Tag: Martin Garcia

Martin Garcia Preparing To Return From Collarbone Fracture At Oaklawn Meet

Jockey Martin Garcia never really left, but his riding resurgence in 2020 abruptly ended when he fractured his collarbone in an Oct. 18 spill at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky. Garcia got on horses for the first time since the accident Dec. 27 at Oaklawn in Hot Springs, Ark., where he made a huge splash last year in his debut as a regular, tying for second in the standings with 53 victories.

“I've had 2 ½ months,” Garcia said. “I'm not 100 percent yet, but I will be. The bone doesn't hurt, so I think that's the main thing.”

Garcia, 36, has been working horses for trainers like Hall of Famer Jerry Hollendorfer, Brad Cox and Steve Hobby in preparation for the 2021 Oaklawn meeting that is scheduled to begin Jan. 22. Once an A-lister in Southern California, breezing or riding many of Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert's elite runners, Garcia relocated to the Midwest in late 2019 because of dwindling business on the West Coast.

Garcia finished his abbreviated 2020 season with 73 victories and $4,180,401 in purse earnings, according to Equibase, racing's official data gathering organization. The win total was Garcia's highest since 2015. Garcia's purse earnings were his highest since 2016.

“I had a great year,” Garcia said. “I rode a lot of nice horses. Besides riding good horses, I was winning. I was very happy.”

Garcia pushed perennial champion Ricardo Santana Jr. for the Oaklawn riding title, trailing 54-51 entering the final three days of the 57-day season. Garcia finished with 53 victories, after losing two wins via disqualifications, from 285 mounts and purse earnings of $2,472,702.

Joe Talamo, in his first season as an Oaklawn regular after previously being based in Southern California, also rode 53 winners. Santana wound up with 61.

Garcia had opened the 2020 Oaklawn meeting by winning the $150,000 Smarty Jones Stakes for 3-year-olds aboard Gold Street for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen and added the $125,000 Spring Fever Stakes for older female sprinters about a month later aboard Midnight Fantasy for trainer Joe Sharp.

“I think it would be good if you win the title, but if you're winning the big races like those, that's where it counts,” Garcia said.

Garcia's post-Oaklawn highlight was a three-quarter length victory aboard Harvey's Lil Goil in the $500,000 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes (G1) Oct. 10 at Keeneland for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. After running 11th in the $400,000 Fantasy Stakes (G3) May 1 at Oaklawn, Harvey's Lil Goil flourished in her return to turf.

In addition to the grassy QE II, Garcia also guided the daughter of 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah to a head victory in the $100,000 Regret Stakes (G3) on the turf June 27 at Churchill Downs. Harvey's Lil Goil finished third, beaten a neck, in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G1) Nov. 7 at Keeneland.

After missing the Breeders' Cup because of injury, Garcia will now try to build on his Oaklawn resume, which features 59 victories, including six stakes, since 2010.

“Just keep riding for, I hope, everybody,” Garcia said. “I hope whoever gives me a chance, I'll take advantage of it.”

A native of Mexico, Garcia has amassed 1,632 victories and $91,615,021 in purse earnings since launching his career in the United Stakes in 2005, according to Equibase. He won the 2010 Preakness aboard the Baffert-trained champion Lookin At Lucky and is a four-time Breeders' Cup winner. All four of Garcia's Breeders' Cup victories (Drefong, Bayern, New Year's Day and Secret Circle) have been for Baffert.

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Harvey’s Lil Goil Prevails In Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup

The Estate of Harvey Clarke and Paul Braverman's Harvey's Lil Goil grabbed the lead at the top of the stretch and then held off all challengers to win the 37th running of the Grade 1, $500,000 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup for 3-year-old fillies by three-quarters of a length over Micheline at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky.

Trained by Bill Mott and ridden Martin Garcia, Harvey's Lil Goil covered the 1 1/8 miles on a turf course rated as good in 1:48.72. The victory is the second in the race for Mott, who saddled Crown Queen to victory in 2014.

Sweet Melania set the pace with Harvey's Lil Goil lapped on her outside through fractions of :23.89, :47.75 and 1:12.16. The two hit the top of the stretch as a team only to have Harvey's Lil Goil quickly spurt away and open a daylight advantage.

Favored Magic Attitude (GB) made the first run at her and then Micheline finished fastest of all to grab second but unable to catch Harvey's Lil Goil. The result reversed the finish of the Dueling Grounds Oaks at Kentucky Downs Sept. 10 when Micheline prevailed by a neck.

“She has a lot of natural speed,” said Garcia. “She's fast – you can do whatever you want. After the break, I moved outside and she was really comfortable by herself. When it was time to go, I asked and she responded.”

Bred in Kentucky by Clarke, Harvey's Lil Goil is a daughter of Triple Crown winner American Pharoah out of the Tapit mare Gloria S. The victory was worth $300,000 and increased Harvey's Lil Goil's earnings to $561,529 with a record of 8-4-1-1.

