Tag: kiaran mclaughlin

Luis Saez Nearing Return

Injured an in Aug. 23 spill at Saratoga in the John's Call S. in which he fractured left wrist and dislocated his right collar bone, jockey Luis Saez has made rapid progress and will be ready to ride on opening day of the Keeneland fall meet on Oct. 6, reports his agent Kiaran McLaughlin.

“He's doing real well,” McLaughlin said. “There's no pain and he's doing physical therapy. He will be X-rayed in a few days. He'll be back for sure for beginning of Keeneland, if not a week before. He might ride a couple in Florida because he's down there.”

With 30 winners already at the meet, Saez was injured just three days before he was to ride GI Kentucky Derby winner Mage (Good Magic) in the GI Travers S. Saez was taken by ambulance to Albany Medical Center. According to McLaughlin, the doctors there told him he would not need surgery. The next day, Saez went to the Bone & Joint Center in Saratoga for a second opinion and was advised to have surgery.

“The night we went to the Albany Medical Center, three doctors were there and they told me surgery was not required,” McLaughlin said. “They said he had a hairline fracture that would heal in a few weeks and his collarbone will go back in place. It was dislocated but will settle back down. That's when I told people he didn't need surgery. The next morning we went to the Bone & and Joint Center at Saratoga and they said that he was a professional athlete and, therefore, they decided to put a little screw in his wrist and button back his collar bone to put it back in place. They put a button on top and on the bottom. All three things stayed there. They'll never come out.”

Original estimates were that he would be out three to five weeks.

During his downtime, Saez spent time at his home in Florida with his family.

“His mental outlook has been great,” he said. “He's at home with his wife and three daughters and he loves that, loves being with them.”

Saez won last year's Keeneland fall meet by a 21-20 margin over Tyler Gaffalione. McLaughlin is optimistic that his client will have another big meet.

“He's in good shape,” McLaughlin said. “His weight is good. He's very strong. Everything has gone well so far. Can we pick up where we left off? A lot of that falls on the agent. Hopefully, we will have some nice mounts starting back and good support from the people in Kentucky. We already have some stakes mounts.”

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Saez Sidelined, Prat Picks Up Travers Mount On Mage

Jockey Luis Saez, who went down during the running of Wednesday's John's Call S. when his mount Burning Bright suffered a fatal cardiac event, was dignosed with a dislocated collarbone and slight fracture in his left wrist, according to a tweet from former trainer and current agent Kiaran McLaughlin, but was released from Albany Medical Center. He will be out of the saddle for an undetermined period of time.

After Javier Castellano committed to GI Belmont S. winner Arcangelo (Arrogate) for Saturday's $1.25-million GI Travers S., Saez was named by trainer Gustavo Delgado to partner with GI Kentucky Derby winner Mage (Good Magic) in the mile-and-a-quarter centerpiece of the Saratoga meeting. Early Thursday morning, Delgado tweeted that Flavien Prat will now replace the injured Saez.

Prat sits fifth behind Irad Ortiz, Jr. in the current jockey standings at the Spa, with 23 wins from 130 rides (18%), including Grade I successes aboard Program Trading (GB) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) in the Saratoga Derby Invitational; Whitebeam (GB) (Caravaggio) in the Diana S.; and Wet Paint (Blame) in the CCA Oaks.

 

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Decisive Delgado Could Not Wait for Castellano

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — It turned out that a non-decision is precisely what settled who would ride GI Kentucky Derby winner Mage (Good Magic) and GI Belmont S. winner Arcangelo (Arrogate) in the GI Travers.

Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano rode both horses to their victories in the Triple Crown series and had his choice of which one to ride in the Travers on Aug. 26 at Saratoga Race Course. He holds the Travers record of six wins.

Mage's trainer, Gustavo Delgado, asked Castellano on Monday to give him an answer by late Tuesday afternoon. Castellano asked for more time and when he did not contact Delgado by the deadline, Delgado announced that Luis Saez would ride the chestnut colt.

“I can't wait for him. That's no problem,” Delgado said. “He said he can't make a decision right now. I understand.”

Delgado said the owners of the colt were asking him who would ride and since he expects the $1.25- million Travers to have a large field, perhaps as many as a dozen runners, he felt it was important to act.

