The month of January has proved to be a memorable one for Junior Alvarado and the perfect start to the new year. On Jan. 21, he collected his 2,000th career win and then to cap off the month he won the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational, the richest race on the Gulfstream Park calendar.
A panel of racing experts voted Alvarado Jockey of the Week for Jan. 23 through Jan. 29. The award honors jockeys for riding accomplishments and who are members of the Jockeys' Guild, the organization which represents more than 1,050 active, retired, and permanently disabled jockeys in the United States.
On Saturday, trainer Bill Mott gave a leg up to Alvarado on Art Collector for the first time. Alvarado picked up the mount in the Grade 1 race after his regular jockey, Luis Saez, opted to take the call on Get Her Number.
Breaking from post position six, Alvarado had Art Collector 2 1/2 lengths off the lead of pacesetters Stilleto Boy, Defunded, and White Abarrio. Midway on the second turn, Alvarado gave Art Collector his cue and began to challenge the leaders. At the top of the stretch, Art Collector stuck his head in front and edged clear down the stretch to win by 4 1/2 lengths in 1:49.44 for the nine furlongs, returning $33 to his backers.
“We talked about it beforehand and how the race might shape up,” said Mott. “Junior allowed him to settle right in behind the pace today. Junior was comfortable, the horse was comfortable, we just had to hope that when it was time to go the horse would respond.”
“Junior was the rider we decided to go with when Saez chose a different mount, and I have to give him (Alvarado) credit, he couldn't have ridden him more perfectly,” said Mott.
“I don't have the words to put it together,” a clearly emotional Alvarado said. “It's just unbelievable. I'm so glad that I got a chance to ride this horse. He's a very neat horse that I have been following for quite a while. I guess it was the perfect time and we got it done today. I don't know how it gets any better than this. It's unbelievable having this win with Bill Mott. I'm very grateful for the big support he's given me over the years. I'm just very happy right now.”
Alvarado, 37, is a native of Venezuela and rode his first winner in the United States in 2007 at Gulfstream Park. He was a mainstay in New York until 2022 when he decided to ride most of the year at Gulfstream Park and the summer at Saratoga.
Other contenders for Jockey of the Week were Arnaldo Bocachica with 12 wins for the week, Florent Geroux who won his 2000th career race at Fair Grounds Jan. 26, Juan M. Hernandez with two graded stakes wins at Santa Anita, and Irad Ortiz, Jr. with three graded stakes wins on Pegasus World Cup Day and was awarded his fourth Eclipse Award as Outstanding Jockey earlier in the week.
The post ‘He Couldn’t Have Ridden Him More Perfectly’: Alvarado Voted Jockey Of The Week After Pegasus Upset appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
