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Jockey Of The Week: Eric Cancel’s Big Sunday Nets Emotional First Aqueduct Riding Title

Capping a remarkable week in the 24-year-old's riding career, Eric Cancel was voted Jockey of the Week for March 22 through March 28. 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.

Cancel entered the 8-race card on Sunday in second place in the jockey standings four victories behind Kendrick Carmouche. In dramatic fashion through rainy and foggy conditions, Cancel won the opener on Sono Grato for trainer Cleveland Johnson. Starting in race three, he reeled off five winners in a row, riding Lobsta for Gary Sciacca, Kith for Robert Ribaudo, City Temper for Jorge Abreu, Make Mischief for Chris Englehart and My Boy Tate for Michelle Nevin in the Haynesfield Stakes. He finished in-the-money in all eight races. Six wins for six different trainers catapulted Cancel to the top of the standings at Aqueduct's winter meet and his first leading jockey title at a NYRA track.

“I'm filled with emotions. I worked very hard for this and being able to compete with a guy like Kendrick, who is a very hard-riding guy, it feels wonderful,” said Cancel. “Yesterday (Saturday) I didn't think I was going to get it. But today (Sunday) I just woke up and said to keep on swinging and go for it. I want to thank my agent and all the owners and trainers who gave me the opportunity to be here and win this meet.”

Cancel continued: “I was just trying to win as much as I can and go home happy.”

Cancel had two stakes wins on Saturday during New York Claiming Championship Day with Air Attack for John Toscano, Jr. in the Stud Muffin and Fox Red for Linda Rice in the Dads Cap.

Weekly stats for Cancel were 28-13-4-3 for a 46.4% win percentage, an impressive 71.4% in-the-money percentage and total purses of $509,975.

Cancel out-polled jockeys Adam Beschizza who tied for second in wins with 10, Julien Leparoux who won two graded stakes races, Irad Ortiz, Jr. with two stakes wins including the Grade I Florida Derby and set a single season win record at Gulfstream Park and Jose Ortiz who won three stakes including the Gr. II Gulfstream Park Oaks.

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Oisin Murphy Crowned Britain’s Champion Jockey For Second Straight Year

Oisin Murphy signed off his British racing campaign with a double at Southwell Racecourse on Tuesday, Nov. 3 and it has proved enough to win him a second jockey's title.

The 25-year-old Irishman finishes the season on 142 winners, maintaining a healthy lead over his closest challenger William Buick until the very end.

On winning a second successive Champion Flat Jockey title, Murphy said: “I'm incredibly proud to have won a second Champion Jockey title and I'm extremely thankful for the team around me that have enabled me to do so – my agent, manager, driver, form-man, and family.

“It's huge to win two jockeys' championships in two years and beyond my wildest dreams. I tried my absolute best to do so and thank you to everyone who has helped along the way.

“I'm particularly proud of my strike rate for Andrew Balding. Sheikh Fahad allowed me to go wherever I wanted to and for that I must thank him and all the team at Qatar Racing too.”

Amongst his 142 wins, Oisin Murphy claimed his maiden Classic success when securing the QIPCO 2000 Guineas with Kameko in a scintillating performance.

In total, Murphy claimed seven UK Group wins this season and earned over £2.2 million in prize money. His top performing racecourse has been Kempton Park where he has enjoyed 16 wins.

Amongst the personal milestones achieved by jockeys this season, Murphy claimed his 1000th British winner Perfect Sign at Southwell Racecourse.

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Two-Time Defending Shoemaker Award Winner Irad Ortiz, Jr. Has 10 Breeders’ Cup Mounts

The 18th Bill Shoemaker Award will be given this weekend to the outstanding jockey of the two-day Breeders' Cup World Championships at Keeneland, which kicks off Friday afternoon.

Won the past two years by Irad Ortiz Jr., who has 10 mounts in Championship races this weekend, the Shoemaker Award will go to the jockey who rides the most winners in the 14 Championship races. Should there be a tie among two or more riders with the most victories, the deadlock will be broken on a 10-3-1 point system for second- through fourth-place finishes.

The elder Ortiz brother's Breeders' Cup mounts include: Golden Pal (Juvenile Turf Sprint, Wesley Ward), Public Sector (Juvenile Turf, Chad Brown), Royal Approval (Juvenile Fillies Turf, Wesley Ward), Reinvestment Risk (Juvenile, Chad Brown), Come Dancing (Filly & Mare Sprint, Carlos Martin), Imprimis (Turf Sprint, Joe Orseno), Sharp Samurai (Dirt Mile, Mark Glatt), Nay Lady Nay (Filly & Mare Turf, Chad Brown), Whitmore (Sprint, Ron Moquett), and Improbable (Classic, Bob Baffert).

The Shoemaker Award is named in honor of one of the greatest jockeys in the history of Thoroughbred racing. Shoemaker, who captured the Kentucky Derby four times, won more than 8,800 races in a career that spanned more than 40 years. In 1987, at age 56, Shoemaker won the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) aboard Ferdinand at Hollywood Park.

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‘His Time Has Come’: Juan Hernadez Riding Hot At Santa Anita Park

With his third triple in the last three racing days on Saturday, hot-riding Juan Hernandez moved within two victories of tying Flavien Prat for the riding lead at Santa Anita's Autumn Meet that concludes on Oct. 25.

While Prat has been fulfilling stakes engagements at Keeneland during this holiday weekend, Hernandez closed the gap. Prat's record reads 16-17-9 from 56 mounts, a 29 percent winning clip, while Hernandez has a 14-3-5 mark from 55 mounts, 25 percent.

The success of the 28-year-old native of Veracruz, Mexico, who was a force in the Bay Area before coming to Southern California under the astute guidance of veteran agent Craig O'Bryan, may have caught some observers by surprise, but not O'Bryan.

“He was the runaway leader at Golden Gate last year winning at 32 percent,” O'Bryan said. “His time has come. He knew he was ready.

“I think you'll see him more and more confident the longer he stays. I'm not surprised at his success here, but I was surprised that I got him; (Northern California-based trainer) Blaine Wright kind of put it all together, so that part was great, but Juan is a good rider, very smooth and a really nice guy, too, a good family man with two kids.”

Humility aside, winning races on a major circuit requires equal amounts of desire and diligence from both jockey and agent. Juan and Craig have those attributes in abundance.

Among the jockeys O'Bryan has represented are three Hall of Fame members: Eddie Delahoussaye, Alex Solis and Gary Stevens.

“Juan is definitely holding up his end of the bargain; he's a very good jockey,” said Craig, whose father George was a top agent and whose 33-year-old son, Brandon, represents apprentice Jessica Pyfer, winner of her first race Friday on only her sixth mount.

Craig has been plying his trade as an agent for 49 years and George, bless his soul, “will be 100 late this month,” Craig said. “Brandon got off to a good start. You never want to go too long without getting your first win.”

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