Tampa Bay Downs' current leading jockey Samy Camacho was tired Sunday but still savoring his first bite of the Big Apple after riding Bank Frenzy to a second-place finish in the $200,000 Times Square division of the New York Stallion Stakes for 3-year-olds Saturday at Aqueduct.
After flying to New York Saturday morning, his return flight was delayed about two hours and he didn't get home until 2 a.m. (ET) Sunday. He had to rely upon his natural adrenaline to compete at a high level on Sunday's Tampa Bay card.
“I slept half-good because I was tired and half-bad because I didn't win,” said Camacho, who got back to the the Oldsmar, Fla. track in time to work a horse for trainer Gerald Bennett shortly after 8:30 a.m. “But it's alright because I have tomorrow off, and it was a good experience.”
Trainer Lisa Lewis named Camacho to ride Bank Frenzy based on his two earlier efforts on the New York-bred Central Banker colt: a second in his career debut on Nov. 12 at Gulfstream Park and a maiden victory at Tampa Bay Downs on Dec. 24. Bank Frenzy is owned by Phil's Racing Stable LLC.
Saturday marked the first time the 34-year-old Camacho had ridden at Aqueduct. Two races earlier, he finished fourth on No Regard for trainer John P. Terranova II in a maiden claiming race.
“A lot of people called me because everybody watches the New York signal,” Camacho said. “It was very special for me to ride there with those top jockeys.”
Camacho and Bank Frenzy just missed catching winner Lifetime of Chance and jockey Dylan Davis in the 6 ½-furlong race, finishing second by a neck. At 21-1, Bank Frenzy was the longest shot in the field.
A lengthy inquiry followed the race, as Aqueduct's stewards determined whether Lifetime of Chance had bothered eventual sixth-place finisher Ten Cent Town enough to warrant a disqualification of the winner. The stewards allowed the result to stand.
Camacho dropped his right rein in deep stretch as he attempted to keep Bank Frenzy from lugging out, but did not believe that cost him the race. The way Bank Frenzy was traveling late, it appeared he will appreciate more distance, and Camacho is eager to get a return call from Lewis to ride him.
“I'm happy because she's happy, and I think he's going to be real tough in his next race. She (Lewis) knows I am going to ride him 100 percent from the gate to the wire. Even though we didn't win, I learn something different every day. I keep learning and improving,” he said.
Sunday afternoon at Tampa Bay Downs, Camacho posted a second and a third from five mounts.
Camacho leads the Tampa Bay Downs standings with 110 victories, clinching his third consecutive title and fourth in five seasons a while back. He will be moving his tack soon to Monmouth Park in New Jersey, where he tied for third in last year's standings with 41 winners and expects to get a lot of chances from a contingent Tampa Bay Downs trainers planning to compete there.
“If I can win the title at Monmouth, I'll probably stay up north to ride Aqueduct next winter,” Camacho said.
Like the song “Happy Talk” from “South Pacific” puts it, “You got to have a dream/If you don't have a dream/How you gonna have a dream come true?”
The post ‘It Was Very Special For Me To Ride There’: Camacho Relishing Saturday Trip To Aqueduct appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
