Month: September 2021

Pocahontas Win Nets Reylu Gutierrez Jockey Of The Week Title

Jockey Reylu Gutierrez stopped at Churchill Downs opening weekend, his 15th track so far this year, and made his first career Churchill Downs win even more special with the Grade 3 Pocahontas. His accomplishment earned Jockey of the Week honors for Sept. 13 through Sept. 19. The award, which is voted on by a panel of racing experts, is for jockeys who are members of the Jockeys' Guild, the organization which represents more than 1050 active, retired and permanently disabled jockeys in the United States.

Trained by Bret Calhoun and with Gutierrez again in the saddle, Hidden Connection went into the Grade 3 Pocahontas for two-year-old fillies fresh off a dazzling 7-1/2 length win at Colonial Downs. Off as the 9-5 favorite from post 9 in a field of 11, Hidden Connection sat just off the leader, Lemieux ridden by Tyler Gaffalione. With three furlongs to go, Hidden Connection went to the lead and drew away to a dominating 9-1/2 length win while setting a stakes record for the 1-1/16th mile race over a fast track in a final time of 1:43.78.

“It is incredibly special to get my first win at Churchill Downs for these great people, in front of this amazing crowd and aboard this filly,” said the understandably excited Gutierrez. “She is unbelievable.”

Gutierrez, 25, a finalist for the 2018 Eclipse Award for Outstanding Apprentice, earned his first graded stakes win in 2019. He is the son of Finger Lakes trainer Luis Gutierrez and his uncle is retired Finger Lakes jockey Jose Gutierrez. Even with those close racing connections, Gutierrez did not intend to be a jockey. An injury playing Lacrosse in high school led him to rehabilitation and the idea of physical therapy as a profession. He graduated from SUNY Cortland in 2017 with a degree in exercise physiology.

A desire to pay off student loans and growing up in the racing industry led him to give riding professionally a try. He won his first race in 2017 at Finger Lakes and is considered one of the industry's most promising young jockeys. To date, the well-travelled Gutierrez has won 356 races from 2,808 starts and nearly $13 million in purses. He rode mostly in New York through 2020 but decided to give Texas a try this year riding at Sam Houston and Lone Star Park as well as Remington Park in Oklahoma. This week, he rides at Churchill Downs then Remington Park and back home to Finger Lakes for mounts in two-year-old stakes races for trainer Mike Maker.

Weekly stats for Gutierrez were 8-1-1-1 and purse earnings of $202,624.

Gutierrez out-polled Javier Castellano who won the Grade 3 Iroquois, Tyler Gaffalione with a stakes wins at Churchill Downs, Feargal Lynch with two stakes wins at Laurel and Jaime Rodriguez who had nine wins for the week.

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Louisiana Downs: Carlos Lozada Earns Second Leading Rider Title, Shane Wilson Tops Trainer’s Standings

The 2021 Thoroughbred racing season at Louisiana Downs concluded on Tuesday, Sept. 21. The meet leaders, jockey Carlos Lozada, trainer Shane Wilson and owner Wayne T. Davis were honored for their accomplishments on the final afternoon of the 84-day meet, which began on Saturday, May 1.

Carlos Lozada who won his first title here in 2019, clinched top honors once again. He has been dominant throughout the meet, topping a very competitive jockey colony and holding off 2020 leading rider Joel Dominguez by four wins.

The 36-year-old native of Puerto Rico began riding in the United States in 2007 after attending Puerto Rico's Escuela Vocational Hipica, the famed jockey school with a noted list of riders, including Irad Ortiz, Jr, Jose Ortiz as well as 2018 Louisiana Downs top-ranked rider, Emanuel Nieves.

Lozada, won races for a variety of trainers including Joey Foster, Karl Broberg, Tim Dixon, Al Cates and Justin Jeansonne. He was named on 391 mounts, with a record of 84 wins, 76 seconds, 60 thirds and purses of $1,053,720.

Winning his second leading rider title Louisiana Downs meant a great deal to the devoted family man, supported by his wife, Eileen Quinones and their three sons: Anthony, who celebrated his 17th birthday on September 21; Jean Carlos and Jandriel.

“I thank my family, my agent Ronald Ardoin and each of the owners and trainers who supported me this season,” said Lozada. “Louisiana Downs has been a very good track for me; I really enjoy the daytime schedule!”

Lozada plans to winter in Tampa and ride next at Tampa Bay Downs before returning to Louisiana Downs next May.

Joel Dominguez finished second with 80 trips to the winner's circle, edging Lozada slightly in purses, with mounts earning $1,057,585. Emanuel Nieves finished the meet well, winning 72 races and Juan P. Vargas was fourth in the standings with 70 trips to the winner's circle.

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In his second year of running a barn at Louisiana Downs, Shane Wilson topped his fellow conditioners with 55 victories.

