Jockey & Trainer News 2023

[Flanders]

There’s a chicken or egg dynamic that go with these situations. I said a couple of weeks ago that Mikey is rather ordinary riding on dirt. The horses he gets is attributable to this. When Bobby Frankel first came west he was primarily a claiming trainer and he aggressively spotted his horses. He liked top jocks so he rode Pincay, all but exclusively. Frankel won a lot of races and he had a lot to do with Laffit being leading rider. When the Hollywood Park meeting ended in July—prior to 1976–Pincay took his tack to NY for the rest of the year until Santa Anita opened. In 1973, at Del Mar & Oak Tree, Frankel used Steve Valdez and he was leading rider. Valdez had the bug so Frankel rarely used him in a stake race and he’d book Shoemaker if there was no conflict with Whittingham. Pincay wanted good stakes horses to ride and Frankel was light in that area. Rival trainers started using that and leveraged Pincay away from Frankel in the ham & egger races. By 1975, Frankel had the option of using Sandy Hawley and Hawley became leading jock his first full meet. At Del Mar, both Hawley and Pincay went east, so Frankel brought Darrell McHargue in to ride first call for him and he lead the meet. Frankel liked to control things as much as he could. Believe me, so does Baffert. Martin Garcia tired of that control and left. David Flores once had his day as has Victor on and off. Right now, Hernandez is the guy and as long as he responds with, “How high?” or “Which direction?” when Baffert says “Jump!” it’ll remain that way. If Mandella or Shirreffs puts Mikey up on a promising horse—and this has gone on for years—Smith will assess and decide whether they might be better to similar from Baffert. JJ won’t do that, at least not now.

would you just write a damn 10k page book of all your racing knowledge/stories already?? i'd pre order immediately.

Boy, what a nasty comment!

I'm 100% you are misinterpreting what she said. I think she would love to read all of Curtis's stories.

[sweettalk]

There’s a chicken or egg dynamic that go with these situations. I said a couple of weeks ago that Mikey is rather ordinary riding on dirt. The horses he gets is attributable to this. When Bobby Frankel first came west he was primarily a claiming trainer and he aggressively spotted his horses. He liked top jocks so he rode Pincay, all but exclusively. Frankel won a lot of races and he had a lot to do with Laffit being leading rider. When the Hollywood Park meeting ended in July—prior to 1976–Pincay took his tack to NY for the rest of the year until Santa Anita opened. In 1973, at Del Mar & Oak Tree, Frankel used Steve Valdez and he was leading rider. Valdez had the bug so Frankel rarely used him in a stake race and he’d book Shoemaker if there was no conflict with Whittingham. Pincay wanted good stakes horses to ride and Frankel was light in that area. Rival trainers started using that and leveraged Pincay away from Frankel in the ham & egger races. By 1975, Frankel had the option of using Sandy Hawley and Hawley became leading jock his first full meet. At Del Mar, both Hawley and Pincay went east, so Frankel brought Darrell McHargue in to ride first call for him and he lead the meet. Frankel liked to control things as much as he could. Believe me, so does Baffert. Martin Garcia tired of that control and left. David Flores once had his day as has Victor on and off. Right now, Hernandez is the guy and as long as he responds with, “How high?” or “Which direction?” when Baffert says “Jump!” it’ll remain that way. If Mandella or Shirreffs puts Mikey up on a promising horse—and this has gone on for years—Smith will assess and decide whether they might be better to similar from Baffert. JJ won’t do that, at least not now.

would you just write a damn 10k page book of all your racing knowledge/stories already?? i'd pre order immediately.

Boy, what a nasty comment!

...? you definitely misread it.
i WANT all his knowledge, all his stories, in a huge book that i could read. that i have access to all the time, whenever i want. i LOVE reading his posts like this, i would lobby for a "Curtis' Stories" thread if i thought he'd have time to keep it updated regularly.

[Missbeholder]

would you just write a damn 10k page book of all your racing knowledge/stories already?? i'd pre order immediately.

Boy, what a nasty comment!

...? you definitely misread it.
i WANT all his knowledge, all his stories, in a huge book that i could read. that i have access to all the time, whenever i want. i LOVE reading his posts like this, i would lobby for a "Curtis' Stories" thread if i thought he'd have time to keep it updated regularly.

