Jockey Julian Pimentel Taking A Break To Contemplate His Future

Journeyman Julian Pimentel, a Maryland mainstay since 2006 that will be forever linked as the regular rider of late Mid-Atlantic legend Ben's Cat, is taking the winter off to contemplate his future.

Pimentel, 40, finished sixth aboard Norman Lewis' 4-year-old filly Castilleja for Hall of Fame trainer King Leatherbury in Saturday's opener at Laurel Park in Laurel, Md., a six-furlong starter-optional claimer for fillies and mares 3 years old and up.

According to Equibase statistics, it was the 101st mount of the fall meet for Pimentel, 302nd of the year, and 11,299th in a career that began in his native Colombia before coming to the United States in 2000 and working as an exercise rider for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. He first rode in New Jersey before making the move to Maryland.

“I've been fighting with my weight a little bit lately, so I'm going to go home to relax, spend time with family and not think about it and when I come back, I'll see what happens,” Pimentel said. “This is all I've been doing all my life.

“I've never done anything else. I have fun, but it's hard to do. Everything has to come to an end,” he added. “I'm definitely coming back, I just don't know if I'm going to ride again. I don't know exactly what I'd do.”

Pimentel has 11 wins at the fall meet, 42 this year, and 1,806 in a career that included eight Grade 3 wins and mounts in the 2019 G1 Kentucky Derby and 2011, 2014, and 2019 G1 Preakness. His victory in the 2017 G3 General George at Laurel was the first graded-stakes victory for Imperial Hint, who would go on to win four Grade 1 stakes and more than $2.2 million in purses.

Ben's Cat was, by far, Pimentel's greatest horse. Pimentel was aboard for 41 of 63 starts including 30 in a row from June 2012 to November 2015. Together they won 22 races, 17 of them in stakes, topped by the 2013 and 2014 G3 Parx Dash, 2012 G3 Turf Monster, 2012 Maryland Million Turf Sprint, 2013-15 Mister Diz and Jim McKay Turf Sprint, and 2012-14 Fabulous Strike Handicap. Ben's Cat was euthanized at age 11 in June 2017 due to complications from colic surgery.

“Ben's Cat was very important to me, a very good horse,” Pimentel said. “When we went to the Derby, that was great. There were a lot of good times.”

Ronnie Gerardo, Pimentel's agent since February 2009, said the jockey is leaving Tuesday for Colombia and expected to return following Laurel's 2022 winter meet, which runs through March 27.

“This may be his last mount. He's going home to give his body a break and around April, he'll see how he is and if he feels like he can go back down to 118 [pounds] again,” Gerardo said. “He's competitive. It's a little harder these days. The older you get, your metabolism slows down. He's done a good job taking care of his body. He's had a good career.”

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Gerardo said Pimentel first began thinking about taking a sabbatical when Maryland racing was paused from mid-March to late May 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic. Pimentel had single-season highs of 1,039 mounts and $4,387,978 million in purse earnings in 2001 and 146 wins in 2011, when he also won his 1,000th race aboard Pet Me Pet Me at Delaware Park.

“He's leaning toward retirement. It all depends on his weight,” Gerardo said. “I'm praying that he'll be back because I'm going to miss him. We've been together for almost 13 years. It's a long time, especially in this game.”

Other graded-stakes winners for Pimentel are Divisidero, Control System, Evil Minister, and Runspastum. He ranks fifth with 13 career wins in the Maryland Million, five behind Hall of Fame leader Edgar Prado.

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Share The Ride Takes Inside Route To Victory In General George

Silvino Ramirez's Share the Ride soared through an opening along the rail entering the stretch and pulled away to earn his second career graded-stakes victory and give journeyman rider Victor Carrasco his first in Saturday's $250,000 General George (G3) at Laurel Park.

The 45th running of the General George for 4-year-olds and up and the 69th edition of the $250,000 Runhappy Barbara Fritchie (G3) for fillies and mares 4 and older, both sprinting seven furlongs, co-headlined a Winter Sprintfest program of six stakes worth $900,000 in purses.

