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Cohen: Keepmeinmind ‘One Of The Top Two I’ve Ever Sat On’

The only time David Cohen hasn't ridden Keepmeinmind was the $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) Nov. 6 at Keeneland. Cohen was still in the race, though, choosing to ride another horse for his main client, 2019 Oaklawn training champion Robertino Diodoro.

Cohen was aboard Dreamer's Disease, who was part of a torrid early pace in the 1 1/16-mile Breeders' Cup Juvenile before tiring to finish sixth, 9 ¾ lengths behind powerful winner Essential Quality. Those same hot fractions helped Diodoro's other entrant, Keepmeinmind, finish third, beaten two lengths, after being last of 14 through a half-mile in a lively :45.31.

In retrospect, Cohen recalled several months later, it was a case of zigging when he should have zagged.

“I did have the choice,” Cohen said. “I have amnesia when it came to that, really. We worked them against each other a couple of times and this guy (Keepmeinmind) couldn't keep up with the other one. The other one was outworking him. Worked them both, rode them both.”

Cohen will be back aboard Keepmeinmind, when he makes his long-awaited 3-year-old debut in the $1 million Rebel Stakes (G2) Saturday at Oaklawn. Keepmeinmind, a late-running son of Laoban, was among eight horses entered Tuesday for the 1 1/16-mile Rebel, Oaklawn's third of four Kentucky Derby points races.

Cohen, Oaklawn's leading jockey in 2019, rode Keepmeinmind three times last year, including a last-to-first maiden-breaking victory in the $200,000 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) Nov. 28 at Churchill Downs in his last start. Prior to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, Keepmeinmind finished second, beaten 3 ¼ lengths by Essential Quality, in the $400,000 Breeders' Futurity (G1) at 1 1/16 miles Oct. 3 at Keeneland. Dreamer's Disease, ridden by Cohen, punched his ticket to the Breeders' Cup with a front-running allowance victory going a mile on the Breeders' Futurity undercard.

“I've always loved Keepmeinmind, but he was never there mentally,” Cohen said. “In his races, he was sucking back and I knew there was more horse underneath me. And then in the morning, we worked these two against each other and the other one was outworking him. It was a tough decision. I had one speed horse, one coming from behind.”

Cohen said his Breeders' Cup choice was made easier because both horses raced for their breeder, Southern Equine Stable LLC, adding it indicated he would ride both back – even if Dreamer's Disease won.

“I think I told them that this horse is better today, but he won't be in a month from now,” Cohen said, referring to Dreamer's Disease. “He got burnt up on the front end. We had like four different waves of pressure. Once one stopped, another one came. Once he got tired, another one came. I was fine with my decision, but it had a lot to do with knowing that I wasn't giving up a mount for good.”

Reunited with Cohen for the 1 1/16-mile Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes, Keepmeinmind was last of nine late on the second turn before passing two rivals on the inside turning for home and the remainder of the field on the outside in the stretch to win by three-quarters of a length. Keepmeinmind was the 2-1 favorite after going off 52-1 in the Breeders' Futurity and 30-1 in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile.

“On paper, there wasn't a lot of speed,” Cohen said. “I probably could have been a few lengths closer going into the (first) turn, but I just elected to get him to the back and let him relax and give us a few more options when it came to navigating where I wanted to go once I sat him down for his run. The issue that we were having with him in his first couple of starts was getting in tight and sucking out of there and then coming with a run. We threw blinkers on him and that seemed to really help that out. Before I sat him down for his run, I could have gone outside of some horses, but I still wanted to teach him something and let him do it the proper way. I probably had two, three extra gears there with him.”

Following the race, Keepmeinmind was sent to Kentucky's WinStar Farm and remained in light training there, Diodoro said, until shipping to Hot Springs in late December.

Cohen has regularly breezed Keepmeinmind in advance of his 2021 debut, which was originally scheduled to come in the $750,000 Southwest Stakes (G3) Feb. 15 at Oaklawn before the race was postponed twice because of severe winter weather. Diodoro opted to pass the delayed Southwest (won Feb. 27 by unbeaten champion Essential Quality) and point for the Rebel after Keepmeinmind's training schedule was interrupted by snow and brutal cold.

Cohen said Keepmeinmind has progressed mentally since the Kentucky Jockey Club and already ranks him with Grade 1-winning millionaire sprinter Proud Tower Too as the best horse he's ridden in his career. Cohen rode his first winner in 2004 and guided Golden Ticket to victory (dead-heat) in the $1 million Travers Stakes (G1) for 3-year-olds in 2012 at Saratoga.

“Seeing him develop and being part of his early career, before he's ever run, a lot of times you get on these horses when they're already good,” Cohen said. “But the way he's doing it, and does it so effortlessly, he's still not even at his full potential. I've got to think he's one of the top two I've ever sat on.”

The Rebel is one of five stakes races to be run Saturday at Oaklawn, the others being the $150,000 Temperence Hill for older horses at 1 ½ miles, $200,000 Hot Springs for older sprinters, $350,000 Azeri (G2) for older females at 1 1/16 miles and the $500,000 Essex Handicap for older horses at 1 1/16 miles.

