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Familiar Names Lead Early Del Mar Standings

Four days into the 82^nd Del Mar summer meeting, one can find the usual suspects in the upper reaches of the jockey and trainer standings.

There's Flavien Prat, winner of four of the last five riding titles on top, despite missing a day while on assignment in New Jersey, with seven wins from 24 mounts.

There's eight-time (summer and fall) training champion Peter Miller having saddled three winners from 23 starters. Miller is deadlocked with defending fall champion Richard Baltas, who has gone 3-for-21.

But look just below, or in the trainers' case to the side, and one finds names that are not quite so familiar to the casual fan.

In a five-way tie for second behind Prat is Kyle Frey, a 29-year-old journeyman from Tracy, CA, who has three wins from 13 mounts. And level with Miller and Baltas is Victor Garcia, who has gone 3-for-3 to begin the meeting.

Frey notched his first Del Mar stakes victory on Friday aboard I'm So Anna in the $176,000 Fleet Treat Stakes for trainer Steve Sherman and owner/breeders KMN Racing of Kimberly and Kevin Nish of Orlando, FL.

Frey and I'm So Anna out-finished Prat on Teddy's Barino to the delight of Steve Sherman's father Art. The senior Sherman, who trained California Chrome to racing's highest honors, deputized for his son, who remained at their base in Northern California with four scheduled starters at Golden Gate Fields.

“I love it,” Art Sherman said. “Give the Northern California guys a chance.”

“Northern California guys” have made a summer migration to Del Mar with significant impact for the past three years. First Abel Cedillo in 2019, then Juan Hernandez and Ricky Gonzalez last year. Frey summered at Del Mar a few years ago but had settled on the Northern California circuit since.

Equibase statistics show Frey in the No. 39 spot for North American jockeys in 2021 with 129 wins from 514 mounts and purse earnings of more than $2.6 million. His career totals: 970 wins from 5,678 mounts and more than $20 million in purses. He's well on his way to his personal record of 153 wins in a calendar year.

“I was planning on heading back up to Northern California after a week here, but I'm doing so good I must admit I am seriously considering sticking around,” Frey said after the Fleet Treat. “We'll see.”

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Art Sherman said Saturday morning that I'm So Anna may race here again this summer with the Tranquility Lake Stakes at a mile on dirt on August 27 one possibility.

Garcia, 56, has been coming to Del Mar since the late 1980s. He saddled Little Juanito to victory in the seventh race on the opening day of the meeting, July 16, and followed that with a pair of wins last Sunday – Cute Impact in the fourth and Miss Alegria in the sixth. Little Juanito and Miss Alegria both paid $6.00 as race favorites, Cute Impact was a $63.80 upsetter.

“This is a good start and I hope the luck will keep going,” the conditioner said.

Garcia said he started with eight horses stabled here but lost Miss Alegria for the $20,000 claiming price. The 5-year-old mare was taken by Altamira Racing Stable and Tom Kagele and now is in Miller's barn.

“I'm looking to claim some, but it's tough to do here,” Garcia said.

Garcia was born in Tijuana and is a third-generation horseman. His father, Juan Garcia, was known as the “King of Caliente” (the now-closed Tijuana racetrack) after winning dozens of training titles there. He has been a Del Mar regular since the late 1980s and has five graded stakes victories in his career. He saddled Smooth Roller to a Grade 1 win in the 2015 Awesome Again at Santa Anita and registered Grade 2 or Grade 3 wins with Approved To Fly and Wait Til Monday in 1988 and '89.

Going on a winning streak is not new for the Garcia family. “I think my father won five straight in one day at Caliente,” he said.

The post Familiar Names Lead Early Del Mar Standings appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Monmouth Park Stewards Suspend Two Jockeys For Using Riding Crop During Race

Two jockeys received five-day suspensions and $500 fines for violating the New Jersey Racing Commission's riding crop rule stating the crop can only be used “when necessary to control the horse to avoid injury to the horse or rider.”

The two cases are as different as night and day.

Jockey Carlos Eduardo Lopez, who recently came to the United States from Uruguay, was sanctioned for his ride aboard Venezuelan Talent in the seventh race at Monmouth Park on July 11. Kevin Witte, agent for Lopez, said the rider admitted that he “got caught up in the moment” and used the crop to encourage his mount when he was fighting for the lead in the stretch. Venezuelan Affair was overtaken in deep stretch by Emirates Affair, finishing second by a length.

“He only speaks Spanish, but he was told before the race he could not use the whip but that he had the choice to take it with him for protection,” Witte said. “He apologized and will accept the suspension.”

Lopez will be suspended from July 24-July 28, inclusive.

Carlos Montalvo plans to appeal the suspension and fine he received for his ride aboard M I Six, winner of the first race at Monmouth Park on July 11. Montalvo claimed in a hearing with Monmouth Park stewards that he used the whip to prevent M I Six from bolting on the turn – something the gelding's exercise rider said happened during morning training. According to the Equibase chart, Montalvo struck M I Six three times with the crop as the gelding was drifting out on the turn.

The New Jersey Racing Commission prohibits its stewards from talking to the media, referring all inquiries to the office of the New Jersey attorney general, which oversees the commission. The commission has obfuscated when asked to explain what types of situations would warrant acceptable use of the riding crop for safety.