“We were pretty confident with her,” said Kenny McCarthy, assistant to Mott at Keeneland. “She ran a super race for us at Kentucky Downs (finishing second to QE II runner-up Micheline in the Sept. 10 Dueling Grounds Oaks) in her last out and had trained really well in between. She's a little superstar. She pretty much goes on any surface for us. At least in my mind, I think the turf probably is a little bit easier for her to handle.”

Harvey's Lil Goil paid $9.20, $5.20 and $3.20. Micheline, ridden by Florent Geroux, returned $9.20 and $4.40 and finished a half-length in front of Magic Attitude, who paid $2.40 to show under Javier Castellano.

It was another half-length back to Red Lark (IRE), who was followed in order by California Kook, Hendy Woods and Sweet Melania.

Racing continues Sunday with a nine-race program beginning at 1:05 p.m. ET. Keeneland will offer a Pick 6 carryover of $34,998.45 and a Super High 5 carryover of $58,378.55.

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Derby Winner Authentic ‘Very Smooth’ In Final Work Before Preakness Stakes

Spendthrift Farm, MyRaceHorse Stable, Madaket Stable and Starlight Racing's Kentucky Derby (Grade I) winner Authentic finalized his major preparation for Saturday's $1 million Preakness Stakes (GI) with a half-mile move in :47.60 Monday morning at Churchill Downs.

With jockey Martin Garcia aboard, Authentic worked at 7:30 a.m. (all times Eastern) through splits of :12.20, :24 and :36. Authentic continued to gallop out around the turn and clocked five furlongs in 1:00. He completed his work with a six-furlong gallop out time of 1:13.40.

“He's such an amazing horse,” Garcia said following the work. “He worked awesome. I've worked a lot of nice horses for trainer Bob Baffert in California and this horse is just as special. He's doing amazing for the Preakness.”

Baffert was on hand in Louisville to watch Authentic's final move along with staff members from Spendthrift Farm.

“It looked like he went in :50,” Spendthrift Farm's sales manager Mark Toothaker said. “He is very smooth.”

Authentic is scheduled to fly from Louisville to Baltimore on Tuesday along with a host of other local Preakness contenders. Among the other Preakness contenders based at Churchill Downs is George Hall and SportBLX Thoroughbreds' Max Player. The Kentucky Derby fifth-place runner worked an easy half-mile in :49.80 Monday for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen.

The post position draw for the Preakness is Monday at 12 p.m.

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Espinoza On COVID-19: ‘I Don’t Want Nobody To Have This Disease … It’s Pretty Bad’

Triple Crown-winning jockey Victor Espinoza has opened up about his experience of coronavirus, believing he contracted it at Los Alamitos and admitting: “I let my guard down.”

Espinoza landed the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes on American Pharoah in 2015. He is among a host of big-name US riders to contract the virus, which has swept through the southern Californian jockey colony, resulting in the cancellation of this weekend's Del Mar meet.

While some have been asymptomatic, 48-year-old Espinoza said he has never felt any pain like it “I don't want nobody to have this disease,” he said. “It's pretty bad.”

Espinoza tested positive after riding at the Los Alamitos Derby meeting on July 4-5, joining a list that also includes Flavien Prat, Umberto Rispoli, Luis Saez and Martin Garcia.

Describing his experience on the Winners Circle ABR Podcast, the jockey said: “I survive so far. It's been already ten days, but the first couple of days it was pretty bad.

“My body, my joints, pretty much everything hurts. I don't have a headache, it's just sometimes I get a little pressure, but that pressure is like nothing I have ever felt before. This thing is no joke.

“On Tuesday it hit me pretty hard for two hours,” Espinoza went on. “The next day I woke up normal, like nothing happened. Then the following day my body started hurting, every joint, especially my legs all the way from my hip to the ankle. The worst thing is there is not much they can do.”

Espinoza, who has also won the Kentucky Derby on War Emblem and California Chrome, said he had been advised to rest at home and was beginning to feel much better. He added that he was fortunate to not have had any breathing difficulties, a cough or temperature which would have required more urgent treatment.

Until he went to Los Alamitos, the jockey said he had been taking extra precautions to avoid catching the disease.

“I have been in quarantine since March, I never went out anywhere,” he said. “I was just so careful to take care of myself – but one second I let my guard down when I went to Los Alamitos and that was it.

“I was there Saturday, and Sunday, I started to feel tired in the afternoon and by Monday it hit me and Tuesday was the worst.”

Explaining what happened at the race meeting, he continued: “I got to Los Alamitos late and there are a couple of jockeys from out of town, like Martin Garcia and Saez. I was almost close to Martin Garcia's corner and a couple of valets, who are positive now. But then we don't know.

“When I say I let my guard down, I was not even going to take a shower but somehow they convinced me the showers were okay. So I went to the shower room and when I came back to my locker Martin Garcia was there and his valets.

“They were packing their stuff right next to me and I don't have my mask on after getting out of the shower so I believe it was the couple of seconds I don't have my mask on was how I got it.”

He added: “I don't want to say that it was Martin. We were all together. We share the room with the quarter-horse jockeys. It's pretty narrow. There is no exhalation in there. Even if you are not very close to them, you could still get infected.”

This story was originally published by Horse Racing Planet and has been reprinted with permission.

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