Tag: People

It's going on half a century since John Shirreffs served his country in the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War before being honorably discharged and heading to Hawaii to become a surfer.

But first he stopped in California, eventually walking hots for trainer Gene Cleveland and later breaking yearlings for Ed Nahem at Lakeview Thoroughbred Farm.

Shirreffs got his trainer's license in 1978, and the rest is history.

His lengthy legacy includes winning the 2005 Kentucky Derby with 50-1 outsider Giacomo, and masterfully crowning it with the once-in-a-lifetime mare Zenyatta, winner of 19 straight races in dramatic come-from-behind fashion that had to be seen to be believed, before losing for the first time in her 20th start and career finale by a head to Blame in the 2010 Breeders' Cup Classic.

Her career is a movie waiting to happen.

Fast forward to Saturday, when Shirreffs, now 76, will saddle favored Express Train in a bid to win the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap presented by Yaamava' Resort & Casino.

It is Santa Anita's marquee race for older horses, emblazoned with a rich history since first run in 1935 when captured by Azucar, ridden by George (The Iceman) Woolf.

Other luminous winners are a Who's Who of racing, among them Seabiscuit (1940), Noor (1950), Round Table (1958), Ack Ack (1971), Cougar II (1973), Affirmed (1979), Spectacular Bid 1980), John Henry (1981 & 82), Alysheba (1988), Best Pal (1992), Tiznow (2001), Lava Man (2006 & 07) and Game On Dude (2011, 2014 & 14).

Shirreffs, long and lean with an ever-present baseball cap, hopes Express Train joins that elite group Saturday, when he breaks from post six in a field of eight going a mile and a quarter.

“I think post position makes a difference, but ours is very good,” said Shirreffs, who almost won his first Big 'Cap last year when Express Train led but was caught late by Idol and finished second by a half-length.

Otherwise, the son of Union Rags, still a full horse at age five, has been ultra-consistent with a 6-4-3 record from 16 starts, earning $935,800 for owner C R K Stable LLC.

Bred in Kentucky by Dixiana Farms LLC, the bay has an advantageous style, usually in close attendance to the pace before making a winning run through the stretch.

“Around the barn, he's like a lot of really good race horses,” Shirreffs said. “He's got a lot of energy, he's sharp, he's on his toes, but you don't want to ad lib with him. You don't want to do anything he doesn't expect.

“I hope there's a little speed in the race and we can sit a bit off it if all goes well. We're really happy with Express Train, how he's doing now and what he's accomplished.”

The Big 'Cap is a race every trainer desires to have on his or her resume, and Shirreffs is no exception. Although he was born in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, he has been entrenched in California for decades, making his home in Arcadia.

He can still harken back to those thrilling days of yesteryear.

“When you think of Santa Anita, the race that comes to mind is always the Santa Anita Handicap,” Shirreffs said. “I've been here when 60,000 people were in the stands watching the race.

“You couldn't even see the horses. The only way you knew they were coming into the stretch was by hearing this wall of noise coming towards you as they approached.

“It was electric in those days.”

The field for the 85th edition of the $650,000 Big 'Cap which goes as the 11th and final race with a 12 noon first post time:

1. Spielberg, Abel Cedillo
2. Why Why Paul Why, Juan Hernandez
3. Warrant, Flavien Prat
4. Soy Tapatio, Diego Herrera
5. American Theorem, Mike Smith
6. Express Train, Victor Espinoza
7. Kiss Today Goodbye, Kyle Frey
8. Stilleto Boy, John Velazquez

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Jockey Ramon A. Vazquez earned his richest career victory last Saturday after pulling off a 75-1 upset in the Grade 2, $1 million Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park aboard Un Ojo.

For the surprising win, Vazquez was voted Jockey of the Week for Feb. 22 through Feb. 27. The honor, which is voted on by a panel of racing experts, is for jockeys who are members of the Jockeys' Guild, the organization which represents more than 1050 active, retired and permanently disabled jockeys in the United States.

Trainer Ricky Courville's son, Clay, gave a leg up to Vazquez on New York-bred gelding Un Ojo who broke from post position four in the field of 11.

Un Ojo, whose name means “one eye” in Spanish, stalked the early pace from the inside while patiently handled by Vazquez. Sitting in fourth, Un Ojo joined the leaders on the turn and into the stretch, taking the lead from front-runners Ethereal Road and Barber Road near the wire to score a shocking half-length win.

Un Ojo completed the 1 1/16-mile Kentucky Derby points race in 1:45.69 to earn 50 points toward the first Saturday in May. Un Ojo, who lost his left eye before his racing career began, came into the Rebel off a second-place finish in the G3 Withers at Aqueduct.

Vazquez was understandably very happy with the trip.

“He gave me everything he had,” said Vazquez in a post-race interview broadcast by Oaklawn Park.

The 38-year-old Vazquez, a native of Puerto Rico, rides primarily between Lone Star Park, Remington Park and Oaklawn Park and has won multiple leading rider titles. He is a graduate of the famed Puerto Rico Vocational Jockey School and began his riding career in Puerto Rico, moving his tack to Delaware Park in 2011.

