jorge vargas | Horse Racing Free Tips

Shahama Dominates Monmouth Oaks

Shahama stalked pacesetting favorite Juji's Map before exploding to the lead off the turn and sailing clear to her first U.S. victory in the GIII Monmouth Oaks Sunday on the Jersey Shore. Sent off at 8-5, the bay shadowed Juji's Map, the 4-5 favorite, through fractions of :24.67 and :48.71. Nudged at into the far turn, Shahama surged to the lead after three-quarters in 1:11.88 and bound away to an easy win.

“We thought Brad Cox's horse [Juju's Map] would be on the lead and we would be sitting second and that's just how it played out,” said Anthony Sciametta, assistant to winning trainer Todd Pletcher. “She's been training in New York and shipped down for this Saturday afternoon and did well and was well behaved. I know everyone who is around her likes her. She has a lot of class, as you can tell. I thought it was a two-horse race. You don't like to say that, but we thought it was between Juju's Map and us. Shahama was really good today.”

Winning jockey Jorge Vargas agreed the two favorites were the obvious class of the field.

“No disrespect to the others, but Shahama and Juju's Map were the classiest horses going in,” Vargas said. “I put my horse right on Juju's Map early. I was travelling good the whole time and I kept her just outside because Todd told me she doesn't like kickback from the dirt–she has a pretty face, she doesn't want to get that dirty. At the half-mile pole I picked it up with her. Paco Lopez tried to do the same, but didn't have as much horse as I did. By the three-eighths pole I was in front and it was over.”

Shahama had a productive winter in Dubai, where she won the UAE 1000 Guineas Trial and UAE 1000 Guineas in January and earned a spot in the GI Kentucky Oaks field with a win in the G3 UAE Oaks Feb. 18 for trainer Fawzi Nass. Transferred stateside to Pletcher's barn, she suffered her first loss when sixth in the Oaks and was coming off a runner-up effort in the June 25 GII Mother Goose S.

Pedigree Notes:

Shahama is a half-sister to multiple graded stakes winner Kensei (Mr. Greeley) and to champion Lookin at Lucky (Smart Strike). The filly has a weanling half-brother by Catalina Cruiser who was purchased by Tami Bobo's First Finds for $200,000 at last year's Keeneland November sale. Her dam, Private Feeling, who was purchased by SF Bloodstock with the winner in utero for $40,000 at the 2018 Keeneland November sale, was bred back to Tom's d'Etat.

Under the winner's second dam, Regal Feeling, is champion Wait a While.

Sunday, Monmouth
MONMOUTH OAKS-GIII, $245,000, Monmouth, 7-31, 3yo, f, 1 1/16m, 1:41.54, ft.
1–SHAHAMA, 121, f, 3, by Munnings
                1st Dam: Private Feeling, by Belong to Me
                2nd Dam: Regal Feeling, by Clever Trick
                3rd Dam: Sharp Belle, by Native Charger
'TDN Rising Star'. ($425,000 2yo '21 OBSAPR). O-KHK Racing;
B-SF Bloodstock LLC (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher; J-Jorge A. Vargas,
Jr. $150,000. Lifetime Record: GSW-UAE, 7-5-1-0, $435,984.
*1/2 to Lookin At Lucky (Smart Strike), Ch. 3-year-old Colt, Ch.
2-year-old Colt, MGISW, $3,307,278; 1/2 to Kensei
(Mr. Greeley), MGSW, $751,364. Werk Nick Rating: A+++.
   *Triple Plus* Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Shotgun Hottie, 119, f, 3, Gun Runner–Re Entry, by Malibu
Moon. ($45,000 2yo '21 OBSAPR). O-Omar Aldabbagh & Jeff
Ganje; B-Vincent Colbert (KY); T-William E. Morey. $50,000.
3–Juju's Map, 117, f, 3, Liam's Map–Nagambie, by Flatter.
($190,000 Ylg '20 KEEJAN; $300,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP).
O-Albaugh Family Stables LLC; B-Fred W. Hertrich (KY); T-Brad
Cox. $25,000.
Margins: 2HF, 3/4, 6 1/4. Odds: 1.70, 4.00, 0.90.
Also Ran: Runaway Wife, Office Etiquette. Scratched: Silverleaf.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Manny Franco Off Mounts Through Jan. 9 After Testing Positive For COVID-19

ockey Manuel Franco tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday and will remain off his mounts until Sunday, Jan. 9, the New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) announced Wednesday.

All members of the NYRA jockey colony are vaccinated and adhere to established protocols. In addition, the jockey quarters at Aqueduct have been substantially altered to provide maximum physical distancing and reduce density.

Franco has not experienced symptoms and was proactively tested because of standard contact tracing following the positive tests of jockeys Jorge Vargas, Jr. and Jalon Samuel on Friday, Dec. 31.

Vargas and Samuel will be permitted to ride Thursday, Jan. 6, at Aqueduct provided they are asymptomatic following five days in isolation.

NYRA follows the most updated federal and state guidance regarding contact tracing, testing, required isolation, and quarantine. Accordingly, Franco will be permitted to return to competition on Sunday, Jan. 9 should he remain asymptomatic.

In accordance with New York City requirements, anyone seeking to enter Aqueduct Racetrack in any capacity must demonstrate proof of COVID-19 vaccination. Facemasks are always required on NYRA property.

Live racing resumes Thursday at the Big A with an eight-race card. First post is 12:50 p.m. Eastern.

The post Manny Franco Off Mounts Through Jan. 9 After Testing Positive For COVID-19 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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After Challenging Year, Vargas Looks to Bounce Back in 2022

Last week, Puerto Rican jockey Jorge A. Vargas, Jr. won one of the biggest races of his young career aboard Geno (Big Brown) in the $500,000 NYSSS Great White Way S. at Aqueduct. The victory, more than happiness and a nice check, brought relief and a breath of fresh air going into a new year after a tough 2021.

