Tag: People

Earlier in January, jockey Aubrie Green moved her tack back to Fair Grounds from Tampa Bay Downs. She made her first mount a winning one on Friday Jan. 13. Soon after she returned to the winner's circle on Friday Jan. 20. Nine mounts in, she is 2-1-1, and her horses have been outrunning their odds.

First it was Powderhorn Racing's Zion, winning at 17-1 for trainer Nathan Hatcher on Jan. 13.

“I wasn't even supposed to ride the horse,” Green said. “Nathan (Hatcher) told me (Zion) hadn't been breaking well. He said, 'I want to put you on because I know you can break this horse hard and get him out of the gates.'”

That's exactly what Green did, breaking in third and maintaining that spot throughout to put Zion in position to run down Available Star and Coach Kenny in the stretch.

It was a similar story on Friday, Jan. 20, when Green took the reins of Fifteen Love Back for trainer Cesar Govea. She turned a horse who had been double-digit lengths back through the opening calls of both previous races at Fair Grounds into a well-positioned stalker, no more than four lengths behind through the early calls. Fifteen Love Back won at 12-1.

Riding professionally since 2015 and in the jockey colony at Fair Grounds since 2017, Green has impressed local connections and quickly became a fan favorite. In 2021-2022 she finished 11th in the jockey standings with 25 wins in 232 mounts, earning $717,275.

At Tampa, she rode two winners in 32 mounts but had six seconds and three thirds.

“Tampa was alright, a little slow,” Green said. “There were some really good riders, a big colony.

“My agent there, she wasn't on the grounds. So I decided to head back to (Fair Grounds). I'm sure I'll be riding for 'Bunky' (trainer Corale Richards) and Andrea Ali. I just talked with Shane Wilson and he said he would get with me. I'm just going to be hustling, getting on for everybody I can.”

Green's agent is the 1998 Fair Grounds' Hall of Fame inductee, Ronald Ardoin. Spanning a career where he won six riding titles at Fair Grounds, the retired jockey Ardoin won 5,226 races.

One of the Idaho-native's highest profile mounts on the Louisiana circuit came aboard Pound for Pound. Green won both the 2019 Louisiana Champions Day Classic and the 2021 Star Guitar Stakes aboard the Andrea Ali-trained horse who had over a half-million in career earnings.

The post Back At Fair Grounds, Jockey Aubrie Green Off The Mark Quickly With Pair Of Longshots appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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After spending the early part of his first full U.S. winter at his Maryland home base, standout teenage apprentice jockey Jeiron Barbosa is enjoying some time in the sun this week – in more ways than one.

The Puerto Rico native, who turned 19 last month, made his riding debut at Gulfstream Park Wednesday, finishing fourth in Race 2 aboard 5-year-old Gypsy Kitten, trained and co-owned by Gerald Brooks.

Barbosa has another mount for Brooks and co-owner Carl Hess Jr., 4-year-old filly Breezy Connection, in Race 2 Thursday, a maiden claimer where they are the 8-5 program favorite. That night, Barbosa will be in attendance for the Eclipse Awards at The Breakers in Palm Beach, Fla. where he is a finalist for champion apprentice of 2022.

“I appreciate the opportunity that the trainer gave me to ride today. I am riding another horse tomorrow, and I am very excited to be here,” Barbosa, still getting a handle on the language, said through an interpreter. “I feel very excited and very proud. It's an honor to even be nominated as one of the top three apprentice riders in the country.”

Based year-round in Maryland, riding primarily at Laurel Park and historic Pimlico Race Course, Barbosa launched his pro career Jan. 1, 2022 in Puerto Rico and won three of 72 races before coming to the U.S. Just two days after arriving, he earned his first domestic wins on each of his first two mounts – Heliacial Rising and Ludicrous Mode – March 25 at Laurel. Barbosa picked up his first career stakes win with Music Amore in Laurel's Searching Aug. 6.

In 2022, Barbosa ranked second in wins (182) and purses earned ($5,685,182) and was third with 1,033 starters among apprentice riders. Represented by agent Tom Stift, he won three titles in Maryland – the spring and fall stands at Laurel as well as Pimlico's boutique fall meet. He ended the year with 107 wins at the two tracks, ranking second only to four-time overall champion Jevian Toledo.

“I'm very happy because we had a great year. We were able to win a lot of races and three riding titles. I have to thank my agent and all the owners and trainers that gave me the opportunity to ride their horses,” Barbosa said. “We put in a lot of hard work during the year and to win the Eclipse would mean everything to me.”

Joining Barbosa as Eclipse Award finalists are Vincente Del-Cid and Jose Antonio Gomez. Louisiana-based Del-Cid, out since late November with an injury, led all apprentice riders with 246 wins while Gomez, who rode primarily in New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, was tops with more than $7 million in purse earnings.

