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Trainer Darien Rodriguez Enjoyed ‘Whole Experience’ In His First Year At Monmouth Park

After spending his first full summer at Monmouth Park this year and then extending his stay through the current Monmouth-at-Meadowlands before he heads to Tampa Downs for the winter, trainer Darien Rodriguez is already ooking forward to returning to New Jersey.

When he does come back the 41-year-old native of Cuba says he will be better prepared.

“I liked the whole experience. I just brought a little bit of the wrong horses with me,” said Rodriguez. “I learned my lesson. Next year I will come North with more older horses and claimers and not as many 2-year-olds. The 2-year-olds I had were at zero when I got them so it took a long time to get them going. Now I have a better idea of what fits here.”

Rodriguez, in the midst of his second-best season since he started training in 2010, will look to extend his success in the state on Friday with Wicked Groove when the all-turf racing resumes at the East Rutherford facility.

A recent claim, Wicked Groove finished second in an off-the-turf $25,000 claimer in her last start at Monmouth on Sept. 21. She will take on a full field of nine rivals, with four alternates waiting, in the mile and a sixteenth $25,000 claimer.

“He's back on grass now, which is where he is at his best,” said Rodriguez, who owns many of his horses.

Rodriguez, who finished the Monmouth Park meet with a 6-6-3 line from 31 starters, tried spending half the year at Presque Isle, Delaware and even Gulfstream Park before giving Monmouth Park a try. His overall win total (30 from 113 starters) and earnings ($534,801) this year are both the second-highest of his career.

“I wish I could have started more at Monmouth Park,” said Rodriguez. “I really enjoyed being there. I feel I did good with what I had, so when I come back next year I will have more horses that fit there.”

Friday's fifth day of the seven-day Monmouth-at-Meadowlands meet has attracted 70 entries for the six grass races.

First race post time is 7 p.m.

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Jockey Charles Roberts Making Stakes Debut In G1 Champagne

Charles Roberts, a 29-year-old New Jersey native, rode his first two races at Belmont Park last week, finishing sixth with London Gold last Friday and second aboard Madame Rose at odds of 36-1 in the Saturday nightcap.

Roberts, a newcomer to the NYRA jockey colony who is represented by agent David Grace, will ride his first career stakes race Saturday at Belmont, where he is named aboard Kavod in the Grade 1, $500,000 Champagne, a one-turn mile for juveniles.

Roberts got into racing through his uncle, a Monmouth Park patron who said he was the right size to become a jockey.

“My Uncle Bob would take me to Monmouth and Meadowlands as a kid. When I realized I was done growing, I decided to give it a shot,” Roberts said.

The rider said he studied for a time at Chris McCarron's North American Racing Academy in Kentucky before testing his talent at the track.

“I got my foot in the door with racing at the Academy and then I stayed in Lexington for a couple of years and galloped horses for Eric Reed and Kellyn Gorder. I would also freelance a bit at The Training Center in Lexington,” Roberts said.

Roberts started riding in June 2019 in Louisiana at Evangeline Downs and picked up his first win on July 6, 2019 aboard So Serious at Louisiana Downs. The up-and-coming rider said he knew right away that he wanted to be a jockey.

“I knew I liked it the first time I got on a horse,” Roberts said. “It was scary at first but also exciting.”

Roberts said he is looking forward to his first stakes experience Saturday aboard Kavod, who he breezed on September 25 through four furlongs in 48.19 on Big Sandy in company with 2-year-old colt Ready to March.

“I know there's some nice horses in the race but the way he worked, I have a lot of confidence in him,” Roberts said. “It doesn't even feel like real life. I haven't ridden a stakes race yet and now my first one is in a Grade 1 at Belmont.”

Roberts knows Saturday's assignment is a tall order with Kavod listed at 50-1 on the morning line, but he said he will ride to win.

“I know he likes the rail and hopefully he'll make a run,” Roberts said. “After working him, I really liked what I felt so I have a lot of confidence. I know he likes the surface here, so that will help.”

Heading into Friday's card, Roberts [115 pounds] sports a record of 618-56-65-75, including wins at Evangeline, Louisiana Downs, Delta Downs, Oaklawn Park, Arlington Park, and most recently at Hawthorne.

“I constantly try to better myself,” Roberts said. “Every race I ride, I look back at the replay and consider what I could have done better. I also watch the guys here who are already great and try to emulate them.”