Racing begins Saturday at noon (Central), with probable post time for the Rebel, the 11th of 12 races, 5:16 p.m. The infield will be open, weather permitting.

The projected Rebel field from the rail out: Caddo River, Florent Geroux to ride, 122 pounds; Big Lake, Ricardo Santana Jr., 117; Hozier, Martin Garcia, 117; Get Her Number, Javier Castellano, 119; Twilight Blue, Brian Hernandez Jr., 119; Keepmeinmind, David Cohen, 119; Concert Tour, Joel Rosario, 117; and Super Stock, Joe Talamo, 117.

The Rebel will offer 85 points (50-20-10-5, respectively) toward starting eligibility for the Kentucky Derby, which is limited to 20 starters. Keepmeinmind has 18 points to rank 12th on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard, according to Churchill Downs.

The Rebel is the final major local prep for the $1 million Arkansas Derby (G1) April 10.

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Oaklawn Boosts Overnight Purses 15 Percent; Allowance Races Up To $110,000

Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark. announced the largest mid-season purse increase in the history of the track on Tuesday. Over the final eight weeks of the season, Oaklawn will pump another $2.5 million into overnight races, including increasing top allowance races to $110,000. The 15% across the board increase also takes maiden special weights to $93,000 and raises the bottom purse to $27,000.

“It's been an interesting year to say the least, but it is very gratifying to announce this purse increase nearly a year after shutting the race meet and casino down to fans because of the Covid-19 pandemic,” Oaklawn President Louis Cella said. “I wasn't sure we'd get here a couple weeks ago with all the bad winter weather, but our horsemen and fans are resilient. February ended with a tremendous weekend of racing and it was exciting to see fans back in the Infield last week. I have no doubt the final eight weeks of racing are going to be exciting, especially with some of our marquee races still to come.”

Saturday's 12-race card will be highlighted by the $1 million Rebel Stakes (G2) for 3-year-olds with Arkansas Derby (G1) and Kentucky Derby (G1) aspirations, as well as the $500,000 Essex Handicap, $350,000 Azeri Stakes (G2), $200,000 Hot Springs Stakes, and $150,000 Temperence Hill Stakes. First post is 12 noon.

“Rebel Stakes weekend has grown to be almost as big as Arkansas Derby Day and we're excited to be able to welcome more fans back just in time for the richest racing in our history,” General Manager Wayne Smith said. “Weather permitting, the Infield will be open every Saturday throughout the end of the meet. The Infield is truly a rite of spring and it was certainly missed last year.”

Oaklawn's 2021 live meet continues through Saturday, May 1.

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Breeders’ Cup Presents Connections: ‘I Don’t Think I Could Ever Work For Somebody Else’

Jorje Abrego distinctly remembers that dark day in 2012 when Midwest Thoroughbreds abruptly removed their horses from trainer Brad Cox's barn.

“It was 3:00 in the afternoon, and I looked down the shed row to see all webbings laying open, no horses in the stalls; it was sad,” Abrego said. “I remember somebody told me, 'You know, you better find another job, because Brad has only two horses!'

“Brad came into Barn 47 and told me, 'Please don't go anywhere, I'll keep you on your salary if you stay here. I'm going to get more horses.'”

That he did. The Cox operation is now setting new milestones: the barn had four Breeders' Cup winners at the 2020 World Championships, and has three top candidates on the Kentucky Derby trail early in 2021.

“You know, sometimes bad things come, and then very good things come after,” Abrego said from his office at Oaklawn Park. “The rest is a very good story. It's amazing, really.”

The 35-year-old native of Guatemala has been at Cox's side since 2009, working his way up from a part-time groom and part-time hotwalker to one of the trainer's top assistants. Abrego had only ever worked with a few horses, and had never seen a racehorse before arriving in the United States at the age of 22. He only walked hots before taking the job in Cox's barn.

It isn't hard to see that Abrego's long-time loyalty to the trainer runs deep; he's one of the first ones at the barn in the morning, and one of the last to leave it at night. He can be found in most of the photographs of the barn's top runners, and he still answers Cox's calls with a crisp, respectful, “Yes, sir.”

For the past five or six years, Abrego has made Oaklawn Park his winter home, handling a barn full of horses as well as the high-quality ship-in runners. Last weekend, for example, champions Monomoy Girl and Essential Quality shipped up from New Orleans before triumphing in local stakes races.

Assistant trainer Jorje Abrego celebrates a victory at Oaklawn Park

The chestnut phenom Monomoy Girl is the one who has Abrego's heart, however.

“I love every single horse in my barn, and maybe Brad Cox will win 100 more Grade 1 races, but I'll always remember her,” Abrego said. “She was the first Grade 1 for the team, and it's amazing to have a 6-year-old filly still running.”

The daughter of Tapizar gave Cox his first G1 win in the 2018 Ashland Stakes at Keeneland, and has now won two editions of the Breeders' Cup Distaff, in 2018 and in 2020. She missed over a year of racing between her championship-defining victories, but came back with a vengeance to dominate her division in 2020.

