Junior Alvarado | Horse Racing Free Tips

Venezuelan Hug Finds Room Late To Capture Canadian Turf

Spedale Family Racing and R. A. Hill Stable's Venezuelan Hug, racing on the inside throughout, found a seam between horses nearing the wire and got his nose down to edge Olympic Runner in Saturday's $125,000 Canadian Turf (G3) at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

The 55^th running of the 1 1/16-mile Canadian Turf for older turf horses was the fourth of nine stakes, eight graded, worth $1.475 million on a blockbuster 14-race program headlined by the $300,000 Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth (G2) for 3-year-olds on the road to the $750,000 Curlin Florida Derby (G1) presented by Hill 'n' Dale Farms at Xalapa March 27, and $200,000 Davona Dale (G2) featuring the seasonal debut of 2-year-old filly champion Vequist.

A 4-year-old by Constitution, Venezuelan Hug ($11) improved to 5-0 lifetime at the distance and gave jockey Junior Alvarado his second stakes win on the card, following Annex in the $100,000 Palm Beach. The winning time was 1:40.42 over a firm course.

Bizzee Channel, sent off at 25-1, set fractions of 23.69 seconds for a quarter-mile and 48.48 for the half under moderate pressure from Winters Back to his outside, with Fancy Liquor and Gear Jockey racing in behind and Alvarado saving ground along the rail in fifth to the inside of Olympic Runner.

Winters Back moved up and took a short lead over Bizzee Channel once straightened for home, while Olympic Runner swung to the outside to launch a bid while Alvarado bided his time on Venezuelan Hug. Olympic Runner appeared on the way to victory until Venezuelan Hug split Winters Back on his inside and Gear Jockey to earn his third consecutive win, all in stakes.

Olympic Runner edged 25-1 long shot Gear Jockey for second, with Winters Back fourth and 5-2 favorite Eons fifth.

$125,000 Canadian Turf (G3) Quotes

Winning trainer Danny Gargan (Venezuelan Hug): “I got a little concerned when he got stuck down in there. He's such a big horse, I was a little worried he wouldn't be able to get through. The only instructions I gave Junior was that he likes to make his run on the outside, but he's won a couple times on the inside now so he's maturing. He does really well pretty much everywhere we've had him, but he does love it down here. He likes two turns. He really digs in and gives you a big effort every time.”

“He's a really big horse, he's almost 17 hands, and I said just try to keep him out of trouble and when you ask him, he'll come running for you. I expected a big performance from him. I told [co-owner] Randy [Hill] to book his flight and come down here because he'll have a lot of fun today. He was lucky enough to win two today. It's kind of exciting when your owners can come to town and have a big day.”

Winning jockey Junior Alvarado (Venezuelan Hug): “That's what happens on the turf. Sometimes you get lucky and you get through it and you look like a hero. Sometimes you don't get through it and you look like the bad guy. I just was glad that I had the horse today. He pushed through it and made my job easier. I just had to go with him. He's such a cool horse.”

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Gulfstream Park: Rainbow 6 To Have $550,000 Guarantee Friday; Alvarado Bags Three Winners

The 20-cent Rainbow 6 jackpot pool will be guaranteed at $550,000 Friday at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

The popular multi-race wager went unsolved Thursday for a third straight racing day following Saturday's mandatory payout. Multiple tickets with all six winners were each worth $17,795.02 Thursday.

The jackpot pool is only 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: Junior Alvarado won three races Thursday. He won aboard Lady Fiorella ($5) in the second, Call Curt ($6.80) in Race 6 and World Tour ($10.60) in Race 7.

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Junior Alvarado’s Derby Prep Win Propels Him To Jockey Of The Week Honors

Junior Alvarado travelled from his winter base of Gulfstream Park to Tampa Bay Downs for their Festival Preview Day and won two of their graded stakes, earning Jockey of the Week honors for Feb. 1 through Feb. 7. The award, which is voted on by a panel of racing experts, is for jockeys who are members of the Jockeys' Guild, the organization which represents more than 950 active riders in the United States as well as retired and permanently disabled jockeys.

Alvarado was given a leg up on Candy Man Rocket by trainer Bill Mott's son and assistant, Riley Mott in the Gr. 3 Sam F. Davis, the centerpiece of the Festival Preview Day.