Roberts has worked horses for a number of barns since arriving in New York, including for veteran New York trainer Carlos Martin.

“He's a young rider and comes with a good reputation. His agent is a good friend of ours that used to work for us many years ago,” Martin said. “He's been working horses for us the last week to 10 days since he arrived and he's just got a real good way about him. He's quiet on the horses and they seem to respond to him.

“He's stepping up to the big leagues but I think he deserves the opportunity,” Martin added. “We have him on a filly this Sunday [Positive Skew, Race 7] and he's working another one that he'll ride. He's an exciting young rider. It's a tough meet and one of the toughest jockey colonies in the world, but all he needs is an opportunity. I think he can ride, there's no question in my mind.”

Grace, who has previously represented Channing Hill and Mike Luzzi, said Roberts is willing to work hard to make the most of his opportunities.

“He's well-spoken and rides a good race,” Grace said. “This is a tough race tomorrow but anything can happen in a horse race.”

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‘More Opportunities’ Leading To Career Year For Trainer Luis Carvajal

Despite the absence of a “big” horse, trainer Luis Carvajal, Jr. has still managed to produce a breakout year in a career that began in 2006. The formula for the success has been pretty basic: More starters than ever before helped produced more winners than he has ever had before.

He doesn't intend slow down yet, either, with horses entered in each of the first two nights of the Monmouth-at-Meadowlands meet that gets underway on Friday, Oct. 1. The six-race, all-turf cards during the seven-day meet will have a first race post time of 7 p.m.

Carvajal will send out Fly Fly Away, one of the likely favorites, in Friday's second race at a mile and a sixteenth, and Le Coste in Saturday's fifth race at one mile.

It's all in an effort to add to what has been a banner year for the 49-year-old native of Santiago, Chile.

“The big difference this year is that I have more owners giving me more horses,” said Carvajal. “More horses mean more opportunities to win.

“It's a lot of work having more horses. But I have a great team. It doesn't matter how many horses you have if you have good help. It makes everything so much easier.”

Carvajal has sent out a career-high 192 starters in 2021, resulting in a personal-best of 30 winners. His increased workload is best reflected in the recently-completed Monmouth Park meet, where he sent out 17 winners from 109 starters compared to nine winners from 61 starters a year ago.

“Yes, this definitely has been my best year,” said Carvajal. “It's a lot of fun when you win races.”

That's saying something since Carvajal campaigned multiple Grade 1 winner Imperial Hint until his retirement in 2020. In 2018 alone, Imperial Hint accounted for $767,500 of Carvajal's $1,115,573 in earnings that year. That remains his high water mark in earnings, with his stable of mostly allowance horses, claimers and maidens producing $805,011 in earnings this year.

“I'm looking for my next big horse,” he said. “That always makes things easier.”

Fly Fly Away, meanwhile, enters Friday on a form spree, with two wins and a pair of seconds in his past four starts.

“The horse is doing good. I think he will run a really good race,” said Carvajal. “My only concern is this will be his first time under the lights. But it's the same for a lot of horses. They have never raced under the lights. We'll see how some of them handle it.”

Carvajal's plans are to stay through the Monmouth-at-Meadowlands Meet, which runs until Oct. 30, and then move his stable to Tampa Downs before returning to Monmouth Park next spring.

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Monmouth-At-Meadowlands Meet Kicks Off Friday

Fifty-nine horses were entered today for the six races on the all-turf card when the Monmouth-at-Meadowlands meet gets underway on Friday, Oct. 1. First race post time throughout the seven-day all-turf meet that spans the month of October will be 7 p.m.

A $40,000 Maiden Special Weight at a mile and a sixteenth headlines the opening day card at the East Rutherford facility.

Jockey Paco Lopez, coming off his eighth riding title at Monmouth Park, where he averaged nearly two wins per day (109 overall) for the 55-day meet, is listed to ride in all six races Friday.

The fourth race on the card, a $7,500 claiming event at a mile and a sixteenth, drew a field of 14 including four alternates.

The Monmouth-at-Meadowlands meet will also hold live racing on Saturday, Oct. 2. The Friday-Saturday schedule will continue on Oct. 8 and 9 before shifting to just Friday on Oct. 15 and then to just Saturday on Oct. 23 and 30.

Six races will be held nightly.

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