So Sorry! I DID misread it and I apologize! Misinterpretation when communicating online happens all the time, and we always need to be mindful of it. Again, so sorry and I hope both you and Curtis will forgive me!
E

[Squeaky]

Read post on X by Maggie W that Keith Desormeaux is a “ former trainer”- is he retired from training?https://x.com/maggiewolfndale/status/18 ... 46285?s=46

[Flanders]

Read post on X by Maggie W that Keith Desormeaux is a “ former trainer”- is he retired from training?https://x.com/maggiewolfndale/status/18 ... 46285?s=46

No, I can see how it reads like that but Keith is the former trainer of Surveillance.

[Squeaky]

Read post on X by Maggie W that Keith Desormeaux is a “ former trainer”- is he retired from training?https://x.com/maggiewolfndale/status/18 ... 46285?s=46

No, I can see how it reads like that but Keith is the former trainer of Surveillance.

Oh I got you-misread it -thanks

[Izvestia]

Congratulations to Josie Carroll! 1000 wins!
https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing ... 0th-winner

[stark]

Good Paulick article from a couple of weeks ago, sounds like something Curtis would write

Don Pierce..... https://paulickreport.com/news/people/h ... inish-last

[Diver52]

Good Paulick article from a couple of weeks ago, sounds like something Curtis would write

Don Pierce..... https://paulickreport.com/news/people/h ... inish-last

I've always loved that Big 'Cap story. I probably shouldn't admit that when I saw the name Don Pierce, I immediately thought "Didn't he ride Hill Rise?" (Yes.) But ask me what I had for dinner yesterday and. . .

Gotta go now, look for my car keys. (I'm still allowed to drive.)

[Curtis]

Good Paulick article from a couple of weeks ago, sounds like something Curtis would write

Don Pierce..... https://paulickreport.com/news/people/h ... inish-last

I've always loved that Big 'Cap story. I probably shouldn't admit that when I saw the name Don Pierce, I immediately thought "Didn't he ride Hill Rise?" (Yes.) But ask me what I had for dinner yesterday and. . .

Gotta go now, look for my car keys. (I'm still allowed to drive.)

Okay disclaimer, story time’s a comin’. I’ve entered the house, put on my cardigan and a pair of trusty Sea Vees all while politely imploring anyone near to be my neighbor. It’s best to not operate heavy machinery after reading this and you probably should be in bed. So here goes………

There are a lot of angles to work at a racetrack. Always bet grays in the mud, never bet grays in the mud, never bet what I’m betting on a day ending with a “Y”, etc. The Don Pierce angle was, if he stuck around to ride the 9th, bet with both fists, ‘cause he liked his mount and when that happened he rode the hair off it’s back. This was especially true at Del Mar. Back in the day, there were 9 races and 9 races only carded, no matter what day it was. The feature race was the 7th because most of the patrons came from L.A. and that way they could skip out after the feature and get a head start on the traffic going north. Being one of the top jocks there, Pierce almost always rode the 7th but almost never took a mount in the 8th. If he didn’t like his mount in the 9th, he’d take off and get 9 holes of golf in before dinner. He had to have the record for taking off his mount in the 9th race. It was almost comical, I don’t know why he didn’t get fined. Pierce was a very smart rider, he always had a plan and he was Eddie Delahoussaye before Eddie D. No one could finish or craft a trip for a finisher like Pierce. Jerry Fanning once booked Pierce to ride a moody, in-and-outer named Kentuckian in a stake at Golden Gate. Fanning usually used Frank Olivares but Christina’s Pop, was on another Fanning horse named Mr. Cockatoo in the same race. Pierce knew Kentuckian—a big closer when the mood struck—so he signed Don up. It almost worked. Had a horse named Yvetot not darted in and out through the lane, Kentuckian probably would have got up. As it was he lost by a nose and a head. Yvetot, the actual first place finisher, was placed 3rd behind Mr. Cockatoo and Kentuckian both of whom he fouled. I remember Jay Hovdey made a reference to Pierce riding with the guile of a Tijuana taxi driver. There were some truly great mares in so. CA in the early ‘70’s. The trainer Gordon Campbell used Pierce a lot. In 1973, Campbell had a lightly raced but very talented 6yo mare named Minstrel Miss that Pierce began to ride regularly. They were a good match. Minstrel Miss was a closer and needed just the right kind of ride to beat the very best. She was able to upset Susan’s Girl and Convenience in the Milady. Between the Milady and the Vanity, the cagey Willard Proctor put a looked to be race wise Convenience in a turf stake in a race she dominated on class and she wired the field under a new rider, John Rotz. Convenience was the defending Vanity champion and Pierce figured she was the one to beat. When Convenience won the 1972 Vanity, the eventual Eclipse Champion Typecast was given a poor ride by Victor Tejada and her owner, Fletcher Jones, was livid and popped off he wanted a rematch between four mares; Typecast, Convenience, Street Dancer and Turkish Trousers. Whittingham quickly declined with Turkish Trousers. Street Dancer wanted in but her presence in a 3 horse field would have only compromised Convenience. So her connections were bought out and Convenience ended up beating Typecast by a diminishing head in one of the very few match races that lived up to the billing. What Pierce understood about Convenience was that she really got out badly down the stretch. Proctor used an extension cup on the right to try and prevent that but as she tired, out she’d come. Most riders wanted no part of being outside a horse like that, but Don figured Convenience wouldn’t see him coming and Minstrel Miss would run by her before she knew what happened. Susan’s Girl was top weighted with around 130. As great as she was—the greatest mare I’ve seen—she only won once her entire career at Hollywood Park running several times there over at least three of her seasons. A 3yo who always possessed far more go than whoa, Belle Marie set the pace with Convenience ready to pounce which she did at the 1/8 pole. One of the problems riders had with Convenience was that they would fight her tendency to drift. Rotz understood finesse so when Pierce tried to swing around Convenience, Rotz let his mount drift and Minstrel Miss was forced inside where she closed like a freight train. Alas, Convenience saw Minstrel Miss, straightened out and dug in and held her off by a half-length. Pierce was the regular rider for my beloved Quack, who is and always will be my favorite horse whom I didn’t feed or clean up after. Pierce also coaxed a brilliant yet moody sort, with a definite aversion to winning, Triple Bend to win the Big ‘Cap, set a NWR in the 7f Los Angeles Handicap (a race Pierce won 5 straight times) as well as the Vosburgh.

