Jockeys are forced to make quick decisions during a race, though sometimes the biggest and most difficult decision they face is just before a big race.

As in, what horse to ride.

Often the leading jockeys can pick and choose the horse they want to ride for a major race such as the 157th running of Queen’s Plate at Woodbine on July 3, and that decision can often be a difficult one. Sometimes the decision is made for them by a trainer or owner, but often it’s up to the jock to decide one great horse over another.

Perhaps the most memorable example of a jockey having the choice of two great horses to ride in the Queen’s Plate came in 2003 when six-time Sovereign Award winning jockey Todd Kabel had to choose between Wando or Mobil, both stakes-winning three-year-olds trained by Mike Keogh and owned by Gus Schickedanz.

Kabel had ridden both prior to the Plate and ultimately chose to ride Mobil in the Plate, leaving Wando for Patrick Husbands.

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