Samy Camacho Rides Four Winners Friday At Tampa Bay Downs

Samy Camacho has been performing like a man on a mission over the last six racing days at Tampa Bay Downs.

Camacho, who won last year's Oldsmar riding title with 111 victories, has ridden far more horses this season than any other jockey, a tribute to the rider's skills and athleticism as well as the hustling of his agent, Mike Moran.

And since many of the track's higher-percentage trainers like using Camacho, the winners are inevitably starting to pile up.

The 33-year-old Caracas, Venezuela product rode four winners Friday, giving him 35 for the meet – eight ahead of runner-up Pablo Morales. More notably, Camacho has 14 victories from his last 40 mounts, with 12 seconds and five thirds.

That serious run of success includes a victory last Saturday for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott with the 3-year-old Florida-bred filly Outfoxed in the $125,000 Gasparilla Stakes.

Camacho's most exciting victory Friday came in the seventh race on the turf, a one-mile maiden special weight race for 3-year-olds. Refusing to accept defeat, Camacho kept scrubbing on the Chad Brown-trained first-time starter Napoleonic War, pushing the colt into a dead-heat with another first-time starter, trainer Christophe Clement's colt Seigneur, ridden by Hector Rafael Diaz, Jr.

“I thought I lost it when I crossed the wire, and I was a little mad because I knew he was better than the other horses in the race,” Camacho said. “He was a little bit hyper in the gate, just playing around, and when the doors opened he propped up and lost the break. The pace was slow and I was on heels all the way, but when I asked him he came flying.

“I think that horse wins by 5 lengths if he doesn't miss the break, but I kept trying and we got a dead-heat. When I ride for Chad Brown, I feel like I'm driving a Rolls-Royce,” Camacho said.

Camacho began Friday's card with victories in his first two tries. He won the second race on Mystery Mo, a 4-year-old gelding owned by Averill Racing and trained by Gerald Bennett. Camacho returned to the winner's circle after the third race with Berhanu, a 4-year-old Florida-bred gelding owned by Chuncho Bravo Stable & Farm and trained by Javier Morzan.

In the sixth race, Camacho helped 4-year-old Florida-bred filly Cajun Spice earn her first career victory for owners Karyn Philipp and Tage Boohit. Philipp is the trainer.

Camacho also had a second and a fourth on the card.

Almost two-thirds of the meet remains for Morales, five-time champion Antonio Gallardo and Fernando De La Cruz to carve into Camacho's lead in the standings. But as long as Camacho stays healthy and keeps believing in himself, his rivals will be hard-pressed to prevent him from a successful defense.

“I feel great. I have a lot of confidence in myself and Mike Moran,” Camacho said. “I feel happy when I get to ride a lot of horses, because I have more chances to win more races.”

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‘We’ve All Got To Do Our Part’: Gaffalione Returns From Quarantine With Four-Win Day

Jockey Tyler Gaffalione bagged four winners Wednesday at Gulfstream Park in Hallendale Beach, Fla., making it a pretty good first day back after sitting out last weekend's races after testing positive for Covid-19.

“My valet tested positive early last week,” Gaffalione said. “Instead of putting anyone at risk, I went ahead and took a test at home and sat out the necessary days. Unfortunately I missed out on a few winners, but we've all got to do our part.”

The Davie, Fla. native and 2015 Eclipse Award winner as champion apprentice, who said he experienced only mild symptoms, captured Wednesday's opener on Slam Dunk Racing's Banker's Hours ($5.60), a mount he picked up from Irad Ortiz Jr., who has been out with a right knee injury.

Represented by agent Matt Muzikar, Gaffalione won Race 4 with Robert Cummings and Donna Cummings' 4-year-old filly Jazzy T ($8), and followed up in Race 8 aboard Pocket Aces Racing's 4-year-old gelding Critical Threat ($8.60) and Race 9 with Patricia's Hope LLC's Chacalosa ($6.20).

“My agent does a great job. He always puts me on live horses, I've just got to come out here and get it done,” Gaffalione said. “They're running well today and I'm enjoying myself. I'm glad to get back to work.”

Gaffalione had not ridden since finishing third with Philzano in the 10th race finale Jan. 6. He ranks third in the Championship Meet standings with 27 wins, trailing Luis Saez (49) and Paco Lopez (30).