[stark]

Good Paulick article from a couple of weeks ago, sounds like something Curtis would write

Don Pierce..... https://paulickreport.com/news/people/h ... inish-last

I've always loved that Big 'Cap story. I probably shouldn't admit that when I saw the name Don Pierce, I immediately thought "Didn't he ride Hill Rise?" (Yes.) But ask me what I had for dinner yesterday and. . .

Gotta go now, look for my car keys. (I'm still allowed to drive.)

Okay disclaimer, story time’s a comin’. I’ve entered the house, put on my cardigan and a pair of trusty Sea Vees all while politely imploring anyone near to be my neighbor. It’s best to not operate heavy machinery after reading this and you probably should be in bed. So here goes………

There are a lot of angles to work at a racetrack. Always bet grays in the mud, never bet grays in the mud, never bet what I’m betting on a day ending with a “Y”, etc. The Don Pierce angle was, if he stuck around to ride the 9th, bet with both fists, ‘cause he liked his mount and when that happened he rode the hair off it’s back. This was especially true at Del Mar. Back in the day, there were 9 races and 9 races only carded, no matter what day it was. The feature race was the 7th because most of the patrons came from L.A. and that way they could skip out after the feature and get a head start on the traffic going north. Being one of the top jocks there, Pierce almost always rode the 7th but almost never took a mount in the 8th. If he didn’t like his mount in the 9th, he’d take off and get 9 holes of golf in before dinner. He had to have the record for taking off his mount in the 9th race. It was almost comical, I don’t know why he didn’t get fined. Pierce was a very smart rider, he always had a plan and he was Eddie Delahoussaye before Eddie D. No one could finish or craft a trip for a finisher like Pierce. Jerry Fanning once booked Pierce to ride a moody, in-and-outer named Kentuckian in a stake at Golden Gate. Fanning usually used Frank Olivares but Christina’s Pop, was on another Fanning horse named Mr. Cockatoo in the same race. Pierce knew Kentuckian—a big closer when the mood struck—so he signed Don up. It almost worked. Had a horse named Yvetot not darted in and out through the lane, Kentuckian probably would have got up. As it was he lost by a nose and a head. Yvetot, the actual first place finisher, was placed 3rd behind Mr. Cockatoo and Kentuckian both of whom he fouled. I remember Jay Hovdey made a reference to Pierce riding with the guile of a Tijuana taxi driver. There were some truly great mares in so. CA in the early ‘70’s. The trainer Gordon Campbell used Pierce a lot. In 1973, Campbell had a lightly raced but very talented 6yo mare named Minstrel Miss that Pierce began to ride regularly. They were a good match. Minstrel Miss was a closer and needed just the right kind of ride to beat the very best. She was able to upset Susan’s Girl and Convenience in the Milady. Between the Milady and the Vanity, the cagey Willard Proctor put a looked to be race wise Convenience in a turf stake in a race she dominated on class and she wired the field under a new rider, John Rotz. Convenience was the defending Vanity champion and Pierce figured she was the one to beat. When Convenience won the 1972 Vanity, the eventual Eclipse Champion Typecast was given a poor ride by Victor Tejada and her owner, Fletcher Jones, was livid and popped off he wanted a rematch between four mares; Typecast, Convenience, Street Dancer and Turkish Trousers. Whittingham quickly declined with Turkish Trousers. Street Dancer wanted in but her presence in a 3 horse field would have only compromised Convenience. So her connections were bought out and Convenience ended up beating Typecast by a diminishing head in one of the very few match races that lived up to the billing. What Pierce understood about Convenience was that she really got out