“I didn't really want to engage the horse up front (Boca Boy) or make any quick move too early. I just had to move a little bit, keep holding my position and wait as long as I could,” Alvarado said. “At the sixteenth pole when I switched my stick to the right hand and showed it to him to see what I had left, he put his head low and kept grinding his way there.”

The margin of victory for the 1-1/16 mile test was a length in 1:44.30.

Earlier on the card, Alvarado had the mount on Get Smokin for trainer Tom Bush in the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Stakes, the second choice in the 12-horse field.

“I had to get out of there running. He's a fast horse and he likes to be on the lead, but I knew (Proven Strategies) has a lot of speed too, so it wasn't necessary for me to keep going after him and go head-to-head. I knew the whole way around I had plenty of horse. Turning for home, I was just a passenger…he started picking it up on his own without me asking, so I knew I was in good shape.”

The winning time for the 1-1/16 mile turf test was 1:40.75.

Usually a year-round force on the New York racing circuit, Alvarado returned to south Florida for the winter months for the first time in 12 years to follow Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott.

Alvarado's statistics for the week were 27-5-2-2 with $322,585 in purse earnings.

Alvarado out-polled Antonio Gallardo who had a stakes win and earned his 2,000th career victory, Irad Ortiz, Jr. who had a stakes win and was leading jockey by wins, Flavien Prat who won the Gr. III Las Virgenes and Joel Rosario who won two graded stakes including the San Vincente.

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Candy Man Rocket Passes Two-Turn Test, Leads Mott Exacta In Sam F. Davis

For a few fleeting seconds nearing the turn for home in the Grade 3, $250,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs in Oldsmar, Fla., it appeared pace-setter Boca Boy was about to pull away from his closest pursuer, Candy Man Rocket.

But Junior Alvarado, the jockey on Candy Man Rocket, wanted to wait a little longer to launch his move.

“I didn't really want to engage the horse up front (Boca Boy) or make any quick move too early. I just had to move a little bit, keep holding my position and wait as long as I could,” Alvarado said. “He doesn't have a real quick turn of foot, but he started grinding it out so I started picking it up and I was really pleased by the quarter pole turning for home.”

Then, when he requested more, Candy Man Rocket delivered.

“At the sixteenth pole when I switched my stick to the right hand and showed it to him to see what I had left, he put his head low and kept grinding his way there,” Alvarado said after posting a one-length victory over stablemate Nova Rags, ridden by Samy Camacho.

The Sam F. Davis was the centerpiece of a Festival Preview Day 41 Presented by Lambholm South card that set a Sam F. Davis Day handle record of $13,200,523, an increase of more than $2.1-million from last year. The total handle is the third-largest in track history. Three other stakes were contested, including two graded races on the turf, with total stakes purse money of $750,000.

Riley Mott, the son of Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott and his father's assistant, had a good feeling Candy Man Rocket was going to earn the $120,000 Sam F. Davis winner's share when Alvarado turned him loose.

“He got into a real nice comfort zone down the backside and Junior let him out a notch going to the three-eighths-mile pole and at that point there wasn't a whole lot coming from behind,” the younger Mott said. “He hit the front a little bit early, which was concerning – he's still inexperienced and sometimes when they get to the front too early, they tend to wander – but Junior kept him to the task and he really ran on well and passed the two-turn test.”

Mott also saddled Nova Rags, who won the Pasco Stakes here on Jan. 16.

“He is a quality horse, and he sat a good trip too,” Mott said. “We weren't sure about the two turns, so to see him come back and pass the two-turn test and run so well to a good horse and his stablemate was pretty encouraging.”

Candy Man Rocket paid $8.20 to win as the second betting choice in the 12-horse field. His time for the mile-and-a-sixteenth on a fast dirt track was 1:44.30. He won by a length, with Nova Rags and Camacho holding on for second by a neck from Hidden Stash. Boca Boy finished fourth.

The top two were both racing around two turns for the first time.

Candy Man Rocket, a son of Candy Ride–Kenny Lane, by Forestry, is owned by Frank Fletcher Racing Operations. He is 2-for-3 in his career. The Sam F. Davis is a “Road to the Kentucky Derby” points race, with Candy Man Rocket taking away the top award of 10 points.

The 1-2 finish by the Mott charges puts the Grade 2 Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby squarely in their sights, although Riley Mott said the March 6 race might come up a little quick for Nova Rags. Regardless, having options is what it's all about for 3-year-olds at this stage of the year.

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