Luis Saez | Horse Racing Free Tips

‘I’ve Grown Up And I’m Ready’: Sebastian Saez Returns To Aqueduct For Fall Meet

Jockey Sebastian Saez, the younger brother of prominent New York-based rider Luis Saez, will make his return to riding at the Aqueduct fall meet which kicks off on Friday, Nov. 6, and runs through Sunday, Dec. 6.

The 21-year-old Saez said he wants to uphold the highly-regarded riding talents of his family, including 28-year-old brother Luis and his late brother Juan, an apprentice rider who died tragically at the age of 17 from injuries sustained in a spill in October 2014 at Indiana Grand.

Saez last rode in January 2019 at Gulfstream Park before returning to his native Panama to spend time with family and look inward as an act of mindfulness before resetting course to his goal of becoming a successful rider.

“I went back to Panama for a year to clear my head and find myself,” said Saez. “But I realized how much I missed riding here in the States and I knew that I had to give it a shot again. I was just a kid then. Now, I've grown up and I'm ready.”

As a teenager, Saez won five races in New York at the 2016 Belmont spring/summer meet, including a frontrunning half-length score with the Bruce Levine-trained Foxy Posse on the inner turf where he held off a game bid from Luis aboard Maybry's Conquest.

“It was a great finish,” recalled Luis. “He has a lot of talent. I think when he first came here he was a little too young, but now he's grown and he's ready.”

“Most important for him is to be patient and to try and do his best and always be here to work horses in the morning, see everybody and work hard,” he added. “The main thing is to work hard. I wish all the best for him.”

The up-and-coming rider lived with his brother Luis in Florida before launching his career in 2015 at Churchill Downs, where he picked up his first win in May 2015 aboard Bob's Gone Wild.

The elder Saez, a multiple Grade 1-winning veteran with more than 2,500 career wins, said his younger sibling has the talent to make it in New York.

“When he was living with me in Florida, I was teaching him every day about how to ride. He learned a lot,” said Saez. “When he went to Churchill he was doing great over there but we had a bad moment when we lost our brother. I think that hurt him and that's why he had to take time off. Now, he's in the right spot and I have a good feeling about him coming back to ride.

“He's a strong rider, too,” Saez added. “He can ride horses anywhere – from the front, from behind. He has a good left hand and I think he has the talent.”

With 1,093 starts to his credit, the younger Saez owns a modest record of 121-137-138, good for purse earnings in excess of $2.6 million. For the last two months, Saez said he has been riding out for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen in Kentucky.

“I was working in Kentucky getting fit and ready to ride. I was breezing a lot of horses,” said Saez.

Saez will be making his return and Big A debut on Opening Day of a fall meet that offers 29 stakes, including 11 graded events, worth $3.41 million in purse money.

The good-natured young rider said he brings a few familiar Saez family traits to the table.

“I think I am very strong and I finish well,” said Saez. “I try to watch and learn as much as I can from my brother Luis. I also have good hands and I know how to get a horse to relax.”

When asked what he would choose if he could borrow a skill or strength from each of his brothers, Saez said, “From Luis, I would like to borrow his knowledge of the game and how he is loved by everyone. And from Juan, he rides with me. I will ride with the passion he rode with and smile and enjoy riding like him.”

All three Saez brothers graduated from Panama's famed Laffit Pincay Jockey School. Juan went on to earn honors as the leading rider at the 2014 Ellis Park meet and Luis has ridden on the biggest stages of the sport and guided his mounts to more than $126 million in purse earnings.

Saez, however, said he credits his older brother as his role model and mentor.

“I went to the school of Luis Saez,” said Saez with a laugh. “I think I had a really great teacher. He is one of the best in the country.”

Racing fans can follow Saez, who will be represented by agent Shawn Klotz, on his Twitter account @Jockeyssaezpty.

“I just want a shot to prove that I'm a good rider and I can make it here in New York,” said Saez. “This is the major leagues of horse racing and it's an honor to ride with the best riding colony in America. I'm going to work so hard to be the best I can be.”

America's Day at the Races will present daily television coverage of the Aqueduct fall meet with coverage to air on FOX Sports and MSG Networks.

