Tag: People

Perhaps the most eye-popping metric regarding jockey Cristian Torres during the 2022-2023 Oaklawn meeting that began Dec. 9 is that his purse earnings are already approaching season-ending totals in 2021 ($1,034,104 in his local debut) and 2021-2022 ($920,548).

A scintillating start has Torres, 25, topping the standings in victories (11) and purse earnings ($749,345) after just six days of racing. Torres also has a meet-high three stakes victories, two coming in front-running fashion after he and trainer Robertino Diodoro decided to employ a catch-me-if-you can strategy.

Torres continues to make all the right moves. The career spark was ignited roughly seven months ago after a phone conversation between an agentless Torres and Billy Castle, who represented another Oaklawn regular, Ramon Vazquez. Castle said he couldn't work for both riders (he wanted to concentrate solely on Vazquez, maybe six weeks into his now ultra-successful move from the Midwest to Southern California) and advised Torres to choose Cody Autrey, the well-connected trainer turned racing manager turned jockey agent. Castle and Autrey are also good friends.

“He had a lot of talent, a lot of raw ability,” Castle said of Torres. “But he needed, what I consider, management. Like a Ramon Vazquez. There's so much talent in the world. It reminds me of 'The Voice,' 'American Idol.' There's a lot of people out there with a lot of ability, but they don't get the chance. In regard to Cristian, you don't have a Robertino Diodoro, you don't have a Karl Broberg, etc. These are powerhouse leading trainers that can make any rider. But you take a kid like Cristian, he needed that support. He needed that opportunity and he's taking advantage of it now.”

Is he ever.

Torres secured his first career riding title at the recently completed Remington Park meeting with 71 victories, 12 more than runner-up Stewart Elliott. Torres also led all riders in purse earnings ($1,742,742) and maintained a robust 25 percent win rate. That momentum has snowballed at Oaklawn, where Torres continues to ride first call for Diodoro and Broberg, two of the winningest trainers in North American history.

“I'm grateful to every trainer and owner that gave me an opportunity,” Torres said. “Remington was a great, great, great meet. Never had a meet like that. We started off on the right foot here, but Remington was unbelievable. I'm just grateful and blessed to be here.”

Torres literally limped to the finish line at the 2021-2022 Oaklawn meeting, missing the final 19 racing days after suffering hairline fractures of his tailbone and right ankle in a March 27 spill.

Torres needed a new agent for his comeback after Ruben Munoz, best known for his work with eight-time Oaklawn riding champion Ricardo Santana Jr., said he was taking a break and giving Santana's book, post-Oaklawn, to Matt Muzikar in Kentucky. Munoz had brought Torres from south Florida to Oaklawn shortly after the 2021 meeting began.

Torres selected Joe Santos, whose successful multiple rider/multiple jurisdiction agent business model is headlined by four-time Remington Park champion David Cabrera and Reylu Gutierrez, a rising star who tops the standings this season at Fair Grounds. Cabrera also shared the 2021-2022 Oaklawn riding title with Francisco Arrieta.

Ticketed to return in late May at Prairie Meadows, Torres never rode a race at the Iowa track.

“I was at Prairie Meadows for two weeks working horses,” Torres said. “Honestly, I didn't feel like it was the place for me to be. I was coming off an injury and I didn't feel very comfortable where I was at.”

Torres resurfaced at Lone Star Park in suburban Dallas with a new agent, Autrey, and resumed riding May 27, a decision that has changed the jockey's career trajectory.

“I felt it was great opportunity and I took it,” said Torres, who rode 19 winners in his abbreviated stint at Lone Star. “I felt like I couldn't let it pass by.”

Diodoro was Oaklawn's leading trainer in 2020 and has a meet-high eight victories this season. All eight were ridden by Torres. Broberg, Remington Park's 2022 training champion, has two victories this season at Oaklawn. Torres rode both, including Flash of Mischief in the inaugural $150,000 Ring the Bell Stakes Dec. 10. Flash of Mischief represented Torres' first career Breeders' Cup mount in the $2 million Sprint (G1) Nov. 5 at Keeneland.

