Jockeys must learn quickly in big races or they will find themselves out of work. Because races like the Kentucky Derby and the Breeders’ Cup are just yearly events, jockeys must learn quickly or they lose business. Just like in all sports, experience is imperative on the big stage and if riders are not quick to pick up things, they are in big trouble.
Churchill Downs is a unique track and jockeys must learn quickly how to negotiate that track or they move to minor circuits. There will be some inexperienced riders in this year’s Derby and they will try to get down to Churchill early and get a few races under their belts before Derby Day.
Before we get into the 2017 crew of inexperienced jockeys, let’s glance at the past.
Eddie Delahoussaye is one of the best money riders of all time and he had some great success in the Kentucky Derby. To this day he remembers his first Kentucky Derby, although he’d like to forget it. Anxious as a groom on the first night of his honeymoon, Delahoussaye finished 13th in a field of 15 aboard a 24-1 shot named Honey Mark. Beaten nearly 30 lengths by Foolish Pleasure, Delahoussaye learned a valuable lesson: ride the race like it’s a $10,000 claimer.
It paid off, because Delahoussaye was second in his next Derby, beaten less than a length by Pleasant Colony when he rode 34-1 shot Woodchopper in 1981.
The next two years, Delahoussaye became one of only a handful of jockeys to take the race back-to-back when he won in 1982 on Gato Del Sol and in 1983 aboard Sunny’s Halo.
That was Delahoussaye’s last success in the Kentucky Derby but he was also close in a number of other events. He was third in 1988 with Risen Star, second in 1994 with Strodes Creek and third in 2002 with Perfect Drift.
Retired since January of 2003 after suffering neck and head injuries in a spill at Del Mar on Aug. 30, 2002, Eddie D. has two words of advice to riders competing in the Triple Crown: “stay cool.”
Delahoussaye: “Jockeys can get nervous before the Derby because it carries more historical significance than any other race and every jock wants to win it. The roar of the crowd and the playing of ‘My Old Kentucky Home’ creates pressure riders never experienced and they just lose it. The ones who don’t, hopefully, their horses run well. After I rode my first Derby I made up my mind that the next time it was going to be like an ordinary race. That’s the thought a rider should put in his head before the Classic races. Relax and hope your horse runs his race. That way you ride better. You can’t make the moves in the showcase events that you do in ordinary races if you put pressure on yourself. You think you can, but you can’t. You’ve got to ride it cool, let the horse do the running and stay out of trouble.”
Jockeys must learn quickly to take care of their horses in the Kentucky Derby too. Last year Joel Rosario, who was riding in the Derby for the seventh time, took care of his mount Shagaf. Rosario won the Kentucky Derby in 2013 coming from far back with Orb. Last year, it didn’t work out well, Rosario: “I was in a good position in the first turn and on the backside but when I passed the three-eighths pole he was getting a little weak, a little tired. Turning for home, I just had to pull him up because he was so tired. After he ran so far he just kind of gave it up and slowed down. Everyone was kind of passing me and I just had to pull him up.”
On May 6, Robby Albarado will be riding in the Kentucky Derby for the 15th time. He has never won the race. He has been in the money a few times, but that was as close as he has come.
If anybody has figured out that jockeys must learn quickly, it’s Jose Ortiz. He is one of the best pilots on the East Coast and he has the confidence of many top trainers. Ortiz will be aboard Tapwrit in this year’s Kentucky Derby. Trained by Todd Pletcher, Tapwrit seemed to be on the improve but threw in a clinker when wide in the Blue Grass Stakes on April 8. Ortiz will need a lot of luck and his mount figures to be in the 30-1 category.
Flavien Prat is one of the best, if not the best, rider on the West Coast right now. He will be making his first appearance in the Kentucky Derby after running second in the Santa Anita Derby with Battle of Midway. This runner has tactical speed and is in the good hands of trainer Jerry Hollendorfer. For Prat, this will be a surreal experience for him and how he adapts will speak volumes.
As the Triple Crown trail evolves, it will not get any easier for jockeys.
The Belmont Stakes is a bit different than the Kentucky Derby because unless you ride regularly at the mile and a half track, the distance can be very tricky.
Many riders over the years have put their charge into a drive far to soon and lived to be scorned the rest of their lives.
The first name that comes to mind in that realm is Ron Franklin. He rode Spectacular Bid to victory in the first two legs of the Triple Crown in 1979. He asked his equine superstar for speed too early in the Belmont Stakes only to wilt and succumb late when passed by Coastal.
Another is Kent Desormeaux. He opened up a four-length lead at the top of the lane Belmont Day in 1998 with Real Quiet, only to miss by a nostril to Victory Gallop.
The lesson is not to dismiss the jockey factor in the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness or when they go a mile and a half in the Belmont Stakes.