Barbosa could become the 13th Maryland-based rider to win the apprentice Eclipse and first since Alexander Crispin in 2020. Other to do so include Hall of Famers Chris McCarron (1974) and Kent Desormeaux (1987) as well as Ronnie Franklin (1978), Alberto Delgado (1982), Allen Stacy (1986), Mike Luzzi (1989), Mark Johnston (1990), Jeremy Rose (2001), Ryan Fogelsonger (2002), Victor Carrasco (2013) and Weston Hamilton (2018). Both Carrasco and Crispin continue to ride in Maryland.

Barbosa leads Laurel's current winter meet which began Jan. 1 with 17 wins and $612,860 in purse earnings from 68 mounts.

“When I was in Puerto Rico at the jockey school, I went to Maryland and saw the horses breezing in the morning, and I liked it so much I had the desire to ride there. It was a dream come true when I got there,” Barbosa said. “I thank God for the opportunity, and I feel like I have a real shot to win.”

The post Apprentice, Eclipse Award Finalist Jeiron Barbosa Makes Gulfstream Debut Wednesday appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Ahead of his participation on Saturday's Pegasus World Cup Day program, international star Frankie Dettori rode Wednesday at Gulfstream Park for the first time since 2020.

Dettori set the pace aboard Union Dolly in Race 7, a mile turf stakes for older fillies and mares, before weakening late to finish a close third.

Dettori, who is named to ride two horses on Thursday's card at Gulfstream, is scheduled to ride in 10 races of Saturday's stellar 13-race program. He is named to ride D. Wayne Lukas-trained Last Samurai in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) presented by Baccarat (Race 13), Graham Motion-trained Hurricane Dream in the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1) presented by Qatar Racing (Race 12), and Jonathan Thomas-trained Bay Storm in the $500,000 TAA Pegasus World Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G3) presented by Pepsi (Race 11).

Dettori has ridden in three editions of the Pegasus World Cup 2018-2020 without success, but he did visit the Gulfstream Park winner's circle in 2018 aboard Dale Romans-trained Sportscaster in an undercard race, delighting fans with his trademark flying dismount.

Saturday will be the last visit to Gulfstream, since Dettori has decided to retire at the end of the 2023 racing season.

“I really don't want to stop, but I'm going to stop. I'm 53 in December,” said Dettori, who has been riding at Santa Anita during the winter months during Europe's off season. “I'm not that young anymore.”

Although he will ride Last Samurai and Bay Storm for the first time Saturday, Dettori had the opportunity to get to know Hurricane Dream in Europe. In a German Group 2 event at Baden-Baden Sept. 6, Hurricane Dream and Dettori closed from off the pace in the stretch to fall short of victory by a head.

The post Frankie Dettori Back At Gulfstream For One More Try In Pegasus appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Jockey Victoria Alonso, who hails from a heralded sporting dynasty, will be the second Spanish female jockey to compete in the International Jockeys Challenge at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh on Feb. 24, 2023, the opening day of The Saudi Cup meeting.

The 20-year-old, who has 55 career wins to her name, finished sixth in the Spanish jockey rankings last year and comes from a family of sporting excellence, both in professional football and horse racing.

Six members of the Alonso family across three generations have played professional football, with three of them representing the Spanish national football team, while they have also played for Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid at club level.

Her cousin is ex-Chelsea and current Barcelona defender Marcos Alonso, while her father, Cesar Alonso, played football for Rayo Vallecano before turning to racing, first as an amateur jockey and then as a trainer.

She said: “I am very proud to be continuing my family's involvement in top-level sport. Not only are most of them professional footballers but they are all big fans of horse racing and proud of me. I follow their achievements, as they do mine.

“All my family are aware of what I do in horse racing and I have their full support. Both my parents will be there [at The Saudi Cup].”

After being confirmed as a participant in the IJC, Alonso said: “Riding in the IJC at The Saudi Cup is a dream come true. I really want to savour this great experience riding against the world's best jockeys and am ready to give it everything that I have. I want to thank all those people who have made it possible.

“The experience is going to be very exciting and totally unique on a professional and personal level, and I hope that it will launch me and give me some great international exposure.

Alonso has experience of riding on both dirt and turf in Spain and France and has been praised for her ability to judge pace from any position in the field.

Alonso said, “I have continued to learn, picking up a lot of experience both in Spain and France. I am happy to have finished in the top six jockeys in Spain, even though I had less rides than any of the other top 10 jockeys.”

She joins Delphine Santiago as the latest jockeys to be confirmed for this year's IJC. French jockey Santiago, the fourth female rider to be announced in this year's IJC line-up, has forged a successful career in her native France that has seen her crowned the country's leading female jockey 10 times. Alongside Alonso, she joins Frankie Dettori, Chantal Sutherland, Joao Moreira and last year's winner Caitlin Jones in taking part in the 2023 running of the event.

The International Jockeys Challenge features four handicap races, each run for $400,000, with a further $100,000 prize fund for the challenge itself.

The jockeys are made up of seven international female riders, five international men and two local men with the jockeys receiving 15% of prize money won in each of the four races.

The post 20-Year-Old Victoria Alonso Vying To Add Saudi International Jockeys Challenge To Family Trophy Cabinet appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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