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Robby Albarado, Luis Saez Tied In Jockey Of The Week Voting

With two extraordinary riding performances during the week of Sept. 28 thru Oct. 4, the Jockey of the Week panel of judges could not separate the riding achievements of veteran Robby Albarado and Luis Saez. The two riders tied for votes creating two Jockeys of the Week for the first time. The panel is comprised of racing industry experts. This award 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.

Robby Albarado's riding skills were on full display in the Grade 1 Preakness Stakes aboard the filly Swiss Skydiver. The filly was the beneficiary of a quick decision by Albarado that helped propel her to the lead leaving the backstretch. From there she fought off a seemingly relentless challenge from Kentucky Derby winner Authentic.

Commenting on his ride, Albarado said: “I had an opportunity, a split second to take advantage of the rail because Johnny (Velazquez on Authentic) was sitting off the fence there. I made a conscience decision on the backside. Do I make the move now or do I wait to see if they come to me?”

Albarado made the move and into the history books. Swiss Skydiver became just the 6th filly to win the 1-3/16-mile classic race for 3-year-olds.

“It was a genius move by Robby coming up the fence,” said Ken McPeek, the trainer of Swiss Skydiver.

Fall Stars Weekend at Keeneland featured 10 graded stakes and Luis Saez won five for four different trainers. His wins included the Grade 1 Darley Alcibiades aboard Simply Ravishing for Ken McPeek, and the Grade 1 Claiborne Breeders' Futurity with Essential Quality for Brad Cox. Saez became the 10th jockey to sweep the Alcibiades and Breeders' Futurity in the same year. His other stakes wins included the Grade 1 Juddmonte Spinster with Valiance for Todd Pletcher, the Grade 2 Woodford Stakes Presented by TVG on Leinster for Rusty Arnold and the Grade 2 Bourbon Stakes with Mutasaabeq for Todd Pletcher.

Saez's weekly stats were 22-9-3-3 for a win percentage of 41 percent, an in-the-money percentage of 68 percent, and total purses of $1,182,436 for leading money-earner honors.

Albarado and Saez out-polled fellow riders Junior Alvarado who won four stakes at Belmont Park, three of which were graded, Daniel Centeno with two stakes wins at Pimlico and Jose L. Ortiz with three graded stakes wins at Belmont Park.

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Mutasaabeq Leads 1-2 Finish For Leading Sire Into Mischief In Bourbon Stakes

Shadwell Stable's Mutasaabeq, last at the top of the stretch in the field of 11, rocketed to the front at the sixteenth pole and cruised to a 21/4-length victory in the 30th running of the $200,000 Bourbon (G2) for 2-year-olds at Keeneland and earn a spot in the $1-million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) to be run at a mile at the Lexington, Ky., track on Nov. 6.

Trained by Todd Pletcher and ridden by Luis Saez, Mutasaabeq covered the 1 1/16 miles on a firm turf course in 1:43.13 in his grass debut. It is the fifth victory in the Bourbon for Pletcher, whose other winners are Twilight Meteor (2006), Bittel Road (2008), Interactif (2009) and Current (2018).

Into the Sunrise emerged with the lead in the run to the first turn and set fractions of :22.62, :47.09 and 1:12.24 while Saez waited at the back.

Mutasaabeq shifted to the outside on the far turn, entered the stretch eight wide and quickly picked off rivals before overtaking Into the Sunrise inside the sixteenth pole and drawing off.

“We broke a little slow,” said Saez. “Last time he did the same thing, but I knew I had a lot of horse. The distance was great for him. He was working so good on the turf. We knew what we had. When we came to the half-mile I was trying to (decide) where we were going to go – inside or out – but inside we had so many horses. I felt like I had the horse to go out and let him roll. When he came to the straight, he just took off. He did it easy.”

“He didn't break well and that has historically been him,” said Pletcher. “He's a horse that has speed and he has a tremendous turn of foot as you saw today, but he's notoriously not been great the first jump or two away from the gate. So I wasn't surprised when he didn't get away well and then he kind of got shuffled back and then a horse kind of came over and he had to steady a bit.

“The first 100 yards didn't go very well, but he was able to save a little bit of ground around the first turn and it looked like Luis (Saez) was biding his time and trying to figure out whether he should find a seam to go through or ultimately he just decided to circle the field and kind of sling-shotted them. He delivered an explosive turn of foot. Great to see and great for the Shadwell team.

