California jockeys are opting for Santa Anita and rightfully so as that is where the big money is at year in and year out. They don’t call it the ‘Great Race Place’ for nothing.
For decades California jockeys opted for the Arcadia track for a number of reasons and not just money. Back in the day, there would be a fall meet at a small venue where the danger of injury was more prominent and the leading jockeys never wanted to test those waters.
Clever chauffeur Flavien Prat, who was injured when tossed from a horse recently at Del Mar, has been released from the hospital. He has been ordered not to ride until Santa Anita begins the day after Christmas. When Prat went out, he was leading California jockey at the abbreviated meeting and since he has come from France he has impressed horsemen and bettors.
Jockey Rafael Bejarano, who has been the best rider in Southern California for nearly a decade, continues to recuperate from a soft-tissue injury to his right hand. He is another of the California jockeys on the mend. His ultimate goal is to return at Santa Anita. Obviously, a rider communicates with horses through his hands and guidance of the reins so this is a serious thing. Bejarano has a follow-up appointment with a specialist in early December and with good news he will be okayed to start working horses again.
Sometimes, little injuries to California jockeys can be a blessing in disguise. Unlike major sports, California jockeys and riders around the country work all year around. If they don’t work, they don’t make money. There are no contracts to fall back on and jockeys are basically independent contractors. A little break in working can re-energize the juices and get all eight cylinders pumping.
Bejarano was forced to miss the entire Del Mar meeting. He won the fall-meeting title last year at Del Mar and has won or tied for the jockeys’ title at six summer meets there, including the last five.
Prat and Bejarano are the ‘now’ riders but don’t forget about Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens.
The saddle superstar was contemplating moving his tack to Oaklawn this winter but on further inspection switched gears. Stevens agreed to be the stable rider for Ruis Racing, a growing force in the sport that is based in Southern California.
Stevens, 53, has already retired once but he definitely plans to ride throughout all of 2017. The truth of the matter is that Father Time is undefeated and Stevens he can’t go on forever.
Mick Ruis is a former trainer and he returned to the sport in a big way as an owner after making a substantial amount of money selling his business.
Ruis has purchased a number of well-bred, expensive horses and that is a good thing not only for Stevens but for racing in California.
Ruis already has a top filly in Union Strike, who won the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante this year and ran in the Breeders’ Cup, where she had a rough trip. Union Strike also has a right to have a stellar career. Her sibling Handsome Mike won the Grade 2 Pennsylvania Derby in 2012 on his way to over a million-dollar career. And Union Strike’s winning dam is a sibling to the stakes winner and over $300,000 earner From Away.
Union Strike was originally trained by Mick’s daughter Shelbe but they had a philosophical difference. Mick hired Craig Dollase to take over the training duties and that may prove to be a good hire. Dollase’s father Wally was a very good trainer and Craig was one of the youngest trainers to win a Breeders’ Cup race. His student Reraise took the Breeders’ Cup Sprint in 1998.
The Ruis Stable also owns a spot in the $12-million Pegasus World Cup, but does not yet have a starter for the race. The Pegasus will be run in late January at Gulfstream Park. Ruis is working to fill the void and find a starter and the flexibility for the owners that have rights to the Pegasus Cup will work in his favor. Ruis can enter into a partnership or if the right opportunity presents itself, Ruis could just acquire a horse.
Bettors have to pay attention to these three powerful jockeys at Santa Anita along with a plethora of new young riders.