About an hour after the Ring the Bell, Torres and Diodoro teamed to win the $150,000 Mistletoe Stakes with Lovely Ride. The Mistletoe was the fourth victory on the card for Torres, equaling a career high, and led to his unanimous selection as Jockey of the Week from the Jockey's Guild, an organization that represents more than 1,000 active and permanently disabled riders across the country. Diodoro and Torres struck again in the $200,000 Tinsel Stakes Dec. 17 with Bal Harbour.

“Unbelievable,” Diodoro said. “Very lucky to have him. He reminds me of Francisco (Arrieta). They're both similar – young, hardworking, no issues behind the scenes, work ethic and very grateful. When they win a race or get a live mount, it's not they're entitled to it. They're very grateful for it. Cristian is so patient. I think that's the key with any good rider. But lot times they have to learn that, where this guy is only 25 years old. Another thing I've noticed is nothing rattles him.”

Originally from Puerto Rico, Torres launched his riding career in April 2019 at Gulfstream Park and won 122 races overall that year to finish 76th nationally. He won 120 races overall the following year to finish 43rd. Torres was fourth in voting for an Eclipse Award as the country's champion apprentice jockey of 2019 and finished fifth for 2020.

Torres won 22 races to finish seventh in the 2021 Oaklawn standings and added 19 victories at his injury-shortened 2021-2022 meeting to finish 15th. Now, he's No. 1 and armed with a 33 percent strike rate (11 for 33). Meanwhile, Vazquez (393 career Oaklawn victories, including 44 in 2021-2022) has captured three riding titles at Los Alamitos and one at Santa Anita since relocating to Southern California last April.

“Cody's been a very successful trainer,” Castle said. “Knows the industry well, knows the condition book well. Very bright and I just thought it would be a very good marriage. I thought Cody would be a very good person for Cristian, vice versa, and I just wanted to focus every capacity on Ramon.”

The post Leading Standings At Oaklawn: Jockey Cristian Torres, Trainer-Turned-Agent Cody Autrey Proving ‘A Very Good Marriage’ appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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As 2022 draws to a close, Brittany Russell stands on the precipice of history.

The Laurel Park-based trainer has already reached career highs with 442 starters, 98 wins and $4.3 million in purse earnings. She became just the fourth woman to win a meet title in Maryland at Laurel's spring stand – the mother of two clinching the honor on Mother's Day – and the first to do it twice when she led the standings during the Preakness Meet at historic Pimlico Race Course.

Now, the 32-year-old Pennsylvania native is poised to take it one step further. She is not only on the verge of securing her third meet championship at Laurel's calendar-year ending fall stand but becoming the first woman to finish the year as the state's leading trainer.

Russell will exit the Christmas break with 28 wins at Laurel fall, seven more than runner-up Jamie Ness with three racing days remaining, Dec. 29-31. Her 72 wins from 297 starters were just two fewer than five-time defending champion Claudio Gonzalez (74-371) for the overall Maryland title. Jamie Ness sits third with 70 wins.

“I really don't pay attention to the numbers and the stats and those things. I just kind of focus on who's next and winning the next race. I try and keep it just day to day,” Russell said. “I have people that sort of remind me regularly, but I don't like to think about it. I just like to think about the individual horses I have to get ready to run and getting those things accomplished.”

Other females to win meet titles in Maryland are Karen Patty (1992 Pimlico spring), Mary Eppler (2016 Laurel fall), and Linda Rice (T-1st, 2017 Laurel winter). Though proud to join that group, Russell's emphasis is being a successful trainer, period, regardless of gender, while also being a mother to 3-year-old daughter, Edy, and 1-year-old son, Rye she shares with her husband, champion jockey Sheldon Russell.

“I don't think about those things. I think about the job as far as being a mom and a trainer, because it's such a balance,” Russell said. “I'm juggling a lot, but it takes a village. We have my staff at the barn. We have Sheldon's mom. It takes so many good people on your team. I'm blessed. We have these good people around us for a reason, and it makes me feel good.”

“The female trainer thing, I get it, but I think it's more about being a mom,” she added. “I wanted to train and I wanted to do what I'm doing, but I also wanted to have children. I didn't know how difficult it would be until we were in it, but I wouldn't trade it for anything now. We're going to hopefully keep this good thing rolling and my kids can grow up and be part of it if they want to.”