Originally scheduled for Feb. 13, Winter Sprintfest was pushed back a week after winter storms passed through the Mid-Atlantic region. Parx-based Share the Ride ($10.80) hit the wire in 1:22.85 over a fast main track.

Winner of the 2013 Eclipse Award as North America's champion apprentice, the 28-year-old Carrasco has battled through assorted injuries over his career, picking up his 1,000th lifetime winner last January at Laurel.

“First of all I want to say thanks to the trainer and the owner. I can't even explain,” Carrasco said. “I've been through so much in my career [that] when I passed the wire, I could not believe it. But thank God we're here and thanks to Share the Ride, we got it done.”

Share the Ride, a gelded son of Candy Ride, won the six-furlong Fall Highweight (G3) Nov. 29 at Aqueduct to cap his 2020 campaign. He made his 6-year-old debut Jan. 16 at Laurel, leading into deep stretch before being caught at the wire and finishing second by a neck behind Wendell Fong.

Last time out, Share the Ride chased the pace on the outside and settled four third, beaten 3 ¼ lengths as the favorite, in the seven-furlong Toboggan (G3) Jan. 30 at Aqueduct.

“Everything came out like the plan we made. We're really happy,” Ramirez said. “He's a fast horse. He likes to run in front. He was a little behind last time. He didn't like it so much, so this time we were in front. That's the way he likes it.”

Arthur's Hope and jockey Alcibiades Cortez were eager for the lead and held it through a brisk pace of 23.20 seconds for a quarter-mile and 46.13 for the half, with Share the Ride in close pursuit. Arthur's Hope drifted out as the field approached the stretch and Share the Ride had plenty of room to roll once straightened for home.

Tattooed, upset winner of the one-mile Jennings Jan. 16 at Laurel in his previous start, split horses in mid-stretch to get up for second, two lengths ahead of 2020 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash (G3) winner Laki. It was another half-length back to multiple stakes winner Lebda in fourth.

Arthur's Hope, Informative, Chilly in Charge, Grade 3 winner Majestic Dunhill and 2-1 favorite Funny Guy completed the order of finish. Fortunate Friends was scratched.

“The instructions were to not go to the lead, to make sure that I sit second or third, and I tried my best to do that. When I saw Cortez on my outside, I just sat patient and waited and when we got near to the quarter pole and said, 'Go,' he responded well and we got the 'W,'” Carrasco said.

“To be honest I felt like he was never slowing down,” he added. “I was a little concerned by the sixteenth pole because I've been in that position before where you feel like to you them and then you get nailed at the wire. But I felt like I had enough from the sixteenth pole to the wire.”

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General George Favorite Funny Guy One Serious Racehorse

His name evokes a smile, and though he has yet to register a win against open competition, make no mistake – Funny Guy is one serious racehorse.

Gatsas Stables, R. A. Hill Stable and Swick Stable's Funny Guy is a five-time stakes winner against fellow New York-breds that owns six wins, six seconds and $638,645 in purse earnings from 17 lifetime starts.

The 5-year-old son of 2008 Kentucky Derby (G1) and Preakness (G1) winner Big Brown has fared well in the occasional foray into open company, including a runner-up finish behind Grade 1 winner Firenze Fire in the Vosburgh (G2) last fall at his home base of Belmont Park.

Funny Guy is entered to make his graded-stakes return in Saturday's $250,000 General George (G3) at Laurel Park, where he is the 9-5 program favorite against a field boasting seven other stakes winners including Grade 3 winners Laki, Majestic Dunhill and Share the Ride.

The 45th running of the General George for 4-year-olds and up and $250,000 Runhappy Barbara Fritchie (G3) for females 4 and older, both sprinting seven furlongs, serve as the co-headliners on a nine-race Winter Sprintfest program featuring six stakes worth $900,000 in purses rescheduled from Feb. 13 due to weather.

Funny Guy has been at Laurel since last week under the supervision of Tonja Terranova, wife and assistant to trainer John Terranova. Though training has been intermittently interrupted by weather, John Terranova said Funny Got got in a “strong gallop” Wednesday morning.