The Haughton, Louisiana resident won 32 races last year and credited David Heitzmann, Louisiana Downs Director of Racing, for initiating a plan for the 2020 live racing season before any other racetrack.

“David helped the horsemen with the uncertainty of COVID-19 last year,” said Wilson. “Louisiana Downs has great racing surfaces and the location works for shipping to Dallas and Hot Springs.”

His success in 2020 propelled Wilson to formulate a plan for the 2021 live racing season.

“Returning this year, I claimed horses for my leading client, Wayne T. Davis and several other owners. We had a plan and it came together very well.”

His top claimer is Emerald Forest who Wilson convinced Davis to take from Joe Sharp for $15,000 last February at Fair Grounds. It was one of Wilson's toughest conversations as Davis countered the suggestion with: “You want me to spend $15,000 on a horse that lost by 31 lengths?”

Wilson was strongly convinced that the 3-year-old gelding by Gemologist was not suited for the turf and would fare better on the main track.

And boy, was he right! He won a maiden special weight on April 6, and captured three of his four starts at Louisiana Downs. On July 13, he set a new seven-furlong track record of 1:21.07, drawing off to a ten-length victory under Jose Guerrero.

“We're going to try the big boys at Churchill Downs next,” said Wilson.

Both Guerrero and Alexander Castillo have ridden well for Wilson this season at Louisiana Downs.

“I took a long look at the jockey colony and liked the fact that both Alexander Castillo and Jose Guerrero finished in the top five,” he explained. “These guys try hard on each mount and won some races at big prices. I worked with their agent, Steve Melancon, and decided to give them a chance. They have worked hard for us and I believe in loyalty.”

Wilson played football and basketball in high school and college and developed a fierce competitive drive, which fuels him to this day.

“I wasn't the best athlete, but beat better by being prepared,” he said. “I never accepted I was going to lose until the game was over!”

It's a family affair at the Wilson barn, with his wife Becky and younger son, Connor, sharing in the key duties.

“I don't hunt, fish or play golf,” stated Wilson. “It's all about the horses and thankfully, Becky, Connor and my oldest son, Peyton, understand that!”

Joey Foster, who has won the trainer title three times, finished second with 40 wins. Joe Duhon followed with 33 victories and Karl Broberg rounded out the top four with 30 wins.

The leading owner of the meet is Wayne T. Davis who topped the standings with 25 victories. The 92-year-old Louisiana businessman has been an owner for over 20 years and he and Wilson have teamed with a wide range of Thoroughbreds; their most successful to date is Grade 3 winner Mocito Rojo.

End Zone Athletics, Inc., who took the owner title in 2019 and 2020, finished second. The highly successful partnership of Karl Broberg and Matt Johanson won 20 races this meet. Dream Walkin Farms, Inc. was third in the standings with 18 wins and Justin Jeansonne had 11 victories to finish fourth.

The post Louisiana Downs: Carlos Lozada Earns Second Leading Rider Title, Shane Wilson Tops Trainer’s Standings appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Leading French Sophomore Sealiway Prepares To Take On Arc De Triomphe

The 3-year-old Sealiway will tackle the Group 1 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Paris-Longchamp on Sunday, Oct. 2. The Arc is a “Win and You're In” for the Breeders' Cup Turf at Del Mar; Sealiway competed at the 2020 Breeders' Cup at Keeneland, finishing fifth in the Juvenile Turf.

He will be making his comeback in the race, having not been out since his second place in the Qatar Prix du Jockey Club (Group 1), the French Derby, on June 6 at Chantilly.

The best French 3-year-old, Sealiway carries the colors of the Haras de la Gousserie, who race him in partnership with Guy Pariente, his breeder. He is trained in the South-East, at Calas, by Cédric Rossi.

“Sealiway is going to go to the Arc, if all goes well between now and the big day,” said Pauline Chehboub, communications director for Haras de la Gousserie. “So far we are happy with his preparation. It looks like we are heading for an Arc with few runners. His morning rider has a good feeling: and thinks he's good, if not better than before the Jockey-Club. Sealiway did a gallop at Salon-de-Provence last Friday, where race conditions were replicated, and he was also schooled in the paddock. That put him back in the zone. He is in good condition. The choice of his jockey has not yet been made.”

Sealiway will be the first Gousserie runner in the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, which also applies to his trainer, Cédric Rossi. The colt was the best French 2-year-old in 2020: as on the day of the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, he excelled in the Qatar Prix Jean-Luc Lagardère (Group 1), which traditionally crowns the best French juvenile. He gave the Chehboub family their first French Group 1 win that day. The Chehboub family had already won at the highest level, but in the US: in 2008, when their representative Spirit One won one of the most coveted races of the US calendar: the Arlington Million.

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