Russell's introduction to horses came at a young age while working at local farms growing up in Peach Bottom, Pa. After a brief stint riding amateur races she turned to training, working for such horsemen as Hall of Famer Jonathan Sheppard, Brad Cox, Jimmy Jerkens and Ron Moquett before going out on her own, winning with her first starter, Oh My, Feb. 25, 2018 at Laurel.

Her breakthrough year came in pandemic-shortened 2020 when she won 46 of 159 starters and surpassed the $1 million mark in season earnings for the first time. Russell went 71-for-274 last year, topping $2.8 million in purses earned and winning her first graded-stakes, the Bold Ruler (G3) at Aqueduct with Wondrwherecraigis on the day before her son was born.

Russell is quick to credit her whole team, from her husband to assistants Emma Wolfe at the Fair Hill Training Center in Elkton, Md. and Luis Barajas at Laurel to her riders, grooms, hotwalkers and staff, for the success they've shared.

“It's amazing how we've grown. It's amazing what we've accomplished so far. I'm so proud of everybody really,” Russell said. “We have multiple strings. Emma's up at Fair Hill getting these young horses going. It's hard to get a lot of 2-year-olds in and to do everything. It's really hard to do it, and to grow. My team's done such a great job of helping me get to where we are.”

Currently Russell has 40 horses at Laurel and another two dozen at Fair Hill, down from the 80 to 90 she'll oversee during the summer months. In addition to 'Craig,' who recently returned to the barn after getting some time off, Russell's top horses include Hello Beautiful and Whereshetoldmetogo, both retired as multiple stakes winners with more than a half-million dollars in purse earnings.

“At the end of the day you look at the quality of the stock that we have and I feel like each year it's gotten a little better. We're just lucky,” she said. “You see some of the horses we have in the barn, and that's what we're trying to accomplish. We're trying to find those good ones and win races with them and hopefully we can keep our clients happy and buying good horses and get them to the winner's circle.”

Russell has one horse, Dunder Boss, entered in the opener as live racing returns to Laurel Thursday. She'll be busy with six starters on Friday – the Christmastide Stakes Day program rescheduled from Dec. 26 due to weather – including horses in four of the six $100,000 stakes.

Michael Dubb and Morris Bailey's Prince of Jericho is the 8-5 program favorite in the seven-furlong Heft for 2-year-olds, exiting back-to-back victories by 17 combined lengths. It will be his stakes debut.

“He's a little super horse. He's doing well and I'm excited,” Russell said. “He's kind of taken us into this spot. These are the kinds of horses you want to run in stakes. You feel good going into it because they brought you here. You're not just taking a swing. I feel like he's kind of earned his shot.”

S B Stables and GenStar Thoroughbreds' Tappin Jose is set to make her seventh career start in the seven-furlong Gin Talking for 2-year-old fillies and the first since being claimed by Russell for $62,500 out of a Nov. 14 win at Laurel.

“She hasn't had a bad day and she likes Laurel. There's plenty of positive reasons for why we would take a swing in the stake,” she said. “She's trained really well for us. It is tricky to claim one and [then] run her right in a stake. We do like her, but it's also a big step so hopefully she responds.”

In the 6 ½-furlong Willa On the Move for fillies and mares 3 and up, Russell will be represented by Cash is King and LC Racing's Juror Number Four. The 4-year-old filly has placed in three stakes including seconds in the 2020 Maryland Juvenile Fillies and most recently the Nov. 25 Politely behind Fille d'Esprit, who also returns in this spot.

“She's great. It was kind of our last opportunity to sort of take a swing with her for the year. The plan will be to freshen her up after this race,” Russell said. “She's honest. She always runs a good race. Obviously, she's always running against horses like Fille d'Esprit and Street Lute. There's always a tough one. Fille d'Esprit isn't the only tough one in there, either. It's a tough little race, but she's doing great and I think she'll like the 6 ½ [furlongs].”

Russell's final stakes starter comes in the 1 1/8-mile Carousel with The Elkstone Group's Hybrid Eclipse, whose two wins in five tries since joining the trainer's string this summer came in the one-mile Caesar's Wish July 2 and 1 1/16-mile Thirty Eight Go Go Nov. 12 at Laurel. Elkstone's Stuart Grant bought the 4-year-old filly privately following the Caesar's Wish.

“She's great,” Russell said. “She's been nothing but good for us and I expect a good race from her again.”