“I was a little down because I was working hard, I'm riding almost every day and you want to see the results and nothing was happening,” said Vargas during a recent holiday trip to Puerto Rico to catch up with his family. “Thank God this week was good. I won every day, which is one of my purposes, to win at least one each day. On top of that, we won the stakes, which helps us not only with money, but for people to see us and know that we can do it and that we are here because we have the skills.”

After two straight successful seasons in 2018 and 2019, where he won more than 100 races each year and obtained his first riding title at Laurel's Park Winter Meet, Vargas's pace was slowed down by the pandemic in 2020. He came back hungrier than ever in 2021, but his progress was once again short-lived as he hit the ground hard Mar. 20 when his mount fell during a race at Monmouth Park. Vargas fractured his lumbar and was sidelined for another four months.

“I'm not going to lie and it isn't a secret that it was hard,” Vargas said of his 2021 mid-year crisis. “You're coming from a pandemic that kept you from what you love for three to four months. You try to get back on track, get a little steam, and fall again, another three to four months out.”

Represented by Jimmy Riccio, Vargas has opted to stay on the NYRA circuit for the last three years even with the steep competition of one of the most elite jockeys colonies in the nation. It's a calculated risk for the 26-year-old, who says he always wants to push himself against the best.

“New York is the Big Leagues, it's where everybody wants to prove themselves,” Vargas said. “You have to really work and know if you belong. I like the challenge and that's what moves me. I've accepted the challenge and I always work hard and keep afloat.”

Vargas, who started riding in 2013, has been an underdog for his whole career. People doubted he could become a professional jockey and he did. People doubted he could ride in the United States and he shone on the Pennsylvania circuit. People doubted he could win a meet and he was a champion in Maryland in 2018. Now, the always smiling Vargas wants to do the same in New York and he just needs a little bit of luck and trust.

“I just want to have a healthy year,” Vargas said about his expectations for 2022. “For it to be a year where I can ride and show what I know how to do. It's always challenging. In the United States at this moment there are so many jockeys that winning races is complicated. I would like to keep over 100 wins every year.”

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Lopez to Join the Monmouth Riding Colony

Cory Moran, the agent for top Monmouth rider Paco Lopez, informed trainers Thursday by text that his client will begin riding at the meet June 5. Lopez's status had been up in the air as he was considering his options in the face of new rules instituted at Monmouth that ban whipping. Some riders have said they would not ride at Monmouth because they felt the whip ban created unsafe racing conditions.

Lopez will not be riding at Monmouth this weekend, but that is because he has prior commitments to ride at Gulfstream Park. Lopez also has a suspension that needs to be served and has riding engagements in the days ahead at Delaware Park and Belmont. Those are the reasons why he won't be appearing at Monmouth until early next month.

“The unity didn't happen…so Paco does start riding at Monmouth June 5…thanks,” Moran, who could not be reached for comment Thursday, wrote to a number of trainers.

Lopez represents one of the last dominos to fall in what has at times been a bitter dispute between Monmouth's riding colony and the New Jersey Racing Commission, which instituted the new whipping rules. Several riders went on record saying they would not ride at Monmouth this year because of safety concerns. But any attempts there may have been to present a unified front have failed. Once Lopez's name was added to the list of available riders, nine of last year's top 12 jockeys had committed to the meet.

Lopez is a seven-time riding champion at Monmouth and led the standings last year. He had 51 winners, nine more than runner-up Ferrin Peterson.

In a related development, Monmouth has taken action against Antonio Gallardo, one of the riders who has opted to sit out Friday's opener over concerns about the whip rule. He has been suspended indefinitely pending a hearing. Dennis Drazin, the CEO of the management company that operates Monmouth, said that racing secretary John Heims had made the decision to ban Gallardo until a hearing could be held. Joe Bravo, another big name who has decided to sit out the meet, was not suspended. Drazin said that the reason Gallardo was banned and Bravo was not was because Gallardo's agent had accepted calls on the Friday card and had failed to honor them. Bravo will be a Penn National Friday, which means that he would not have been available to ride at Monmouth that day, whip ban or no whip ban.

“We will give him a hearing if he wants to come back,” Drazin said.

It appears that Gallardo's ban is a moot point. When reached by the TDN Thursday, the rider said that he has no intention of riding at the meet under the existing rules. He will ride, instead, at Presque Isle Downs this summer.

“I don't want to ride because I feel it is unsafe,” he said. “If they told me I was welcome to come back, my answer would be no. I don't know how I could ride without a whip. To me, it's like telling a policemen they have to do their job, but can't have a gun to protect themselves. I have nothing against Monmouth Park. I love Monmouth Park and it's like a second home to me. Because of this rule, I just wouldn't feel safe riding there.”

Gallardo was last year's fourth leading rider.

Of last year's top 12, only Bravo and Gallardo will be missing early on at the meet. Jorge Vargas, Jr., who finished ninth in the standings in 2020, will also be absent this weekend, but he has been injured and has not ridden since Mar. 20. Drazin said he recently talked to Bravo, a 13-time winner of the Monmouth riding title, and said “he was emphatic that he will not ride here this year unless the rules are changed.”

Nik Juarez, who nearly beat out Lopez for the riding title in 2019, has also clarified his position. He still has an outstanding suspension to serve, which some believed might keep him out of this weekend's races. But he will ride, which became possible after he secured a stay of his suspension. Juarez may now have the option of taking his days after the meet is over.

With most of the top riders back, concerns that a boycott would hurt handle have lessened greatly. However, handle may be off quite a bit this weekend because there are reports that it will rain heavily on Friday and Saturday, which would mean the races will come off the grass.

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