“It's all good. We'll just do what we've got to do during the week,” he said. “I guess everyone else is in the same boat with the postponement. We'll just ride the wave.”

The General George will be only the second time Funny Guy has raced outside of New York. The first came in the 2019 Oklahoma Derby (G3), when he ran sixth behind Owendale, third in that year's Preakness, and runner-up Sleepy Eyes Todd, most recently fourth in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup (G1) Jan. 23 at Gulfstream Park and running in Saturday's $20 million Saudi Cup.

“He's been great. He's honest, he does everything right. He's been a fun horse to be around,” John Terranova said. “He's versatile and just keeps coming back for more each time. He's had a couple little circumstances where maybe the track got to him a little bit or it just didn't set up quite right, but he's always given us a big effort.”

One start prior to last year's Vosburgh, Funny Guy wound up fourth by 2 ½ lengths in the Forego (G1) at Saratoga to Win Win Win, another veteran of the 2019 Triple Crown trail, and Grade 1 winner Complexity, the runner-up. The seven-furlong Forego was contested during a thunderstorm that rolled through at post time. In a sign of respect, Funny Guy was sent off as the favorite in the Forego and Vosburgh.

“The Forego was one of those circumstances with that horrific rainstorm we were in the middle of when they snapped the gate on us. Everybody rushed out to the track and it was an absolute deluge,” Terranova said. “You couldn't even see them. It was like running through a river. He was down inside, just buried in there. The track took away from a lot of performances on that afternoon.”

Funny Guy's stakes wins have come at distances from 6 ½ furlongs to the 1 1/8 miles of the Albany, which he captured by a neck in 2019 at Saratoga, earning him a shot in the Oklahoma Derby. Given some time off after that effort, he returned with back-to-back stakes wins in the one-mile Commentator and seven-furlong John Morrissey last summer.

In his 2021 debut, Funny Guy ran second as the favorite in the seven-furlong Say Florida Sandy Jan. 9 at Aqueduct, his first start since a neck triumph in the New York Stallion Series Thunder Rumble Nov. 22, also going seven-eighths at the Big A.

“The track was a little loose on him. He's a big, heavy horse and winter tracks, they get cold, they get cuppy, they get loose and dry,” Terranova said. “He doesn't really get his feet that far up off the ground so I think he struggled with it, having that quickness to him. It took it a little bit away from him the last start. Our jock said the same thing after getting off him.”

Funny Guy owns two wins and two seconds in five career tries at the General George distance, and is two-for-three on an off track. A second winter storm is scheduled to pass through the Laurel area Thursday into Friday morning.

“He's certainly doing well coming into this. We're just kind of like in this holding pattern, not much to do this week,” Terranova said. “He's doing great. We've been looking forward to this race. Wet or dry, he's been great. Everything's good.”

Terranova has shipped in to Maryland and left with graded-stakes before, taking the 2019 Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash (G3) with Killybegs Captain. It was the trainer's most recent of more than a dozen graded triumphs.

“We've been lucky down there and very fortunate that we've had some good success with our horses,” he said. “Hopefully it continues with Funny Guy.”

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Horsemen Adapting After Winter Sprintfest’s One-Week Delay At Laurel

In a sport where making last-minute adjustments is a daily occurrence, horsemen are adapting accordingly to the one-week transfer of the Winter Sprintfest program, originally scheduled for Feb. 13 at Laurel Park in Maryland.

The entire nine-race program featuring six stakes, two graded, worth $900,000 in purses will be run Saturday, Feb. 20. Co-headlining the card are the $250,000 Runhappy Barbara Fritchie (G3) for females and $250,000 General George (G3).

Barry Schwartz's Grade 3-winning homebred Sharp Starr, based at Belmont Park with trainer Horacio DePaz, was one of two horses that shipped to Maryland for the Fritchie, which attracted a field of eight including Laurel-based multiple stakes winners Hello Beautiful, the 8-5 program favorite, and Dontletsweetfoolya.

