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Eclipse Finalists Marquez, Hiraldo Continue Tradition Of Maryland Apprentice Riders

Teenage sensation Charlie Marquez, Maryland's second-leading rider by wins and purse earnings last year, is among three finalists for the Eclipse Award as champion apprentice jockey of 2021.

Joining Marquez as finalists are John Hiraldo, who spent more than half his apprenticeship in Maryland, and California-based Jessica Pyfer. Hiraldo led all apprentice riders with 81 wins while Pyfer was tops with more than $2.7 million in purses earned.

“It's unbelievable,” Marquez said. “I was kind of surprised to be honest with you. I only had my bug last year for five months, so me being able to put up the numbers to even be nominated is kind of crazy and awesome to me.”

Marquez ended 2021 with 102 wins and $3,500,448 in purse earnings at Laurel Park and historic Pimlico Race Course, second only to Jevian Toledo, and led Pimlico's Preakness Meet with 49 victories. He also won his first two Maryland Million races, including Buff Hello in the Nursery.

A native of Columbia, Md., near Laurel, Marquez ranked fourth with 50 wins and $1,454,210 in purses earned as an apprentice in 2021, his last day coming May 29. During that time he won his first stakes, the March 15 Private Terms at Laurel with 21-1 long shot Shackled Love.

The son and grandson of successful jockeys in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, Marquez was not among the Eclipse Award finalists for champion apprentice of 2020, won by Maryland-based counterpart Alexander Crispin. He led all Maryland bug riders with 58 wins and ranked seventh in the state overall despite having his apprenticeship interrupted for 2 ½ months from mid-March to late May when Maryland racing was paused amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Marquez has 211 wins and more than $6.5 million in purse earnings from 1,433 career mounts. He won his first race at the age of 16 on Jan. 9, 2020 with Sierra Leona at Laurel.

“Whether I win or lose, it's a pretty big deal that I was even nominated especially after only having my bug for a few months,” Marquez said. “You have to go into it happy. You never know what could happen.”

Maryland-based riders have captured 12 of the 50 Eclipse Awards as champion apprentice. Winners before Crispin were Chris McCarron (1974), Ronnie Franklin (1978), Alberto Delgado (1982), Allen Stacy (1986), Kent Desormeaux (1987), Mike Luzzi (1989), Mark Johnston (1990), Jeremy Rose (2001), Ryan Fogelsonger (2002), Victor Carrasco (2013) and Weston Hamilton (2018).

“It's huge. It's the dream of all apprentice riders. I can't even wrap my head around it,” Marquez said. “It's just huge. I can't really explain it.”

A 20-year-old native of Puerto Rico, Hiraldo ranked second among all apprentice riders with $2,178,769 in purse earnings from 638 mounts. With 89 seconds and 94 thirds, the son of ex-jockey Joel Hiraldo whose cousin, Angel Cruz, rides on the Maryland circuit finished in the money at 41 percent clip.

Hiraldo worked as an exercise rider for trainer Brittany Russell before making his professional debut Dec. 10, 2020 at Laurel Park. He won his first career race with 33-1 long shot Flat Rate on Laurel's 2020 New Year's Eve program.

In 2021, Hiraldo ranked 14^th in Maryland with 35 wins from 365 mounts to go along with $1,171,150 in purse earnings. He has been riding at Oaklawn Park since the opening of its winter meet in early December.

Pyfer, 23, rode as an apprentice through Nov. 13 of last year, ranking second with 56 wins from 535 mounts. The stepdaughter of trainer Phil D'Amato graduated from Azusa Pacific University with a degree in political science and minor in constitutional law and put off law school to become a jockey, winning her first race Oct. 9, 2020 at Santa Anita.

All Eclipse Award winners will be announced Thursday, Feb. 10 at Santa Anita Park.