Vazquez' first graded stakes win outside of Puerto Rico was the G3 Count Fleet at Oaklawn Park in 2016 aboard Subtle Indian. This year, he has also won the G3 Bayakoa at Oaklawn Park aboard Miss Bigley. He currently sits in fourth place in the Oaklawn standings with 25 wins and more than $2 million in purse earnings.

Vazquez's weekly statistics were 20-3-6-1 to be 50 percent in-the-money and earn $768,902 in purses. He led all jockeys in stakes and total purse earnings. He has three mount assignments in graded stakes races on Saturday at Santa Anita.

Other nominees for Jockey of the Week were Dylan Davis who won the Stymie at Aqueduct, Armando Martinez with eight wins at Fonner Park, Irad Ortiz, Jr. who led all jockeys for the week with 16 wins, and Jose L. Ortiz who won the G3 Royal Delta with Eclipse Award winner Letruska.

The post Jockey Of The Week Title Goes To Ramon Vazquez After 75-1 Rebel Upset appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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For 53-year-old jockey Wigberto “Wiggy” Ramos, the longshot victory in Saturday's $20 million Saudi Cup is certainly the pinnacle of his career. Ramos told Thoroughbred Racing Commentary that the win was made even more special since Saudi Arabia, where the jockey has ridden for 24 years, is his “second home.”

Prior to his time in Saudi Arabia, Ramos rode in the United States beginning in 1989. From 1,470 winners, Ramos' biggest came in the 1993 Florida Derby (G1) on Bull inthe Heather (Ferdinand). He went on to ride the colt to an 11th-place finish in the Kentucky Derby.

Shifting his tack to Saudi Arabia, Ramos earned several leading rider titles but missed the first two editions of the Saudi Cup. First, the jockey was ruled out with a broken hand in 2020, and then when his mount became sick the week before the race in 2021.

This year, local trainer Mitab Almulawah had two entries preparing well for the big race, and his regular jockey Alexis Moreno (also from Panama) got first pick between Emblem Road and Making Miracles. Initially, Moreno chose Emblem Road, but the week before the race Moreno decided he would rather ride Making Miracles.

Ramos picked up the mount on Emblem Road.

While the 4-year-old Quality Road colt's win may have been a pari-mutuel surprise, Ramos had faith in him since the beginning.

“I said in the lead-up to the Saudi Cup that I believed my horse could finish in the first three,” Ramos told TRC this week. “I said I would take my time and when I saw my horse in the parade ring I knew he could run a very big race. He went around the horses and was in the clear. I won by half a length and when I pulled him up and realized what I'd done I was close to crying.

“I started to shout, 'I did it, I did it!' Then I celebrated. From that time to now I have been chilling with the Saudi people, people from America, all over the world. The vice-president of Panama sent me a message on my Instagram, and that feels good.”

Closing down the center of the track, Emblem Road bested U.S. challengers Country Grammer and Midnight Bourbon to take his record to eight wins from 11 starts. Emblem Road is owned by Prince Saud bin Salman Abdulaziz.

“Saudi Arabia is now my second home,” Ramos continued. “To ride this winner for these people means a lot. Emblem Road came here as a 2-year-old from America but he is a local horse who beat all the best horses in the world.”

Read more at the Thoroughbred Racing Commentary.

The post Jockey ‘Wiggy’ Ramos Came ‘Close To Crying’ After Saudi Cup Win Aboard Emblem Road appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The International Horse Sports Confederation (IHSC) is pleased to announce that the IHSC General Assembly has unanimously elected Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges as the Vice President of the IHSC.  Engelbrecht-Bresges had previously served as the standing representative of the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA), on the IHSC General Assembly.

Engelbrecht-Bresges has been the Chief Executive Officer of the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) since 2007, and also serves as the Chair of the IFHA, the global leader for the international sport of Thoroughbred racing, and the Chairman of the Asian Racing Federation (ARF), which comprises 28 national racing authorities and racing-related organizations from across Asia, Oceania, Africa and the Middle East.

“Winfried's expertise in the horse racing industry has been of great value to the work of the IHSC, as is his commitment to protecting the welfare of equine and human athletes,” IHSC President Ingmar De Vos said.

“The IHSC was created to strengthen and formalize the cooperation between horse racing and equestrian sport in fields where we share common interest, and specifically to establish a partnership between horse sport and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).

“We have many ongoing projects in different fields and I look forward to continuing this close working relationship with Winfried and the IFHA, and I would like to extend my warm congratulations to him on his election. I also would like to convey my warmhearted thanks to his predecessor Louis Romanet for his great contribution to our organization.”

Following his election as IHSC Vice-President, Engelbrecht-Bresges said:

“I'm extremely honored to be elected Vice-President of the IHSC. I would like to thank our President, Ingmar De Vos, and the General Assembly for their trust and support. I would also like to thank our past President and IFHA Chairman Emeritus Louis Romanet who was instrumental in the establishment of the IHSC as the first vehicle for co-operation between the world's leading peak horse sports bodies”.

“I look forward to furthering the collective objectives of the IFHA and the FEI, as well as advocating for the horse industry with the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and other international bodies.”

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