“The only way it affects us, and it's in a positive way, is the filly has more time to settle in,” trainer Horacio DePaz said. “I'm just going to leave her here at Laurel and train from here and go into the race. It's all good on that part.”

Sharp Starr, winner of the Go for Wand (G3) Dec. 5 at Aqueduct, exits a bullet half-mile work in 47 seconds Feb. 6, the fastest of 140 horses over Belmont's training track. She drew the rail in the Fritchie and is the 3-1 second choice on the morning line for DePaz, the former private trainer for Sagamore Farm who maintains a string at Pimlico Race Course.

“She had a huge work coming into it and she's been doing good and settled in for the most part pretty good,” DePaz said. “It just gives us more time. She's eating well, so hopefully we'll get some nice days to train. We'll see what happens.”

R.A. Hill Stable's 2020 Bold Ruler (G3) winner Majestic Dunhill made the trip from Palm Beach Downs in South Florida to Maryland, where the 6-year-old gelding drew Post 4 in a field of 10 for the General George that included fellow graded winners Laki and Share the Ride and multiple stakes winners Lebda and Funny Guy, the 9-5 program favorite based in New York.

“Whenever you're pointing for a race, particularly a stakes race, you put your horse on a schedule and have a very deliberate plan, and then something like this happens with the weather,” Majestic Dunhill trainer George Weaver said. “All the other horses have to deal with it, too. It is what it is.”

Majestic Dunhill shipped in to win the 2018 City of Laurel, run second in the 2019 General George and third in the 2017 Laurel Futurity on turf and 2019 Polynesian.

“I'm just going to leave him there and train him over the phone, and hopefully he does OK,” he added. “We know he likes it at Laurel.”

So, too, does Louis Ulman and Neil Glasser's Kenny Had a Notion, whose four wins from seven career starts include the Jamestown on turf and the Maryland Million Nursery and Spectacular Bid on dirt, the latter Jan. 16. The son of Great Notion is the 5-2 second choice among seven in the $100,000 Miracle Wood for 3-year-olds going one mile.

“You know in this business, you're calling audibles every day. So, we'll have to see how the weather and the track is the next couple days and then I'll decide what I need to do with him. Hopefully we can get something done with him before Saturday,” trainer Dale Capuano said. “The extra time won't hurt him.”

Capuano also entered Mopo Racing's 5-year-old gelding Dixie Drawl in the $100,000 John B. Campbell for 4-year-olds and up at about 1 1/16 miles. Dixie Drawl is third choice in the program at 9-2.

“I don't think the extra time is going to bother him, either,” Capuano said. “I was going to scratch him anyway with the track coming up sloppy so, for him, it worked out just as well. It's another chance for a fast track for him. We'll see.”

The son of late trainer Phil Capuano whose younger brother, Gary, is also a Laurel-based trainer, Dale Capuano has won 3,530 races and more than $63 million in purse earnings since 1981, and is the all-time leading trainer in Maryland Million history with 13 wins.

“It was bad timing, but we'll see what happens next week,” he said. “You never know what you're gonna get.”

Laurel is scheduled to host a special Presidents Day holiday program Monday, Feb. 15, offering carryovers of $3,531.94 in the 20-cent Rainbow 6 (Races 4-9) and $1,386.50 in the $1 Super Hi-5 (Race 2). First race post time is 12:25 p.m.

Monday's card includes a 5 ½-furlong allowance for Maryland-bred/sired horses in Race 7 that includes narrow 3-1 program favorite Nightlife and 2020 Wide Country winner Naughty Thoughts, and a third-level optional claiming allowance for older horses in Race 8 where Grade 3 winner Always Sunshine is favored at 2-1 off a Jan. 24 victory – his first start in 541 days.

John and Diane Fradkin's Rombauer, sent off as the 6-5 favorite in a field of eight, rallied from last to first for a neck victory over Javanica in the $100,000 El Camino Real Derby Feb. 13 at Golden Gate Fields. Trained by Michael McCarthy and second in the American Pharoah (G1) last fall at Santa Anita, the bay Twirling Candy colt earned an automatic berth to the 146th Preakness Stakes (G1) May 15 at Pimlico.

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