive, and I don't expect the Stewart stable will be sacking him any time soon.

Are you talking through your pocket Diablo, I haven't seen you wrap a winning Alford drive, just this one where he hasn't won, didn't you get the memo "be kind to your driver" ?

I don't punt so no chance I'm talking through my pocket, but my last word on this: good on you Matty Craven, you've got your team flying!
Previous record is totally irrelevant. That doesn't excuse bad judgement or a brain explosion. There is no need for me to rap any C Alford drive. If you want to give the guy a rap then start your own thread The point is about his drive in this particular race. Punters make this sport go around and when they see very short priced favourites continuously get rolled and see ill judged tactics etc, they tend to think there is something untoward going on and they stay away. I don't talk through my pocket. I see enough bad drives and bewildering results to know that's part of this sport and I also read about the poor excuses offered up to Stewards which they swallow and expect punters to accept.