Russell also has a potential superstar on her hands in Hillwood Stable's Maryland-bred Post Time, undefeated in three starts including the Maryland Juvenile Dec. 3 at Laurel in his stakes debut. Russell and owner Ellen Charles opted to keep the Frosted colt out of the Heft and point to January for his next start.

Among the options are the one-mile Jerome (G3) Jan. 6 at Aqueduct and the seven-furlong Star de Naskra Jan. 21 at Laurel. Post Time won his debut and an optional claiming allowance 20 days apart in October prior to his Juvenile victory.

“We always kind of wanted to give him a little space in between races,” Russell said. “We have loads of options. We're going to let him tell us. Now we're fighting some weather. It's no secret he's kind of had some issues with his feet, and he won't see the racetrack unless it's good. We're just taking care of him right now, staying patient, and he's doing great.”

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Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux has won two races since returning to the saddle in mid-November, the 52-year-old's latest comeback from a career punctuated by his battles with alcoholism. Desormeaux missed nearly 10 months of riding due to a 60-day ban over a 2021 alcohol-induced disorderly conduct incident, as well as a 1/ST Racing ban due to a January arrest in his home state of Louisiana on domestic battery and abuse charges.

In a frank interview with Thoroughbred Racing Commentary, the three-time Kentucky Derby-winning jockey explained what would be different this time around. Desormeaux said he spent 30 days in an inpatient treatment center called Elevate, and said that for the first time he was learning to become “mentally healthy” and to deal with his “inner feelings.”

“I hope to continue those lessons through my aftercare,” Desormeaux told TRC. “I want to be remembered as one who never gave up, even after being thrown in a hole, a hole that I dug. This last hole was the deepest I've ever dug and the toughest out ever… I don't think there is another chance.

“I should be a perfect example to stay away from alcohol. Because it is legal, it could be the worst drug ever.

“Don't get involved with it because it can destroy your family. It has mine, twice. It can destroy your career, it has mine, several times. It can destroy your finances, it has mine, several times. If you want to lose those things and your legacy, get involved with alcohol, it will take it all.”

Desormeaux has set a goal for himself to surpass Eddie Delahoussaye's career score of 6,384 wins, Louisiana's winningmost jockey. Desormeaux's current tally stands at 6,118 wins, 19th most in North American history.

He knows it won't be an easy path to fight his way back to the top riding spots in Southern California, but Desormeaux said he's willing to put in the work and that he has the support of his friends and family, as well as several trainers on the backstretch.

“Getting myself cleaned up was not the hardest part,” Desormeaux admitted. “The hardest part was getting approval from those outside looking in. That was embarrassing to me. Now I have to earn their trust and show they were correct in their decision.”

Read more at the Thoroughbred Racing Commentary.

The post ‘This Last Hole Was The Deepest I’ve Ever Dug’: Desormeaux Determined To Win Battle Against Alcohol appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The board of the Gerry Dilger Equine Scholarship Foundation would like to congratulate Elle Sorensen, a resident of County Limerick, who is one of the Foundation's 2023 Scholarship winners.

Sorensen will be placed at Hunter Valley Farm in Lexington, Ky., for the upcoming breeding season. Hunter Valley will provide a great opportunity for her to learn and develop with a leading Thoroughbred boarding and sales consignment operation at the center of Kentucky's bloodstock region.

Hunter Valley Farm co-owner Adrian Regan remarked: “Fergus Galvin and I are really looking forward to welcoming Elle to Kentucky – hopefully, we can do half as good a job as Gerry did, with educating his students.”

Sorensen is currently studying equine science at the University of Limerick and is a third-year student. While working in Michael Hourigan's national hunt yard at Lisaleen stables during secondary school, she learned the basics of the Thoroughbred racing industry. During college, she developed a keen interest in Thoroughbred bloodstock and breeding and gained valuable work and sales experience with leading county Limerick farms Rathmore Stud and Croom House Stud.

She shared: “Thanks to the Gerry Dilger Equine Scholarship Foundation, I have been awarded this amazing opportunity to travel to America and further my knowledge, education, and passion for the industry at Hunter Valley Farm.”

The post Student Elle Sorensen Heads To Hunter Valley Farm Courtesy Of Gerry Dilger Equine Scholarship Foundation appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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