Notes: Live racing continues Monday with a special Martin Luther King Jr. holiday program. Post time for the first of 10 races in 12:10 p.m. The feature comes in Race 9, an optional claiming allowance for 3-year-old fillies sprinting six furlongs. Among the field of eight are Sweet Gracie, third in the Maryland Juvenile Fillies Dec. 18; Click to Confirm, third in the Smart Halo Nov. 13; Moody Woman, third in the Gin Talking Dec. 26; and Mama G's Wish, second in the Blue Hen and third in the Small Wonder last summer at Delaware Park.

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A Pair of 22-Year-Olds, Apprentice Centeno And Agent Arroyo Celebrate Rider’s Initial Stakes Success

Alexis Centeno, a 22-year-old apprentice rider from Puerto Rico, won his first stakes race Saturday piloting Brickyard Ride to a front-running victory in the $150,000 Don Valpredo California Cup Sprint at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif.

“First, I want to thank God and (trainer) Craig Lewis who has helped me a lot, and my agent,” Centeno said immediately after the victory. “I'm happy. … Brickyard Ride is so special for me. I won two races in a row with him. I love this horse.”

Centeno is represented by 22-year-old agent Erick “Goldy” Arroyo. They have been together since last June.

“He works hard and he's a humble kid,” Arroyo said of Centeno, who attended Puerto Rico's celebrated jockey school, Escuela Vocacional Hipica, which has produced riding greats Angel Cordero Jr., Eddie Belmonte, John Velazquez and the Ortiz brothers, Irad Jr. and Jose, among others.

Arroyo was studying business at Pasadena City College before taking a respite to work as an agent. His long-range goal is to become a teacher.

As to how he got the nickname of Goldy, Arroyo explains, “When I was born my father thought my forehead shined like gold, and said, “That's it. From now on, you're Goldy.”

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Back From New York, Leading Maryland Apprentice Marquez Says ‘There’s Nothing Like Home’

Having spent the fall and early winter chasing his dream in New York, teenage jockey Charlie Marquez – Maryland's leading apprentice rider of 2020 – is back in familiar surroundings at Laurel Park.

Marquez, who turns 18 Jan. 25, had two mounts as live racing returned to Laurel on Friday. The Columbia, Md., native finished second with Milam Racing Stables' Hydra in Race 2, a starter optional claimer for older females, and was seventh after pressing the pace on Komlo LLC's Determined Honor in Race 3, a maiden special weight for 3-year-old fillies..

“[Hydra] ran very well. I knew Vic's Cool Cat was going to be tough and I thought [1-2 favorite Uno Tigress] was going to be tough in there, too, but I don't think she liked being down on the inside,” Marquez said. “I kind of just tried to keep Hydra engaged and keep the favorite down on the fence.

“When we kicked on down the lane, she kind of kicked on with them but Vic's Cool Cat just kind of ran away from us,” he added. “[Determined Honor], she ran great, I thought. I think she may be been in a little over her head but she can definitely win for claiming $10,000.”

Friday marked the first time riding back in Maryland for Marquez since closing day of Laurel's extended summer meet last Sept. 19, before moving his tack to Belmont Park and then Aqueduct with Hall of Fame jockey Angel Cordero Jr. as his agent.

“It feels great. I love being home,” Marquez said. “There's nothing like home. New York was fun and it was a great learning experience, but I'd much rather be home with my family and all the horses I'm familiar with and my jocks' room family.”

Marquez made his professional debut at age 16 running fourth on Up Hill Battle Jan. 1 at Laurel, getting his first win eight days later on his eighth career mount, Sierra Leona. Marquez would go on to rank third at Laurel's winter meet, cut short when live racing was paused in Maryland for 2 ½ months from mid-March to late May amid the coronavirus pandemic, registering hat tricks March 8 and 15. He was also third at Laurel's summer stand, compiling seven multi-win days.

Overall, Marquez's 58 wins were the most of any apprentice in Maryland last year and put him in a tie with Xavier Perez for sixth overall behind Trevor McCarthy's (99). He continues to ride with a five-pound weight allowance.