“It feels great. I was starting to run circles in my house with just not much to do,” Gaffalione said. “I'm really happy to be back.”

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Red-Hot Luis Saez Records Second Straight Four-Win Day At Gulfstream Park

Fresh off a four-win day Wednesday, jockey Luis Saez added another four trips to the Gulfstream Park winner's circle Thursday to take over the top spot in the Championship Meet standings.

The 29-year-old native of Panama, who won back-to-back Championship Meet titles in 2016-2017 and 2017-2018, entered the day tied with idle Paco Lopez with 12 wins apiece before scoring aboard Whiskeyonhislips ($3.40) in Race 2, Current Situation ($8) in Race 3, Bird Wildcat ($5.20) in Race 6 and Avow ($4.20) in Race 10.

“I love to ride at Gulfstream Park; it's so familiar; it's where I first came to from Panama,” Saez said. “The horses are running good for us, and my agent is doing a wonderful job. I'm very grateful.”

Kiaran McLaughlin teamed with Saez following his retirement from training last year.

“I'm blessed to be with him. He's very classy,” Saez said. “I'm doing good and very happy.”

Saez is used to winning races in bunches at Gulfstream, where he rode a record-equaling seven winners on a card Jan. 24, 2018 and March 29, 2018.

The 20-cent Rainbow 6 gross jackpot pool will be guaranteed at $150,000 for Friday's program at Gulfstream Park, four racing days after a jackpot of $407,067.66 was taken down by one lucky bettor last Saturday.

Friday's Rainbow 6 sequence will span Races 4-9.

The Rainbow 6 jackpot is paid out when there is a single unique ticket sold with all six winners. On days when there is no unique ticket, 70 percent of that day's pool goes back to those bettors holding tickets with the most winners, while 30 percent is carried over to the jackpot pool.

Who's Hot: Jockey Tyler Gaffalione doubled aboard Dominant Joy ($2.40) in Race 1 and Seizing the Dream ($7) in Race 8.

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Edwin Gonzalez Back At Full Strength At Gulfstream Park

Jockey Edwin Gonzalez made it clear that he has made it all the way back from a midsummer injury Thursday at Gulfstream Park, riding the winners of four races, including impressive maiden winner Palmach, on an eight-race card.

The 29-year-old journeyman, who had become an immediate success while riding at Gulfstream Park full time during the Spring/Summer Meet for the first time, was sidelined for seven weeks with a hairline fracture in his right leg that was sustained in a racing mishap July 3. He won three races on his first day back in action Aug. 21, but Gonzalez didn't continue to quite maintain the strike rate that he had enjoyed prior to his injury.

“I'm feeling great. I had 50 days out – that's a long time for me,” said Gonzalez, who won with his last mount Sunday and his first three mounts Thursday. “I'm feeling strong. I kept saying, 'Keep working hard, and everyone will be happy and I'll keep winning races.'”

D J Stable's Palmach bucked the trend on Gulfstream's Tapeta track while capturing the featured $60,000 maiden special weight race for 2-year-old fillies in Race 4. The Mark Casse-trained daughter of Violence broke alertly to assume an early lead that she would never relinquish on her way to a four-length victory, becoming only the second horse to win from gate to wire in the first 20 races on the newly installed all-weather surface.

“She likes the Tapeta. The first time she was a little green and the turf was a little soft because it was raining that day,” said Gonzalez, who finished fifth aboard Palmach in her Sept. 10 debut over a good turf course. “Today, she loved the Tapeta.”

Although she was the first front-running winner since Wow Tapit wired the field in only the second race run on Tapeta, Palmach did follow an early trend on the all-weather surface, becoming the 12th favorite to come through for their backers. Saffie Joseph Jr.-trained Beachnut Trophy, Ken and Sarah Ramsey's homebred daughter of Real Solution, closed from far back to finish second, three-quarters of a length ahead of Todd Pletcher-trained Five Prizes, a daughter of Bernardini who

Palmach, the 9-5 favorite, gave Gonzalez his second of four victories Thursday, when he connected aboard World Gone Wild ($5) in Race 2, Bramble Berry ($8) in Race 5 and Souper All Star ($14.80) through a disqualification in Race 8. Souper All Star was Gonzalez's seventh win from his last 12 mounts.

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