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‘Everything Has Come Together This Year’ For Jersey-Based Trainer Rory Huston

For a trainer whose stable consists of “about 95 percent” Jersey-breds, Rory Huston could not have hand-picked a better final card for the Meadowlands-at-Monmouth Park meet as he closes out the best year of his career.

Saturday's 11-race program features three stakes races for Jersey-breds: The $75,000 Smart N Classy for fillies and mares 3 and up going a mile; the $75,000 Dan Horn for 3 year olds and up at a mile and a sixteenth on the grass, and the $75,000 Pinot Grigio for fillies and mares 3 and up at 5½ furlongs on the turf.

Huston has entered five horses in the three stakes races.

“I told someone the other day it's like New Jersey Thoroughbred Festival Day all over again,” said Huston.

With six horses entered overall for the final day of the Thoroughbred racing season in New Jersey, Huston has a chance to finish the best season of his 11-year training career with a flourish.

He has already matched a personal best with 14 wins (from 100 starters) this year and his 2020 earnings of $701,125 are a career-best.

“I would say yes, it has been our best year yet,” said Huston, who gears down most of his operation when the New Jersey racing season ends, returning to his role as manager of Overbrook Farm in nearby Colts Neck. “Everything came together well this year. The horses, knock on wood, have been healthy. The track has been good. A lot of the pots we won were for Jersey-breds worth $60,000, so that accounts for the earnings we've had.”

Huston will only start a handful of horses at other tracks after Saturday, with his focus every year on Monmouth Park.

“We'll run a few elsewhere after this, but mostly I will be at the farm,” he said. “We're foaling 15 mares and we have 11 yearlings that we're breaking. I usually stop once the weather starts to go bad. We give the horses a couple of months off and then have them ready to come back when Monmouth Park re-opens.”

Before that happens, Huston has some unfinished business.

He has Groovy Surprise and Dantastic in the Smart N Classy, Wallercito in the Dan Horn and both Joy's Pride and Pretti Tricki in the Pinot Grigio.

Groovy Surprise is coming off a third-place finish in a $16,000 optional claimer while Dantastic is coming off a solid Maiden Special Weight victory.

“I like the way Groovy Surprise is coming into this race,” he said. “I feel good about her. I feel good about Dantastic, too. She has needed to go longer. We've tried to go long all summer with her but every time we entered her the race didn't go.”

Wallercito comes into the Dan Horn off of consecutive runner-up finishes and is trying the turf again after breaking his maiden on the grass last year in his only career try on the surface. In the Pinot Grigio Stakes, Pretti Tricki will race for the final time, with the 5-year-old mare having banked $161,136 during a 21-race career.

“She's going to be a broodmare after this,” said Huston. “Hopefully she will run big and end her career well.”

Joy's Pride comes into the same race with her only career win on the turf, but is trying a grass sprint for the first time.

If just one of Huston's starters manages to find the winner's circle his win total for the year will be a career best.

“If it happens it happens,” he said. “This has been a very good year either way. My crew did a great job, my wife helps gallop and run the shed row, and everything has come together this year, even with the late start due to the virus.

“I have no complaints.”

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‘All I Wanted Was A Chance’: 35-Year-Old Apprentice Taking His Shot At Monmouth

At an age when most of those in his profession are already well established, Victor Flores is just starting. But a dream delayed beats one that is not pursued every time in the view of this 35-year-old apprentice jockey.

Flores, who arrived at Monmouth Park from California in early August, will continue to try to make up for lost time – both in his career and this season – with two scheduled mounts on Wednesday's nine-race card that kicks off the final week of the Thoroughbred racing season in New Jersey.

The Meadowlands-at-Monmouth Park meet's closing-day card will be Saturday, Oct. 24.

Flores, who hails from Hidalgo, Mexico, was able to make some inroads at the Monmouth Park meet despite his late arrival. He had a 5-5-4 line from 48 mounts during the meet and has already won a race at the abbreviated Meadowlands-at-Monmouth Park meet.

“I came to Monmouth Park because I thought I could get more opportunities to ride,” said Flores, who spent the first seven months of the year riding in California. “I heard if you work hard the trainers at Monmouth Park will give you a chance. All I wanted was a chance to show what I can do.

“I'm very happy with what I was able to do and I'm grateful to everyone who helped me and gave me a chance and supported me.”

Flores delayed the start of his riding career at first because of college, attending the Autonomous University of Tamaulipas to study animal husbandry.

“In my mind I thought I was going to be a veterinarian,” he said. “My other option was to study the Arts and become an actor.

“After I finished my studies and internships I worked for five years but the work was not enough.”

He then relocated to the United States and took a job in construction and painting in Hilton Head, S.C. and wound up as part of a crew that was sent to California to do a job. It was there, he said, that he saw Hollywood Park Racetrack for the first time. Immediately after his shift was over that day, and bitten by the racetrack bug again, he went to look for a job on the backstretch.

Eventually, the foreman for Jerry Hollendorfer's barn gave him a job galloping horses, which he did for six years. Flores launched his riding career in 2018, doing so without the help of an agent, a challenging endeavor for any jockey. He is now represented by Rudy Rodriguez, Jr.

“I've always loved horses since I was young,” he said. “Once I started galloping them I knew I wanted to be a rider.”

That Flores is still an apprentice after nearly three years of riding is another part of his improbable story. Four months into his riding career he was involved in a spill and suffered a dislocated shoulder that sidelined him for four months. Less than two months after returning he broke his collarbone when the horse he was on went down during a morning work.