“I thought I had a great 2020. The COVID really put a stop on things,” Marquez said. “Right before COVID happened, I was on fire. I was winning three a day and then COVID happened. When we came back I was still winning, but I can't really see what would have happened if covid didn't happen. Could I have been leading rider? You never know.”

Marquez spread nine wins over three different meets in New York, going 1-for-12 in 2021 at Aqueduct before making the move back to Maryland, where he will be represented by Marty Leonard. He last rode Jan. 3 at Aqueduct.

The son and grandson of successful jockeys both in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, Marquez went down in an Oct. 10 spill at Belmont with what was initially thought to be a fractured right wrist. It turned out to be a sprain, and he rode three races Oct. 18 before taking time off and returning Nov. 14 at Aqueduct.

Marquez ended his rookie season with 71 wins and $1,981,358 in purse earnings from 531 mounts, also winning multiple races at Delaware Park and Penn National. Finalists for Eclipse Award finalists as champion apprentice of 2020 will be announced Saturday and are expected to include current Maryland regular Alexander Crispin (539 mounts, 103 wins, $2.19 million).

“Of course, it'd be a pleasure to be nominated but I'm not really thinking about it right now,” Marquez said. “If I am, then that's great. It was a great year.”

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Likely Eclipse Award Finalist Crispin Achieves Second Consecutive Four-Win Day At Laurel Park

Five-pound apprentice Alexander Crispin, expected to be among the Eclipse Award finalists when they are announced later this month, registered his second consecutive four-win day Friday at Laurel Park.

The 22-year-old native of Puerto Rico, who went four-for-eight during Laurel's last live program Jan. 3, won four of the last five races Friday. Crispin began his run with Michel Scheffres' Maryland-bred gelding Sue Loves Barbados ($8.80) in Race 8, a waiver maiden claimer for 3-year-olds sprinting 6 ½ furlongs.

Without a mount in Race 6, Crispin ended the day by sweeping the final three races aboard Solea ($10.60) for owner-trainer Ed Merryman; Marcial Cornejo's Wonderwall ($9), trained by Maryland's four-time defending champion Claudio Gonzalez; and Lacey Gaudet owned-and-trained Candygramformongo ($9).

“Today was really good. I started my [day] like always, getting here early so I know what exactly what I'm going to do,” Crispin said. “I had a good feeling today with all my horses. I'm always positive with all the horses ride. I had that feeling that today was going to be a good day.”

Crispin has put together three consecutive multi-win days in 2021, winning once on the New Year's Day program and registering a riding triple Jan. 2. He has 12 wins, two seconds and six thirds from 28 mounts this year with purse earnings of more than $250,000.

According to Equibase statistics, Crispin leads all North American jockeys in wins to start 2021, and ranks ninth in purses earned. He finished 2020 with 103 wins and $2,194,030 in purse earnings from 539 mounts.

“I'm going out on the track and have been working hard and dedicated, and to give it all on the track and see the results feels good,” Crispin said. “Everything's going good, thankfully.”

Finalists for the 50^th annual Eclipse Awards will be announced Saturday, Jan. 16. The winners in 17 human and equine categories will be announced in a virtual ceremony beginning at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 28 and live streamed on several outlets.

Maryland-based riders have captured 11 of the 46 Eclipse Awards as champion apprentice, the most recent being Weston Hamilton in 2018. Other winners are Chris McCarron (1974), Ronnie Franklin (1978), Alberto Delgado (1982), Allen Stacy (1986), Kent Desormeaux (1987), Mike Luzzi (1989), Mark Johnston (1990), Jeremy Rose (2001), Ryan Fogelsonger (2002) and Victor Carrasco (2013). Hamilton and Carrasco continue to be based in Maryland.

Notes: There will be carryovers of $489.19 in the $1 Super Hi-5 (Race 1) and $411.56 in the 20-cent Rainbow 6 (Races 4-9) for Saturday's nine-race program. Tickets with five of six winners in Friday's Rainbow 6 each returned $39.20 … First-race post time is 12:25 p.m.

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