The sanctions against Montalvo suggest the stewards are saying either a horse drifting out and with a history of bolting does not merit use of the riding crop, or they believe Montalvo and those who testified on his behalf at the hearing – including the exercise rider – are being dishonest.

M I Six was entered in a race earlier this week at Parx but was listed as a vet scratch.

Attorney Drew Mollica, who represented Montalvo at the stewards' hearing, will handle his appeal. His suspension is scheduled to run from Aug. 24-Aug 28, inclusive.

Stewards have scheduled a hearing next week with Flavien Prat to consider sanctions for his ride aboard Hot Rod Charlie in the Grade 1 tvg.com Haskell Stakes on July 17. Hot Rod Charlie finished first but was disqualified and placed last after drifting in without clearance after passing Midnight Bourbon in mid-stretch. Midnight Bourbon clipped the heels of Hot Rod Charlie and stumbled badly, unseating Paco Lopez. Neither horse nor rider was seriously injured.

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Awaiting Monmouth Park Stewards’ Decision, Jockey Montalvo Claims Crop Use Was For Safety Purposes

Jockey Carlos Montalvo is awaiting word from stewards at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J., on whether he will be sanctioned for using his riding crop in a July 11 race en route to a three-length victory aboard M I Six in a maiden claiming event.

The New Jersey Racing Commission adopted strict rules that went into effect this year stating that the riding crop “shall only be used when necessary to control the horse to avoid injury to the horse or rider.” The crop is not allowed for encouragement.

Montalvo used the crop at least three times with his right hand on July 11, according to the Equibase chart footnotes, which read: “M I Six dueled two wide for the lead, drifted out entering the turn, had the rider go to a right-handed whip three times, then dueled with Military Drill in upper stretch, put a head in front and drew clear in the final sixteenth, ridden out.”

Montalvo told the Paulick Report he sensed M I Six was preparing to bolt to the outside fence, something he was told to expect by the gelding's exercise rider. Montalvo said he used the crop as a preventive device to protect himself, his fellow riders and the other horses in the race.

The jockey said he was called in to a July 16 hearing before having the benefit of a film review of the race with stewards. He was represented at the hearing by attorney Drew Mollica, who said Montalvo “should be congratulated for his actions, not sanctioned.” Montalvo faces a five-day suspension, $500 fine and M I Six could be disqualified from purse money.

This is the first known case in New Jersey where stewards have to determine whether the use of the riding crop was a legitimate safety issue.

Mollica said M I Six, a 4-year-old Mission Impazible gelding owned and trained by Riquelvis Grullon, was fractious throughout the saddling process and in the walking ring before the July 11 race. The aforementioned exercise rider testified at the hearing, Mollica added.

M I Six was subsequently entered in a July 21 race at Parx Racing in Pennsylvania but was a vet scratch.

The racing commission's presiding steward, Steven Pagano, declined to answer questions about the new regulation, referring all media inquiries to the office of the New Jersey attorney general. A spokesman from that office stated that “the new rule does not specify what kind of safety concerns would result in approved use of the riding crop by a jockey. The NJRC's presiding steward has been conducting meetings with the jockeys and exercise riders to explain the new riding crop rule and answer questions.”

Meanwhile, no hearing date has been set for Flavien Prat, the rider of Hot Rod Charlie, who was disqualified from a victory in the Grade 1, $1-million tvg.com Haskell Stakes on July 17. Hot Rod Charlie drifted in after moving to the lead in mid-stretch, causing Midnight Bourbon to clip heels and unseating jockey Paco Lopez. Mandaloun, beaten a nose by Hot Rod Charlie, was declared the winner.

Prat has been quoted as saying he felt as though he could have prevented Hot Rod Charlie from drifting in if he was permitted to use the riding crop.

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TVG Expands Collaboration With Jockeys

Officials at TVG have announced that members of the Del Mar riding colony will collaborate with the network to enhance its daily coverage of horse racing.

Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith, who has appeared in commercial endorsements for TVG in the past, will be joined by his colleagues Umberto Rispoli, Flavien Prat and Jessica Pyfer in contributing to broadcasts, social media content and overall online presence.

In addition to periodically wearing cameras on their helmets during races, all the jockeys will make appearances as special guests on the network when their riding schedules allow to provide previews and analysis of upcoming races. All will also contribute to news.tvg.com.

“We are so excited to welcome some of the brightest stars in the sport to the TVG team,” said Kevin Grigsby, Executive Producer and Senior Vice President of Television. “These riders will further enhance the fan experience through their unique perspectives and experiences both in and out of the saddle.”

In addition to Smith, Prat, Rispoli and Pyfer, TVG may expand its content collaboration with other riders in California and other major racing markets, Grigsby indicated.

“I am excited for the chance to work with TVG as my riding schedule allows,” said Smith. “TVG is part of the fabric of our sport, the network has always been supportive of the riders, and I'm looking forward to being able to further connect with the fans.”

TVG's Del Mar coverage this summer will also include Jockey Cams worn by Rispoli, Prat and Pyfer.

TVG has been a longstanding supporter of the Jockeys Guild PDJF and will again partner with the organization for the charity telethon later in the year.

The post TVG Expands Collaboration With Jockeys appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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