Ken Tohill is the very definition of a “journeyman” jockey. Riding for more than 40 years from Northern California to the mid-west to New Mexico and many places in between. But Sunland Park in New Mexico is where on Sunday Tohill won his very first graded stakes, the Grade 3 Sunland Park Derby. With the upset win comes the real possibility of a start in the G1 Kentucky Derby.
Tohill has been voted Jockey of the Week by the panel of racing experts for March 20 through March 26. The award recognizes 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.
Riding regularly at Sunland Park for the first time since 2020, Tohill had the mount on local favorite but longshot, Wild On Ice for trainer Joel Marr. Tohill had ridden the bay gelding in his four previous starts which included two wins. Dismissed by the betting public, Wild On Ice went off at 35-1 in the field of six which included horses trained by Hall of Famers Steve Asmussen and Bob Baffert.
Wild On Ice tracked the early pace behind dueling leaders Henry Q and Hard to Figure. Tohill kept his mount in the clear advancing three wide into the final turn. The duo took the lead at the eighth pole holding off Low Expectations for a 1 3/4-length win in 1:51.38 for 1 1/8 miles and earning 50 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby. Wild On Ice paid $72.80.
“He was up there, took a little breather and he really performed well,” said Tohill.
Not originally nominated to the Run for the Roses, Wild On Ice's connections have since made him eligible to the Triple Crown, paying the late nomination fee.
Tohill, 60, comes from a racing family that included his mother who was a trainer and his father who was a jockey whose career was cut short after an on-track accident at Playfair in Washington State. Tohill rode in Northern California for several years before moving his tack to the New Mexico circuit and Sunland Park where he was the leading rider for several years in the early 2000s. Tohill celebrated his 4,000th career win at Prairie Meadows on May 15, 2022, becoming the 79th jockey to reach that milestone. He currently is in third place in the Sunland Park standings with 21 wins and more than $1 million in purse earnings.
Other contenders for Jockey of the Week included Chris Landeros with three stakes wins at Turfway Park, Jareth Loveberry who won the G3 Jeff Ruby Stakes, Irad Ortiz, Jr. with two stakes wins for the week, and Flavien Prat whose two graded stakes wins included the Louisiana Derby.
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