badly down the stretch. Proctor used an extension cup on the right to try and prevent that but as she tired, out she’d come. Most riders wanted no part of being outside a horse like that, but Don figured Convenience wouldn’t see him coming and Minstrel Miss would run by her before she knew what happened. Susan’s Girl was top weighted with around 130. As great as she was—the greatest mare I’ve seen—she only won once her entire career at Hollywood Park running several times there over at least three of her seasons. A 3yo who always possessed far more go than whoa, Belle Marie set the pace with Convenience ready to pounce which she did at the 1/8 pole. One of the problems riders had with Convenience was that they would fight her tendency to drift. Rotz understood finesse so when Pierce tried to swing around Convenience, Rotz let his mount drift and Minstrel Miss was forced inside where she closed like a freight train. Alas, Convenience saw Minstrel Miss, straightened out and dug in and held her off by a half-length. Pierce was the regular rider for my beloved Quack, who is and always will be my favorite horse whom I didn’t feed or clean up after. Pierce also coaxed a brilliant yet moody sort, with a definite aversion to winning, Triple Bend to win the Big ‘Cap, set a NWR in the 7f Los Angeles Handicap (a race Pierce won 5 straight times) as well as the Vosburgh.

A most excellent recollection, thanks.

Wasn't there another memorable story about Pierce and "sharing" the winning purse money with another jock, whoever won they'd split it???

[Diver52]

So many familiar names! Kentuckian, like Quack, was a son of my first favorite T.V. Lark. There was a more recent Kentuckian, IIRC--the first one didn't quite justify retiring the name!

[Squeaky]

Another trainer leaving the game. https://www.horseracingnation.com/news/ ... ecades_123

[Curtis]

So many familiar names! Kentuckian, like Quack, was a son of my first favorite T.V. Lark. There was a more recent Kentuckian, IIRC--the first one didn't quite justify retiring the name!

The first, TV Lark, Kentuckian won the 1973 American Handicap at long odds in a race that was interesting because of a late game of jock musical chairs. When the music stopped, Rudy Campas ended up on Kentuckian. He was a multiple stakes winner and won the Carlton F. Burke via a DQ with, I believe, Pierce up. Groshawk with Shoe up darted in and fouled at least two horses. Kentuckian was outside and was in the right place at the right time.

[Diver52]

Martin Garcia is at Del Mar today to ride Buchu in the Del Mar Oaks. With JJ Hernandez serving a suspension, Baffert needed a rider for his debut son of Into Mischief, Citizen Bull--and called on Martin. So bygones are apparently bygones.

[Cigarillo]

Martin Garcia is at Del Mar today to ride Buchu in the Del Mar Oaks. With JJ Hernandez serving a suspension, Baffert needed a rider for his debut son of Into Mischief, Citizen Bull--and called on Martin. So bygones are apparently bygones.

What's the story with Garcia and Baffert? I'm not familiar.

[Squeaky]

Martin Garcia is at Del Mar today to ride Buchu in the Del Mar Oaks. With JJ Hernandez serving a suspension, Baffert needed a rider for his debut son of Into Mischief, Citizen Bull--and called on Martin. So bygones are apparently bygones.

What's the story with Garcia and Baffert? I'm not familiar.

As I recall, Matin used to ride regularly for Bob years ago as a young rider, Bob kind of was mentoring him. Then Bob didn’t like something about a couple of his rides and demoted him to exercise rider which didn’t sit well with Martin but he did it for awhile. Then he kind of disappeared and had gone back to Mexico? Glad to see things have come full circle and Martin is back racing for Bob. Bob always said he was talented and a hard worker. I invite Curtis, Stark and Diver chime in to add to / correct my recollections.

