Hunger Season For Jockeys

It is the same jockeys on the good horses this time of year. Trainers and owners are all looking for that edge that will take their horses to the starting gate on the first Saturday of May. One doesn't have to look very far to see this practice. Just take a look  at the Arkansas Derby field and you will find new riders on horses that didn't run bad in their last start. A perfect example of let me get the best on my horse is Tapiture. Trainer Steve Asmussen gave a big break to a young and talented Ricardo Santana Jr last season during the Oaklawn Park meet. The young rider took his chance and showed everyone who looked why he will be one of the best in the game. He won the jockey title and announced his arrival at Churchill Downs and Saratoga. He rode Tapiture in his first six starts and  always tried on the horse. It took four starts for Tapiture to break his maiden, and when he did, he did it in style by winning the Kentucky Juvenile cup at Churchill. The win solidified what everyone had thought and hope with the horse. A horse with immense talent and power. Tapiture took a break from that win in November, and promptly came back to win the Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn. The win in the Southwest was so dominating and powerful it had mouths salivating about the possibilities. He came back in the Rebel and was beaten a head by  Hoppertunity, who is a very good horse. There was some contact in the running of the Rebel that may have prevented Tapiture from fully striding out like he did in the Southwest. That lost immediately prompted Asmussen to make a change to  Joel Rosario, who also rode in the Southwest and Rebel. He rode Strong Mandate in both races and couldn't get the horse to the wire in first.

What did Santana do other than haven't ridden in the Kentucky Derby before. The young jock showed his talent and horse IQ all year round, but for potentially the biggest chance of his life he is removed for a jockey who couldn't beat him with Strong Mandate. If one was to look at the entries for this Saturday at Oaklawn you will  see that Santana Jr is named on all of Asmussen other horses. Including horses running in minor stake races but for the big bonanza he is not welcomed. Joel Rosario is one of the best jockeys in the game. He has an ability to get run out of horses that wouldn't normally run for other jockeys. There are some jockeys who are just ahead of the game than others. I have watched countless races over the years and I have seen  terrible rides given on horses. Not all jockeys are cut from the same cloth, but a talent is a talent, and Ricardo Santana Jr is a talent with an upside that will have trainers and owners clamoring for the young star in the future.

Another horse making a jockey switch is Conquest Titan who previously was ridden by Shaun Bridgmohan. Conquest Titan revamped his running style in an allowance race at Churchill downs. Bridgmohan took him back and made one run and the win was dominating. The horse he beat in that race, General A Rod, had  a good showing down at Gulfstream Park this season. Conquest Titan started his season by finishing second to Cairo Prince in the Holy Bull ,which was the strongest prep race of the derby season. From that race, Wicked Strong came back to win the Wood Memorial, Intense Holiday won the Risen Star and finished second in Louisiana Derby. Coup De grace came back and won the Bay Shore at Aqueduct. Conquest Titan then took his running style down to Tampa Bay and finished a disappointing fourth. Everyone was quiet about the horse and his performance after the race and then came the change to Calvin Borel. What did Bridgmohan do wrong to lose the ride on the horse? Unlike Ricardo Santana Jr who is a young pup in jockey years, Bridgmohan has established himself over the years and his credentials speak volumes. He has won numerous jockeys titles and grade ones. Calvin Borel credential is also very stellar and I understand his knack for winning the Kentucky Derby, but we are always looking at horses form as a predictor of how they will compete in races. Calvin Borel's form this season wouldn't allow me to bet on him if the game was about betting on jockeys. Great horses will get a sub par jockey to the wire first. I was watching a race yesterday at Aqueduct and the young jock made a move with her horse turning for home and I thought she had it locked away, but she got nailed at the wire. The more I looked at that race I saw how much run another jockey could've gotten out of that horse. The ride wasn't great, and the jockey who nailed her at the wire was just a good finisher. Maybe in time the young jock will learn to finish what she started.

In the next few weeks jockeys will be bouncing all over the place trying to find the right mount for the derby. Mike Smith has an interesting choice to make and he will probably sit on his decision until the very last minute. Gary Stevens who rode Candy Boy and his piloting Bayern this Saturday will also have a choice. He may not even end up on any of those horses for the derby. The jockey game is a fickle business and there are only so many great horses. Everyone is looking for that great horse to propel them to elite status. Jockeys like Johnny Velasquez, Mike Smith and Gary Stevens no longer have anything to prove. Their elite status was garnered over years by winning grade ones, but someone took a shot with these young jocks. Whether its Mott giving a leg up to Mike Smith when he was strolling around New York tracks, or a horse like DA Hoss putting Johnny Velasquez on the map. All jockeys  need that one person or horse to get them to that place. Rafael Santana Jr will get there. Just watch the kid ride and you will enjoy his talent. Shaun Bridgmohan status was cemented on various  rides over the years. Winning six races  a day multiple times, and doing it as an apprentice. Winning the eclipse award for best young apprentice and last Saturday produced a grade one win on Room Service down at Keeneland.

This is the hunger season for jockeys and horse racing is a game that isn't for the weak of heart if you are a jockey.