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Red-Hot Apprentice Crispin Rides Four Winners On Laurel’s Sunday Card

Five-pound apprentice jockey Alexander Crispin continued his sizzling start to the new year by riding four winners on Sunday's nine-race program at Laurel Park in Maryland.

Crispin, 22, began his big day with back-to-back victories aboard Cinconola ($18.20) in Race 2 and favored Xmasinthecity ($3.40) in Race 3, and followed up with wins on McElmore Avenue ($3) in Race 6 and Zabracadabra ($7) in Race 8.

A native of Puerto Rico, Cripsin has eight wins over the first three days of Laurel's 2021 winter meet that began New Year's Day, including a riding triple Saturday.

“I feel pretty good on how things are going. All the hard work is paying off,” Crispin said. “I really appreciate all the trainers and owners giving me the opportunity. So far so good. Everything's been good. I appreciate everything that's going on today and the past few days.”

Expected to be up for voting as North America's leading apprentice jockey when the Eclipse Award finalists are announced Jan. 16, Crispin graduated from Puerto Rico's famed Escuela Vocacional Hipica jockey school in December 2019 and made his pro debut last Jan. 1 at Hipodromo Camarero.

After coming to the U.S. late last winter, Cripsin was fifth in his mainland debut aboard Time Marches On March 7, 2020, at Turfway Park. He continued to ride in the Midwest, picking up his first win March 12, 2020, on Thorpe d'Oro at Turfway, until moving his tack to Delaware Park for the summer.

Crispin finished the Delaware meet as its leading apprentice rider, ranking second overall with 58 wins and fourth with more than $1.3 million in purse earnings. He arrived in Maryland in late October, two weeks into Laurel Park's fall meet, and wound up ranking first among bug boys and third overall with 29 wins, banking $725,920 in purses earned.

“It started out a little bit tough but I maintained a positive mind and kept working hard,” Cripsin said. “I came every day to work and kept persevering and believing in myself.”

Crispin's wins have come for trainers Gary Capuano, Mary Eppler, Mike Trombetta, Anthony Pecoraro, Kieron Magee, Charlie Frock and Maryland's four-time defending champion Claudio Gonzalez. In addition to his wins, he has one second and six thirds in 22 mounts, finishing in the top three at 68 percent clip.

According to Equibase statistics, Crispin finished 2020 with 103 wins and $2,194,030 in purse earnings from 539 mounts. Maryland-based riders have won 11 of 46 Eclipse Awards as leading apprentice, most recently Weston Hamilton in 2018.

“Everyone helps me out. They come to me and tell me if I need something or maybe get better at doing a certain thing I was doing,” Crispin said. “Everybody likes seeing me doing good. They give me good advice. They are always supporting me so appreciate all they do for me. It's been big for my year. It means a lot to me.”

Notes: Jockey Sheldon Russell and trainer Dale Capuano teamed up to bookend Sunday's program by winning Race 1 with Thunderturtle ($8.20) and Race 9 with Hello Gracie ($6.80) … The 20-cent Rainbow 6 was solved Sunday for a jackpot payout of $4,139.20 … Live racing returns Friday, Jan. 8 with a nine-race card starting at 12:25 p.m.

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Laurel Park: Apprentice John Hiraldo Scores First Career Win With 33-1 Longshot

Top Notch Racing's Flat Rate emerged from a three-way photo finish a neck ahead of Proud Enough to spring a 33-1 upset of Laurel Park's sixth race and give 10-pound apprentice jockey John Hiraldo his first career victory.

Flat Rate ($69.80), a 4-year-old Violence gelding, ran 5 ½ furlongs in 1:05.90 over a fast main track in the beaten claimer for 3-year-olds and up to earn his fourth career victory and first since joining trainer Michael Jones Jr.

“It's something very special, unbelievable really. I can't believe it,” Hiraldo said. “I'm very happy. I have to thank God for always watching over me and all the other riders. I'm just very happy. I've worked so hard for this moment and I've dreamed about it since I was a little kid. It's something very special for me.”

Hiraldo, 19, is a native of Puerto Rico who galloped horses for trainer Brittany Russell before making his professional debut running fourth on Maximo Strong Dec. 10 at Laurel. Hiraldo had gone winless in his first 18 mounts including a third on Frontier Woman in Thursday's third race.

“My cousin, Angel Cruz, he has been a big part of my short career. Xavier [Perez], Sheldon [Russell]. Sheldon is one of the best ones in there. He's a great guy on and off the racetrack and he's been a good mentor for me,” Hiraldo said.

Angel Cruz is member of the Maryland track's riding colony who won with Dance and Dance ($16.60) Thursday and finished sixth in the fall meet standings with 20 wins. Hiraldo's father, Joel, won 200 races between 2001 and 2011, the last coming at Charles Town.