“His maiden win was very impressive and his gate work prior to his maiden win was as good as any 2-year-old we've had at Saratoga ever. We felt that the Hopeful (G1), they kind of ran away from him and he couldn't really close the way we hoped he would. Kind of looking into his pedigree, the Into Mischief's run on anything.”

A Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale graduate, Mutasaabeq is a Kentucky-bred son of Into Mischief out of the Scat Daddy mare Downside Scenario. The victory was worth $120,000 and increased his earnings to $189,600 with a record of 3-2-0-1.

Sent off as the favorite, Mutasaabeq paid $6, $3.80 and $3.60. Abarta, also by the Spendthrift Farm stallion Into Mischief, rallied for second under Umberto Rispoli to return $10.60 and $7.60. Nathan Detroit finished another three-quarters of a length back in third under Julien Leparoux and paid $7.60 to show.

It was another head back to Into the Sunrise, who was followed in order by Arrest Me Red, Private Island, Spyglass, Barrister Tom, Blame the Booze, Indy Tourist and Really Slow.

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Essential Quality Nabs Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Spot With Dominant Breeders’ Futurity Score

Essential Quality entered the Grade 1 Breeders' Futurity at Keeneland with the wind behind him after an electric debut score last month, and he lived up to the hype on Saturday with another powerful victory.

The Breeders' Futurity also earned the 2-year-old son of Tapit a “Win and You're In” berth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, which will be held next month at Keeneland.

Essential Quality got a clean start out of the gate and past the finish line for the first time, and he entered the first turn in second behind pace setter Upstriker. Those two led the proceedings through an opening quarter in :23.97, and they remained a relatively untested lead duo through the backstretch. Jockey Luis Saez pressed the leader aboard Essential Quality as they cleared the half-mile in :48.86, but Upstriker continued to hold off his adversary.

That changed as the backstretch turned into the bend, when Essential Quality drew even with Upstriker, then put a head in front on the outside, with the pacesetter fighting to hold off his rival. Essential Quality finally put away the early leader heading into the stretch, and he kicked clear to win by 3 1/4 lengths.

Keepmeinmind, a 52-1 longshot, staged a rally from the middle of the pack to finish second, ahead of third-place Super Stock. Upstriker carried on for fourth.

Essential Quality won the 1 1/16-mile race in 1:44.37 over a fast main track for owner Godolphin and trainer Brad Cox. He paid $5.80 to win as the favorite.

The colt is undefeated in two starts heading into this year's Breeders' Cup, after winning his debut at Churchill Downs by four lengths on Sept. 5. Saturday's race was his first around two turns.

Essential Quality is a Kentucky homebred for the Godolphin operation, out of the Grade 3-placed Elusive Quality mare Delightful Quality; herself a Godolphin homebred.

To view the race's chart, click here.

Quotes from the $400,000 Claiborne Breeders' Futurity, courtesy of the Keeneland notes team

Brad Cox (winning trainer of Essential Quality)

“We've had some very nice 2-year-old fillies, but this is probably the best (2-year-old colt) I've had as far as talent goes. He's our first Grade 1 winner as a 2-year-old colt. He means a lot to us. He showed us from Day 1 that he's special, very talented. Luis (Saez) did a good job of getting him to relax. He's a very green horse. That was my concern today – could he put it all together? And he did. He pulled up a bit on the backside. He's got some learning to do. If he can figure it out, he's a serious animal.”

Luis Saez (winning rider)

“I thought he was gonna be right there. Second start. I never rode him before. I was watching the replay when he ran last time, and he looked like 'Wow, what a horse.' And today he proved that he's a very good horse. He did it pretty easy. He was a little green when he came to the track – he was looking around a little bit, but he took off. He was running. What a horse. I'm so glad I'm on this horse.”

David Cohen (rider of runner-up Keepmeinmind)

“We had a little bit of trouble in the first turn with horses on the outside coming in, but I was happy I was able to maintain somewhat of a position. Down the backside, he got into a beautiful spot. He's still a bit green. I was very happy with his courage and his finish. His gallop-out was tremendous.”

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