Month: July 2020

‘I Just Feel Blessed’: Jevian Toledo Records 1,000th Career Win

Pedro Nazario's M. J.'s Lady slipped through an opening on the inside at the top of the stretch and held off Ski Bunny approaching the wire to give jockey Jevian Toledo his 1,000th career victory Friday at Laurel Park in Laurel, Md.

Making her third career start, all since mid-June, M. J.'s Lady ($12) ran one mile in 1:40.60 for the milestone win. It gave Toledo a sweep of Friday's maiden special weight events for fillies and mares 3 and up, also taking Race 3 with Dontletsweetfoolya ($6.80) for No. 999.

He becomes the second rider this year to reach 1,000 wins at Laurel following his close friend, Victor Carrasco, who did it Jan. 26. Carrasco, the champion apprentice of 2013, is currently sidelined for six weeks with a fractured right elbow.

“Whenever you win a race, you feel happy. When you win a thousand, you feel amazing like all the hard work pays off,” Toledo said. “I just feel blessed. I have to thank God. Without him, we wouldn't be here. I have to thank the owners, trainers, grooms, exercise riders, hotwalkers, my agent – everybody does a great job.”

Toledo leads all riders at Laurel's summer meet in mounts (124) and purse earnings ($578,122) and is third behind Sheldon Russell (20) and Trevor McCarthy (15) in wins. Russell, like Toledo represented by agent Marty Leonard, is out 4-6 weeks with a broken wrist.

M.J.'s Lady had only one horse beat through a half-mile as Peachy Between Us set fractions of 23.27 and 46.98 seconds. Toledo moved the 3-year-old daughter of First Dude between horses on the far turn, shifted down to the rail for running room once straightened for home, wrested the lead from Ski Bunny inside the eighth pole and edged clear to win by three-quarters of a length.

“In the beginning my filly give me everything that she had and I feel comfortable how I was going. By the three-eighths pole, she grabbed the bit and I said I think I have a good chance to hit the board,” Toledo said. “To be honest, at the three-eighths I didn't feel I was going to win the race, but coming to the stretch when I found the hole on the inside, she passed the other horses and kept going.”

A native of Puerto Rico, where Carrasco, Manny Franco and Jorge Vargas Jr. were among his classmates at the famed Escuela Vocacional Hipica jockey school, Toledo won 33 races before coming to the U.S. in the spring of 2013. He earned his first domestic win June 8, 2013 aboard Peaceadaaction at Pimlico Race Course.

He led all Maryland riders in wins in 2015 and 2017 and ranked second in 2016, finishing third in 2018 and fifth in 2014 and 2019. Toledo owns five meet titles at Laurel, the most recent coming at its 2018 summer stand.

Toledo won graded-stakes with Divisidero in the 2018 Arlington Handicap (G3) and Miss Behaviour in the 2014 Charles Town Oaks (G3) and has also regularly ridden multiple stakes winners O Dionysus, Sonny Inspired, Las Setas, Name Changer and Talk Show Man.

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A Horse For The Course? Turned Aside Wins Quick Call At Saratoga

Paul Pompa Jr.'s Turned Aside had seen Jack and Noah win the three previous races in which the two matched up entering the Grade 3, $100,000 Quick Call at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. But Turned Aside ensured he would earn the trip to the winner's circle on Friday, making a strong move from the outside coming out of the turn and charging home a 1 ¾-length victor in the 5 1/2-furlong turf sprint for 3-year-olds.

Turned Aside broke sharp under jockey Jose Lezcano, tracking in third position as Jack and Noah, who broke awkwardly led the six-horse field through the opening quarter-mile in 21.32 seconds on the Mellon turf coursed labeled firm. Lezcano pressed his charge up from the outside, where he overtook his budding rival before hitting the stretch, posting the half-mile in 44.01.

Lezcano kept Turned Aside's attention when straightening for home, repelling Old Chestnut's late move for second, completing the course in a 1:01.99 final time.

