To say 25-year-old Cristian Torres has had a really good week is an understatement. At Remington Park, he has a commanding lead in the jockey standings going into their upcoming closing weekend, then fast forward to opening weekend at Oaklawn Park where he won two stakes races and already sits atop the standings.
The panel of racing experts unanimously voted Torres Jockey of the Week for Dec. 5 through Dec. 11. The award honors jockeys for riding accomplishments and who are members of the Jockeys' Guild, the organization which represents more than 1050 active, retired and permanently disabled jockeys in the United States.
Torres began the week with a double digit lead in the standings at Remington Park leaving to ride the opening weekend card at Oaklawn Park. He has never won a leading rider title. At Oaklawn, on Saturday, Torres was aboard Flash of Mischief for trainer Karl Broberg in the inaugural running of the Ring The Bell Stakes for three-year-olds and up. Off as the heavy favorite in the field of seven, Flash of Mischief raced behind pacesetters Chattalot and Kavod. Going into the turn, Flash of Mischief took over to win by 7 3/4 lengths in 1:11.13 for six furlongs on the dirt.
“There was plenty of speed in the race, and my horse has speed, but when he runs short, he's better behind the pace,” Torres said. “We had the perfect trip. Everything I asked, he did it. He showed up.”
Two races later, Torres was given a leg up by trainer Robertino Diordoro on Lovely Ride in the inaugural running of the Mistletoe Stakes for fillies and mares three-years-old and up. Lovely Ride broke on top and never looked back to win by 3-1/2 lengths in 1:39.77 for one mile on the dirt.
“Beautiful day and a rainy day,” Torres said after winning the Mistletoe. “My best day at Oaklawn. It's been unbelievable.” Torres finished the weekend leading the standings with seven wins.
Torres said both Diordoro and Broberg have been strong supporters, helping him to have a memorable season at Remington Park and a very fast start at Oaklawn.
“I am grateful to them,” Torres said.
Torres is a native of Puerto Rico and began riding at Gulfstream Park in 2019. He credits his friend, Ruben Munoz for the idea of riding at Oaklawn. Torres will be back at Remington Park Saturday night to ride their closing night card after riding at Oaklawn during the day.
Also nominated for Jockey of the Week were Antonio Gallardo with two stakes wins at Tampa Bay Downs, Flavien Prat who won the Grade 1 Starlet at Los Alamitos, Luis Saez who was leading rider for the week in wins with 13, and Ramon A. Vazquez who won the Soviet Problem at Los Alamitos.
The post Leading Rider At Two Tracks, Cristian Torres Unanimously Voted Jockey Of The Week appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
