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Arriaga Hopes $16,000 Claim Share The Ride Continues To Improve In Vosburgh

Share the Ride, trained by Antonio Arriaga for Silvino Ramirez, enters Saturday's Grade 2, $150,000 Vosburgh at Belmont Park off a sparkling front-running performance in the Mr. Prospector at Monmouth Park that garnered a career-best 101 Beyer Speed Figure.

The 5-year-old Candy Ride gelding, bred in Kentucky by Dixiana Farms, set splits of 22.45 and 44.94 under Ferrin Peterson in the six-furlong Mr. Prospector en route to a 3 3/4-length win in a final time of 1:09.18.

Arriaga said he was surprised to see such fast fractions last out.

“We didn't expect that,” said Arriaga. “He was supposed to go easy to the front, but she sent him all the way and the horse was doing it comfortable.”

Manny Franco will take over on Saturday from post 4 in a six-horse field led by Firenze Fire and the John Terranova-trained duo of Funny Guy and Stan the Man.

Arriaga said he will let the 2020 Belmont Stakes-winning rider dictate the tactics.

“He can come from off the pace too but let's see what Manny has to say. He's been riding really good,” said Arriaga.

Share the Ride was claimed for $16,000 on July 5 out of a winning effort in a Monmouth Park sprint. He followed with a good second in an optional-claiming sprint on August 9 at first asking for new connections ahead of two even efforts on the Monmouth turf when fourth in the 5 1/2-furlong Get Serious on August 23 and fifth in the one-mile Grade 3 Red Bank on September 5.

Arriaga said the addition of blinkers for his last two starts is the only major change in equipment for Share the Ride since the claim.

“We put the blinkers on but other than that it took him a month to start eating well when we first claimed him,” said Arriaga. “Some horses when they get older, they get better. Good horses get better if you take care of them the right way, feed them the right way and spoil them and they're happy.”

After winning the Mr. Prospector on one week's rest, Share the Ride returns to action in the Vosburgh with two weeks between starts.

“He's doing good,” said Arriaga. “He gallops and jogs. With these fast horses, I try not to work them too much because they can blow their race in the workout if they go fast.”

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Letters to the Editor: Andrea Branchini

Dear Editor,

There are many ways in which this 2020 Keeneland September Sale is different from previous editions, but to me one is the absence of Cris Caldwell, for sure.

I still expect to see him quipping from the rostrum or happily strolling around the pavilion–memories that lead me to reflect on the mysterious, inexplicable power of presence and personality–something Cris had in spades. A smile, a joke, a friendly gesture, that is all we can ask from a person we do not know well in a public business place. Cris provided all that to a whole lot of people, with a great dose of contagious enthusiasm to go with it. Priceless.

On top of the above, Cris was very good at his job, and, not surprisingly, there was humility in his professionalism. Great artists are like that, I am told.

Andrea Branchini

The post Letters to the Editor: Andrea Branchini appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Apprentice Charlie Marquez Teams With ‘Legend’ Angel Cordero For New York Debut

The New York Racing Association's jockey colony is one of the most talented in the world, with a room that claims Hall of Famers, Eclipse Award champions, and American Classic winners. But 17-year-old Charlie Marquez said he won't be intimidated when he makes his New York debut on Friday, where the apprentice rider will look to build on a successful start to 2020 that has seen him become a regular at Laurel Park in Maryland.

“I'm extremely excited,” Marquez said. “It's been a dream of mine to ride in New York and ride at Belmont. I've had a great mentor in my agent Angel Cordero, who is a legend, especially in New York. Hopefully, we go places and everything goes as planned.

“I don't fear any jockey,” he added. “Of course, they're better than me, but I'm just focusing on myself and learning as much as I can. I'm just practicing and working hard to do what I can to become the best.”

Marquez has registered 63 wins in 394 mounts in 2020. Officially starting his career with seven mounts in 2019, Marquez won his first career race on January 9 at Laurel aboard Sierra Leona, who gave him his second win 10 days later over the same track. This year, he has compiled a 63-57-44 record with earnings of more than $1.5 million and has also earned winner's circle trips at Delaware Park and Penn National.