Monomoy Girl sold to Spendthrift Farm for $9.5 million at the end of 2020, and B. Wayne Hughes decided to return the champion racemare to Cox for a final season of racing in 2021. In her first start as a 6-year-old, Monomoy Girl posted a facile victory in the G3 Bayakoa Stakes on Feb. 28 at Oaklawn.

Her racing success isn't the only thing Abrego loves about the mare.

“This filly is so sweet, too, especially when you give her a peppermint,” he said. “When this filly is walking the shed row, she's like a pony. You'd never think she would run like that.”

The excitement is ramping up in the whole barn this year, as Cox has three runners with points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. The trainer has never started a horse in the Run for the Roses, but with 2-year-old champion Essential Quality in the barn, as well as prep winners Mandaloun and Caddo River, the first Saturday in May can't come quickly enough.

“I just hope we have the right one in the barn, the winner,” Abrego said, smiling.

Jorje Abrego, left, schooling Essential Quality in the paddock at Oaklawn before the colt's win in the G3 Southwest Stakes

At the end of the day, win or lose, Abrego knows he has the best job in the world. He has a hard time expressing his gratitude to Cox for taking a chance on him all those years ago, but he'll never forget it.

“When I told him this, believe me, it came from my heart,” Abrego relayed. “I told him, 'I don't think I could ever work for somebody else.' I love this job too much.

“I don't feel like Brad Cox is my boss, really. The guy treats me like family.”

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Arrieta Making Big Impression In First Year At Oaklawn

Francisco Arrieta points his right index finger to the sky following each victory. The jockey said it's not about finishing No. 1, but acknowledging the heavens.

Arrieta had raised his right arm 19 times through Saturday, the 18th day of racing at Oaklawn in Hot Springs, Ark. In a room full of newcomers at the 2021 meet, Arrieta has clearly made the biggest impression, trailing only seven-time local riding champion Ricardo Santana Jr. in the standings. Santana ended Saturday with 21 victories. Arrieta's purse earnings of $886,253, from 82 mounts through Saturday, ranked third.

“Everybody told me it's really tough here,” Arrieta, 32, said during training hours Friday morning. “But I've got belief. When you believe and get the opportunity, if you get the opportunity … now I'm doing really good.”

Arrieta credited his strong start to Jay Fedor, the jockey's well-connected agent who represented Martin Garcia, Oaklawn's co-second-leading rider at the 2020 meet. Fedor said after splitting with Garcia, he began searching for a 2021 replacement and “cold-called” Arrieta, then riding at Fair Grounds, in December. Arrieta said he planned to ride the 2020-'21 Fair Grounds meet before Fedor convinced him to move his tack to Oaklawn.

“Looked up his record and watched a few of his races and called him,” Fedor said. “Good kid. Generally, for the last few years, I've had a name that I could walk in the door with – (Gary) Stevens, (Robby) Albarado, Stewart Elliott, Martin, (Corey) Nakatani, Michael Baze – so this was a challenge that excited me, taking somebody that I was pretty certain that not many would know. A few people knew him, but I got lucky.”

Through Saturday, Arrieta had ridden his 19 winners for 10 trainers. They were Cipriano Contreras (5 victories), Jason Barkley (4), Jerry Hollendorfer (3), Aidan Green (1), Jimmy DiVito (1), Joe Sharp (1), Mac Robertson (1), Phil D'Amato (1), Randy Matthews (1) and Steve Asmussen (1).

Prior to coming to Oaklawn, Arrieta had never ridden a horse for Hollendorfer or Asmussen, both members of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. Arrieta did forge a relationship with Robertson at Canterbury Park, and they teamed for an upset victory with Beach Flower ($41.20) in Friday's allowance feature for older fillies and mares. Beach Flower represented their 12^th career victory together.

“He does the weight,” Robertson said. “He's won 600 races in three years. That says more than what anyone else says, right?”

Arrieta, a native of Venezuela, has ridden extensively the past few years in New Mexico, Arizona and Minnesota. He said moving to Arkansas wasn't an easy decision, owing to his family traveling with him. Retired Hall of Fame jockey Ramon Dominguez, who is also from Venezuela, is among the people Arrieta said he leaned on for advice.

“He said it was a great opportunity,” Arrieta said. “Ramon's a really smart guy. He always helps. I really like the outdoors here, the mountains. I'm really happy.”

Arrieta said he doesn't know where he'll ride after the Oaklawn meeting ends May 1, but he's weighing a couple of options. He was leading rider at Canterbury in 2019 and second-leading rider there last year. The suburban Minneapolis track normally draws a handful of prominent Oaklawn figures.

“I've got to call Ramon,” Arrieta said with a laugh.

According to Equibase, racing's official data gathering organization, Arrieta entered Sunday with 616 victories and $9,886,008 in purse earnings in his career. Arrieta ranked eighth nationally in victories (250) in 2019, also setting a career high in purse earnings ($4,033,210).

Arrieta recorded his first United States victory in 2015.

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