Jockey Tyler Gaffalione continued his recent hot hand riding four winners on Friday's 10-race card at Gulfstream Park.
Gaffalione, the Eclipse Award-winning apprentice of 2015 born and raised in nearby Davie, Fla., won four of the first six races aboard Monte Ne ($3) in the first, Makisupa ($3.60) in the third, Battalion ($9.40) in the fifth and Uncaptured Soldier ($7.20) in the sixth.
“I had a lot of confidence coming into today. My agent always does a great job. He's lined up some great mounts for me, especially this week,” Gaffalione said. “Hopefully we can keep it going.”
Represented by agent Matt Muzikar, Gaffalione ranked fourth during last winter's Championship Meet with 67 wins. He missed the first four days of this year's meet and was off to a 3-for-32 start before winning twice in seven mounts Thursday.
“There's an adjustment period coming from Churchill and Keeneland. It's a much different configuration of the track,” Gaffalione said. “It's just a matter of getting comfortable again.”
Gaffalione came into the 2020-2021 Championship Meet having swept all five major meets in Kentucky, most recently Churchill Downs' fall stand that ended Nov. 29. He ranks second to two-time reigning Eclipse Award winner Irad Ortiz Jr. among all North American jockeys in wins this year and will soon pass his personal single-season record for purse earnings of nearly $15.2 million set in 2019.
“It's amazing. It's truly a blessing,” Gaffalione said. “My agent, he does such a great job. I owe him all the credit. He makes my job so much easier. We've had a great year and it's been a lot of fun.”
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