On Friday, Marquez will make his debut at historic Belmont Park, where he is scheduled for six mounts on the 10-race card. By moving his tack north, he will be competing against the likes of Hall of Famers John Velazquez and Javier Castellano, Eclipse Award-winners Jose and Irad Ortiz, Jr., and Belmont Stakes-winner jockey Manny Franco, who shares the same agent as Marquez in Cordero, Jr.

A three-time Kentucky Derby-winner, Cordero, Jr, who captured 7,057 races, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1988.

Marquez is one of three apprentice riders in New York during the 27-day fall meet, joining Luis Cardenas and Heman Harkie.

Marquez was third in jockey standings for the Laurel's winter/spring meet and was also third in the summer meet, serving as springboard to a bigger stage.

“Laurel helped me so much and the fellow jockeys and all the people taught me so much about riding,” Marquez said. “Having the opportunity to come up to New York, it's exciting and I think I'm ready.”

Marquez comes from a family of jockeys. Both his father and grandfather had mounts in the Kentucky Derby, with his grandfather, Carlos Marquez, Sr., running third with Hold Your Peace in 1972 and Law Talk running 19th in 1983. His father, Carlos Marquez, Jr., was ninth aboard Concerto in 1997.

Marquez, Jr. has amassed more than 3,000 career wins. In 1997, he piloted Salt It to a victory in the Black-Eyed Susan at Pimlico Race Course, a race which his father won in 1970 aboard Office Queen. This makes the Marquez pair the only father-son duo to have won the Black-Eyed Susan.

The younger Marquez will look to continue his family's success and do it with his own style.

“I like to try and come off the pace; I think it's more fun and gives you more of a rush than sitting a horse on the front end,” Marquez said. “But I think I have patience for being a 17-year-old apprentice. A lot of riders go quick and make their move quick. I like to sit and just wait and see how the horse is traveling and see where they take me.”

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When Digging For A Diagnosis Becomes Harmful

Equine and pediatric medicine has many parallels, notes Dr. David Ramey in an article for Horse Network, including a propensity for overdiagnosis.

Ramey draws multiple similarities between the two, including that both horses and children are reliant upon adults to make medical decisions for them. Additionally, neither small children nor horses can talk, so diagnoses must be made on observation and testing.

Ramey says that a horse may have an issue where a diagnosis is warranted, but determining an exact diagnosis can be difficult—and in some cases harmful–to the horse. An ultrasound can be a helpful tool to use if a horse is colicking and a diagnosis on whether surgery is needed is imperative. However, sometimes a precise diagnosis isn't needed. If a horse is older and sore, using every diagnostic tool to determine where it is unsound may not change the treatment or the outcome—it simply adds to the owner's expense. In Ramey's words, “'Overdiagnosis' describes a situation when an abnormality is found, but detection of that abnormality doesn't actually benefit the patient.”

Though vets have multiple diagnostic tools at their disposal, their use doesn't always behoove the horse or the owner. Using every tool available to find a diagnosis might physically harm the horse: It's imperative that the owner and vet agree that the benefit outweighs the possible risk of the test or procedure.

Psychologically, naming the issue may change the perception of what a horse can do. Some owners then become focuses on “fixing” the problem, adding in supplements and other treatments that the horse may not need. Finally, the financial strain on owners who choose to offer treatments to horses that may not garner long-term improvement can be immense.

Ramey offers some thoughts on why veterinarians may seek to over diagnose the equines in their care:

Industry influence
Defensiveness
Incentives

Owners may attempt to seek out concrete diagnoses for their own peace of mind; uncertainty is not well tolerated by most people.

The benefit—to both horse and owner–of performing a test or procedure should be discussed before an owner agrees to pay for it. Many equine conditions improve on their own, so immediately throwing every test and procedure at the horse may result in the same diagnosis as waiting and not doing additional tests.