“I had a very good trip,” Lezcano said. “My horse broke very sharp and was right there when I asked him. The horse on the lead was lugging out a little bit, but I held my position and when I asked him, he gave me everything.”

The Linda Rice trainee ran second to Jack and Noah in his second career start in September at Belmont Park and also was the runner-up last out, finishing one length back in the Sir Cat going six furlongs on Belmont's firm turf. He also ran seventh in the Atlantic Beach in November at Aqueduct Racetrack. A son of 2015 Triple Crown-winner American Pharoah, Turned Aside improved to 3-2-1 in seven career starts.

“Paul and I discussed it and we felt if we didn't engage early we were just going to hand it over to Jack and Noah and we've done that enough already,” Rice said. “Sometimes you change courses and one horse prefers Belmont and one horse prefers Saratoga and I thought our horse has been training great all spring and maybe we could turn the tables on him on a different course.”

Off at 2-1, Turned Aside returned $6.50 on a $2 win wager. He improved his career earnings to $179,992.

“There were a couple other horses [of concern] in this race – Old Chestnut and I thought Doug O'Neill's horse [Fore Left] showed promised as well, but this horse has trained well and shows no quit in his workouts. Once we were on a clear lead, I thought we'd get it done.”

Old Chestnut, who like Jack and Noah is trained by Hall of Famer Mark Casse, edged Fore Left by a neck for second. The 11th running of the Quick Call featured the top-three finishers of the Sir Cat, as Old Chestnut earned third in that contest under jockey Junior Alvarado, who had the return call Friday.

“I wish the number two [Jack and Noah] would have broke a little sharper, so it would have made the winner chase a little harder and I'd have even more pace to finish,” Alvarado said. “Other than that, I had a great trip and saved as much ground as I could. Turning for home, he gave me a nice kick.”

Fore Left made his first turf appearance in 11 career starts, earning black type in his first start since a ninth-place effort in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes on June 20.

Flap Jack, 4-5 favorite Jack and Noah and High Cruise completed the order of finish. Power Up Paynter was scratched, as was main-track only entrant Sky of Hook.

Live racing resumes Saturday at Saratoga with an 11-race card that includes the Grade 1, $250,000 Alfred G. Vanderbilt for 3-year-olds and up in Race 10 at 6:16 p.m. and the Grade 2, $200,000 Ballston Spa for older fillies and mares on the inner turf in Race 3 at 2:18 p.m. First post is 1:10 p.m.

 

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Luis Rivera Jr. Hits Trifecta With Monmouth Win As Jockey, Trainer And Owner

Luis Rivera, Jr. said the credit for Strawberry Red's victory in Friday night's third race at Monmouth Park belonged to the horse's owner, trainer and jockey.

In other words, to him.

The 53-year-old journeyman rider posted his first victory as an owner, trainer and jockey since Strawberry Red won at Monmouth Park on Aug. 8, 2018, when the gelded son of Regal Ransom rallied through to slop to overtake Victory Chimes for a victory in the $12,500 claimer.

Strawberry Red paid $13.60 for his sixth career win.

“Everyone gets to celebrate this – the owner, trainer and jockey,” said Rivera, Jr., who took out his training license in June of 2018. He has 1,560 winners as a jockey in a career that began in 1987.

Rivera's La Familia Stable LLC owns Strawberry Red, who came back to Rivera's care from trainer Bill Hogan two starts ago. Strawberry Red won a race at Monmouth Park a year ago with Rivera as the trainer, but Isaac Castillo rode the horse.

The 2018 victory by Strawberry Red was the last time Rivera pulled off his “trifecta” as winning owner, trainer and rider. That also marked his first victory as a trainer.

“I just get up every morning and start working,” said Rivera. “That's all there is to it. I just have the one horse now that I own, train and ride so that makes it a little easier. But this is why I keep doing this, for times like this. I love it.”

Rivera said he took out his training license “because I know I can't ride forever. I need something to do when I stop riding.”

Racing resumes at Monmouth Park on Saturday with a 13-race card. First race post time is 12:50 p.m.

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