“The decision was not Castellano's. It was my decision,” he said. “My decision was not to wait. Not to wait until next week. Not wait until entries.”

Saez's move to Mage leaves Tapit Trice (Tapit) without a jockey for the moment. Trainer Todd Pletcher said he would talk with the colt's connections about a replacement.

Delgado and Castellano are both from Venezuela and are longtime friends. Castellano said he understands why Delgado wanted the matter settled.

“It's a hard decision. Nobody can be mad,” he said. “We shouldn't be mad. Nobody. This is the business.”

Castellano had hoped he would have more time to discuss his options with his agent and Arcangelo's trainer Jena Antonucci, but Delgado was firm. After spending Tuesday on a boat with his family, Castellano returned home to learn that Delgado had booked Saez.

“I don't blame them because they gave me the right to choose,” Castellano said. “Then they gave me the deadline and I couldn't answer that question right away. Then they took away the decision. It was good. It worked out for everybody.”

Delgado said he settled on Saez because he had ridden the colt to a second-place finish in the GI Florida Derby. Forte (Curlin) made a strong run in the stretch to catch and pass Mage.

“At that moment, he was not used to the horse,” Delgado said. “I think he was surprised with the horse because he never rode (Mage). When I talked with him after the ride, he said, 'Gustavo, this is a good horse. You can win the Derby, but right now I have a commitment to Tapit Trice.'”

Delgado turned to Castellano and he earned his first Derby victory. He also rode Mage to a third in the GI Preakness and a second in the GI Haskell.

Saez's agent Kiaran McLaughlin said they made it clear that they wanted another opportunity on Mage.

“We were always in touch with them,” he said. “We knew there was going to be a possible issue so we told them we would be happy to ride him if they needed a rider.

It wasn't an easy decision because Tapit Trice has been very good to us and Todd has been very good to us, but we just thought we would like to be on Mage in the Travers.”

McLaughlin said he got the call from the Mage camp Tuesday afternoon.

“I just waited for them,” he said. “I told Todd as soon as they told me and he was good with it. He's very, very good to deal with. He's a very close friend and I hate to ever take off a Todd Pletcher, for a claiming race or a Grade I. It's not easy.”

Antonucci said early in the meet that she would be patient and let Castellano pick who he would ride.

“You just have to give things time to breathe sometimes and not force topics and everything always works out the way it's supposed to,” she said. “I'm a big believer that there are stuff way bigger and stronger than us making things happen and watching out.

One of us was going to have Javier and one of us was going to have Luis Saez.”

Castellano is 3-for-3 aboard Arcangelo. Antonucci said she turned to him when Jose Ortiz gave up the mount after two starts. Castellano was up for the maiden victory on Mar. 18, and wins in the GIII Peter Pan on May 13 and the Belmont on June 10.

Antonucci said Castellano's patient approach suits Arcangelo's running style.

“For me, it just works,” she said. “He believes in the horse. The horse knows that. They keep forming more and more of a relationship. It just works.”

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NY Chaplaincy’s Charity Basketball Game Set for August 3 at Saratoga

The 13th annual jockeys-versus-horsemen charity basketball game, one of the most popular events on the Saratoga social calendar and which benefits the programs of the New York Race Track Chaplaincy, will be played Thursday, Aug. 3 at the Saratoga Springs Recreation Center at 6:30 p.m.

The jockey team will once again be coached by Hall of Fame jockey Angel Cordero Jr., with trainer Todd Pletcher and agent Kiaran McLaughlin coaching the horsemen team. Mitch Levites

of the NYRA TV department will once again serve as the announcer and retired NBA player John Wallace will be a special guest of the NY Chaplaincy. He will play with the jockeys. Admission is free.

“The horsemen, the jockey colony and Saratoga racing fans all eagerly anticipate this game and it never fails to be an immensely entertaining event,” said Humberto Chavez, the New York Chaplaincy lead chaplain and executive director. “Besides the display of athleticism and the fun, the game also provides critical support for the chaplaincy's various programs serving the backstretch community. We are very grateful to the players, our sponsors and all those who attend each year.”

Horsemen, individuals, or organizations who would like to sponsor the game, or for additional information about the organization, please visit the NY Chaplaincy website.

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