“I was wondering `Why me?' ” he said. “Just before that happened, that weekend, I had so many horses (to ride) and several had a chance to win. The falls totaled nine months of me being out.”

Because of the missed time the California Thoroughbred Racing Commission granted him an extension of 219 days to continue as an apprentice. It's the same number of days he was sidelined for.

His apprenticeship was due to expire July 14, 2020 but was extended through Feb. 18, 2021 – or until he wins 40 races.

He currently has 23 career wins.

“I feel like this year I did get the attention of some trainers at Monmouth, even though I wasn't here very long,” he said. “At first I was only riding a few horses a week. Now it seems like I am getting more chances and I am getting them on live shots. Right now, I just want to ride. The more I ride the better I will get. I hope this is just the start for me.”

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Hollendorfer Planning To Return To Monmouth Park In 2021

After four successful months having a string of horses at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J., for the first time, Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer has been so satisfied with the results that he intends to make the Shore track part of his regular racing rotation going forward.

That was plan revealed by Dan Ward, Hollendorfer's longtime assistant, after the stable continued its strong Monmouth Park presence when heavily-favored Croatian cruised to victory in Saturday's featured $52,500 allowance optional claimer.

Ward, who has been with Hollendorfer the past 14 years after spending the previous 22 as an assistant to the late Bobby Frankel, has overseen the Hollendorfer runners at Monmouth while his boss kept tabs from California.

With two victories on Saturday's 10-race card, the Hollendorfer stable has won with three of seven starters during the abbreviated Meadowlands-at-Monmouth Park meet after going 14-for-50 during the regular Monmouth Park meet.

“We could not be happier about the way things have gone at Monmouth Park this year,” Ward said. “After this meet ends (Oct. 24) we're going to go to Churchill Downs for two months and then to Oaklawn through April and then we'll be back here.

“It's been fantastic. It's a safe track. You get all kinds of weather and the track was always safe. It has been a pleasure to train and race here this year.”

Ward was assigned 27 horses for Monmouth Park this year, and said the goal is to grow those numbers for next season.

“We're trying to build things up, so we intend to have even more horses when we come back here next year. We hope next year is even better here,” he said, “All I can tell you is that we're very pleased with the entire operation here. Jerry is very happy. So we hope to keep coming back and keep this as part of our regular routine every year.

Ward had not been to Monmouth Park since 1991, when he was an assistant to Frankel and Marquetry won the Philip H. Iselin Stakes that year.

The final week of the Thoroughbred season in New Jersey kicks off Wednesday, Oct. 21, with a nine-race card that features five turf races. Post time is 12:50 p.m. ET.

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Tapiture’s Premier Star Romps in Jersey Shore

A firming even-money favorite, ‘TDN Rising Star‘ Premier Star (Tapiture) proved far too strong for six other rivals in Wednesday’s Jersey Shore S. at Monmouth Park, jogging under the line a very easy winner.

Away fairly from his low draw, Premier Star raced in third with a foothold at the fence and Paco Lopez elected to send his mount through a tight inside spot to take up the running with a little less than a half-mile to race. Comfortably in front on the bend, he kicked further in front in upper stretch and came home a convincing winner over Johnny Ritt (Weigelia). ‘TDN Rising Star’ Meru (Sky Mesa) was off slowly and lagged towards the rear for the opening half-mile, then made decent stretch progress to round out the trifecta.

A winner of two of three starts and sixth in the GIII Sam F. Davis S. while under the care of Jorge Navarro, Premier Star was third in a June 19 Laurel allowance ahead of a 3 1/2-length success at that level Aug. 6. He was last seen finishing third, four lengths behind undefeated Yaupon (Uncle Mo) in the GII Amsterdam S. at Saratoga Aug. 29.

Premier Star is the seventh black-type winner for Tapiture, who also supplied this year’s GIII Monmouth Oaks victress Hopeful Growth. He descends from the family of the late influential Harlan’s Holiday and is his dam’s last listed produce.

JERSEY SHORE S., $102,000, Monmouth, 10-14, 3yo, 6f, 1:09.61, ft.
1–PREMIER STAR, 118, c, 3, by Tapiture
1st Dam: Letthetigerparty, by Hold That Tiger
2nd Dam: No Need to Party, by Dixieland Band
3rd Dam: Dowager, by Honest Pleasure
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN. ‘TDN Rising Star‘ ($105,000 Ylg ’18 KEESEP; $100,000 2yo ’19 OBSOPN). O-Sonata Stable; B-Charles H Deters (KY); T-Michael J Trombetta; J-Paco Lopez. $60,000. Lifetime Record: GSP, 7-4-0-1, $160,750.
2–Johnny Ritt, 118, g, 3, Weigelia–C J’s Little Girl, by Attorney. ($17,000 Ylg ’18 EASOCT). O-Cash is King LLC & LC Racing LLC; B-Barbara Wheeler (PA); T-Robert E Reid Jr. $20,000.
3–Meru, 118, c, 3, Sky Mesa–Lady Lavery, by Elusive Quality. ($75,000 Ylg ’18 FTKOCT; $300,000 2yo ’19 OBSAPR). O-Colts Neck Stables LLC; B-Godolphin (KY); T-Jorge Duarte Jr. $10,000.
Margins: 4 3/4, NK, 1HF. Odds: 1.10, 16.80, 3.90.
Also Ran: He’s Smokin Now, Gandy Dancing, Newstome, As Seen On Tv. Scratched: Bright Dawn, Carey Times, Win Ya Win. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

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