[Missbeholder]

Martin Garcia is at Del Mar today to ride Buchu in the Del Mar Oaks. With JJ Hernandez serving a suspension, Baffert needed a rider for his debut son of Into Mischief, Citizen Bull--and called on Martin. So bygones are apparently bygones.

What's the story with Garcia and Baffert? I'm not familiar.

As I recall, Matin used to ride regularly for Bob years ago as a young rider, Bob kind of was mentoring him. Then Bob didn’t like something about a couple of his rides and demoted him to exercise rider which didn’t sit well with Martin but he did it for awhile. Then he kind of disappeared and had gone back to Mexico? Glad to see things have come full circle and Martin is back racing for Bob. Bob always said he was talented and a hard worker. I invite Curtis, Stark and Diver chime in to add to / correct my recollections.

Martin was, in fact, Baffert's mentoree and Go-To guy for a few years back in the early 2010s. He won the 2010 Preakness on Lookin At Lucky for him after replacing Hall-Of-Famer Garrett Gomez when Bob decided that Garrett and 'Lucky just weren't "jiving". There's no doubt that Martin made a very good living from riding for Bob and learning from him.

Where things went south for Martin was when he became virtually "chained" to American Pharoah......for WORKOUTS ONLY. He knew he would never ride the horse in a race, but rode him in scheduled workouts every time. He was even asked to travel with 'Pharoah when he went out of state, which would cause Martin to lose potential business with other barns. And this was just for timed workouts only. Bob used another exercise rider (Georgie Alvarez) for 'Pharoah's daily training exercises. I think Martin just decided that the only way to get out from under Baffert's thumb was to leave the SoCal circuit altogether, which he did.

I think it's pretty cool to see him take a call from Bob after so long. The feelings on either side can't be too hard.

[Curtis]

What's the story with Garcia and Baffert? I'm not familiar.

As I recall, Matin used to ride regularly for Bob years ago as a young rider, Bob kind of was mentoring him. Then Bob didn’t like something about a couple of his rides and demoted him to exercise rider which didn’t sit well with Martin but he did it for awhile. Then he kind of disappeared and had gone back to Mexico? Glad to see things have come full circle and Martin is back racing for Bob. Bob always said he was talented and a hard worker. I invite Curtis, Stark and Diver chime in to add to / correct my recollections.

Martin was, in fact, Baffert's mentoree and Go-To guy for a few years back in the early 2010s. He won the 2010 Preakness on Lookin At Lucky for him after replacing Hall-Of-Famer Garrett Gomez when Bob decided that Garrett and 'Lucky just weren't "jiving". There's no doubt that Martin made a very good living from riding for Bob and learning from him.

Where things went south for Martin was when he became virtually "chained" to American Pharoah......for WORKOUTS ONLY. He knew he would never ride the horse in a race, but rode him in scheduled workouts every time. He was even asked to travel with 'Pharoah when he went out of state, which would cause Martin to lose potential business with other barns. And this was just for timed workouts only. Bob used another exercise rider (Georgie Alvarez) for 'Pharoah's daily training exercises. I think Martin just decided that the only way to get out from under Baffert's thumb was to leave the SoCal circuit altogether, which he did.

I think it's pretty cool to see him take a call from Bob after so long. The feelings on either side can't be too hard.

I don’t remember Martin going back to Mexico. As far as I know he’s been in the Midwest. Pharoah, was originally, Garcia’s mount. He rode him in his debut. In the DMR Futurity, Baffert entered at least one other horse who had won a race. Pharoah was still a maiden. The way I remember it, Martin chose to ride the other horse so Bob put Victor up on Pharoah. Once upon a time, Victor had been Baffert’s go-to jock but by 2014, that was no longer and in fact Bob wasn’t really using him at all. When Pharoah blew that field away, Bob stuck with him. There is a certain amount of stuff a jock has to stomach to keep on Baffert’s good side. There’s a lot of juice that can be obtained but in the end, is it worth the squeeze?

[Diver52]

Martin chose to ride the maiden winner Holiday Camp, who was unplaced and never won again. That must be right up there with the worst jockey decisions ever. Can't blame Bob for keeping Victor on American Pharoah, but making Martin travel with him would have been a bit much. Who was Dortmund's regular rider in the fall and spring? I assume Martin missed out on him too.