“When I was growing up, my dad was a jockey so he was the person I would always look up to. I would go to school and always think about riding. I didn't care about the grades, I just wanted to go to be a jockey when I grew up,” Hiraldo said. “When I grew up I went to the farm and started learning as much as I could. I came back and was here for a couple months working for Brittany Russell. I have to thank her for all her help. I just felt like it was the right time to do it.”

Flat Rate and Hiraldo posing for pictures

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First Del Mar Victory By Apprentice Pyfer A Family Affair

Jessica Pyfer's win aboard Summer Love in Friday's second race at Del Mar was a multi-layered joy for the 22-year-old apprentice rider.

It was her first victory at the seaside track north of San Diego, Calif., and the fifth of her burgeoning career, which triggers the step from a 10- to seven-pound weight allowance, the initial sign of accomplishment for apprentice riders. And it came after getting a leg up from her stepfather, trainer Phil D'Amato. To that point, D'Amato starters had been 0-for-12 at the Bing Crosby meeting.

“It's very special to win here,” Pyfer said. “I've been coming here since I was a little girl, six or seven years old, and it's like my second home. Every summer I used to come here and idolize the jockeys in the room and now I'm one of them.

“To win for my dad is even more special. He's the man who helped me through the years and has helped me get my riding career started. To him I'm very thankful.”

Summer Love, a Kentucky-bred 3-year-old daughter of Summer Front, had one victory in five career starts and was 0-for-3 in Southern California since coming under the care of D'Amato in early summer following two races in Florida for trainer Michael Stidham.

Jessica Pyfer, soaking wet from an initiation by fellow riders, celebrates her first win at Santa Anita

A pair of optional claiming level tries here last summer with first Abel Cedillo and then Ricky Gonzalez in the saddle proved fruitless. Pyfer got the call for a $25,000 claiming event at Santa Anita on Oct. 3 at Santa Anita and the result was a fourth-place finish, the best of the filly's career other than her maiden win.

Summer Love was the 7-2 second choice on the morning line Friday behind 5-2 Invincibella, but they were virtual co-favorites $2.70-1 going into the gate.

Summer Love sped to a clear lead at the start, was in front by four lengths at the midpoint of the mile run on dirt, padded the lead to five turning for home and won by 4 3/4 lengths to the cheers of Pyfer's racetrack family and owners from the Agave Racing Stable and Little Red Feather partnership.

Pyfer, born in Denver, Colo., stands 5' 2” and weighs in at 110 pounds. She is a college (Azusa Pacific) graduate who has spent her whole life on or near horses.

Pyfer's mother, Sherri Alexander, has been a horsewoman and exercise rider since her youth. She was seven months pregnant with Jessica and galloping horses in California before going to Denver to give birth. She had her daughter on the backs of ponies and horses very soon afterward and Jessica competed in her first riding event as a 4-year-old.

Sherri returned to California when Jessica was five for an opportunity to gallop horses for trainer Mark Glatt in Southern California. That led to a further galloping opportunity with the late trainer Mike Mitchell where she and his then assistant, D'Amato, met and became friendly. In due course, D'Amato took over training many of Mitchell's horses after he passed, while his friendship with Sherri evolved to the point where it led to marriage.

Growing up, Jessica became a regular at the D'Amato barn and, when she wasn't in school, also was riding horses in events whenever and wherever she could. When she turned 16, she got a racetrack license and began galloping horses for D'Amato as well as other trainers, something she delighted in around her book work for the next six years. Her parents encouraged her to go on with her schooling and she even took the law school entrance test (LSAT) and did well enough on it that that door was open to her. But still her passion for the horses was strong and growing stronger and then — it led to a “moment” for her.

“I was at home with my family at dinner one night,” she recalled. “I'd finished college and I'd been galloping lots of horses. I even got asked by (Hall of Fame trainer) Richard Mandella to gallop some of his horses. That really got me to thinking about what I wanted to do. And then out of the blue my dad says: 'Go ahead and do it. If you're going to be a rider, this is the time for you to try. Go ahead.'”

Asked if there were personal or family rituals established for celebrating big victories, Pyfer replied in the negative. Then her eyes lit up above the mask covering the lower half of her face.

“I'll start a tradition now,” she said. “We'll pick a restaurant and go out to dinner.”

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Apprentice Marquez Out Four Weeks After Fracturing Wrist In Belmont Spill

Apprentice jockey Charlie Marquez will be out four weeks after fracturing his right wrist in the last race of Saturday's card at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

His agent, Hall of Fame rider Angel Cordero, Jr., said Marquez will return to ride at the fall meet at Aqueduct Racetrack, which runs from November 6 through December 6.

The 17-year-old Marquez won three races during the Belmont fall meet, starting with Wushu Warrior on September 25 and following with Forgotten Hero on October 1 and Noble Thought on October 4. He moved his tack from Maryland to New York at the beginning of the fall meet.

Marquez, aboard Rock N Warrior for Race 11 over Belmont's inner turf on Saturday, was unseated early on the backstretch in Saturday's finale. Rock N Warrior was apprehended and walked off under her own power.

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