Apprentice jockey J. G. Torrealba continued to serve notice of his abilities in the saddle on Saturday when collecting his sixth victory of the Santa Anita Autumn Meet aboard odds-on favorite Thompson for trainer Tim Yakteen.
With the popular win, Torrealba moved into a tie for sixth-place in the jockeys' standings with veterans Joe Bravo and Mario Gutierrez. The victory continued what's been a notable ascent for the 22-year-old native of Venezuela.
Torrealba, who stands 4-foot-11 and weighs 111 pounds, was raised in the small town of El Sombrero in the Venezuelan state of Guarico. He had no connection to horse racing until he was exposed to the sport in his native country as a fan. Torrealba would soon learn to ride and by 2019 he was riding races in Venezuela.
“I didn't have family or anything related to the track in Venezuela. I never thought I would be a jockey,” Torrealba, who does not speak English, said through an interpreter Sunday morning. “But I like the races a lot. That's when I learned to be a jockey.”
Torrealba came to the U.S. in September of last year, a move he said was facilitated by Maryland-based trainer Jose Corrales. Torrealba would land at Thistledown in Ohio. His first mount came on April 24 of this year. The following day he won his first race aboard Fast as Fast Can B for trainer Terrance Guidry.
Torrealba would win at a 14 percent clip at Thistledown before pulling up stakes and moving to Southern California this summer to ride at Del Mar. He is represented locally by agent and former trainer Joe Griffin, who said Corrales tipped him off to the rider this summer.
“Jose called me and said there's a jockey I might be interested in,” Griffin recalled. “From what I've seen he's just a great kid. He continues to learn more every day and is very dependable. He doesn't balk from working.”
Torrealba currently receives a seven-pound weight allowance as an apprentice. At Del Mar, things were a bit of a struggle as he won just three races from 57 mounts. But since then, things have gotten much better. Torrealba won at a 17 percent clip during the short Los Alamitos meet in September. At the current Santa Anita stand, he has won at a solid 15 percent rate entering Sunday's card.
“I'm very happy with how things are going,” said Torrealba, whose initials stand for Jose Gregorio.
Torrealba's apprenticeship is scheduled to end in May, Griffin said.
“I think things have gone well,” he added of the partnership. “The more you win the better things will get.”
Torrealba is hoping he can make Southern California his permanent home.
“Yes, this place is beautiful,” he said.
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