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Jockey Pablo Morales Celebrates 2,000th Winner With Family, Friends Present In Spirit

Despite winning on 4-year-old filly Dreaming Diamonds on March 20, Pablo Morales knew something wasn't right with the left foot he'd injured six days earlier in a starting-gate mishap.

An X-ray revealed a break, sending the 31-year-old jockey to the sidelines for seven weeks.

At the time, Morales was four victories shy of 2,000 for his career. He rode one race on May 8, but quickly realized he had not recovered sufficiently to compete at the level to which he is accustomed.

Determined to reach 2,000 before the current Tampa Bay Downs meeting ended, Morales set his mind to the task.

“I dedicated myself for 10 days to strengthening the area, jogging a lot and doing a lot of Equicizer work,” he said, referring to the mechanical horse controlled by a rider's movement.

“When I came back (on June 3), I felt such a difference.”

Two dates extensions granted by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation made it possible for Morales to hit the milestone at Tampa Bay Downs, and he made the most of his opportunity. The Lima, Peru product hit the mark in today's second race, a mile-and-a-sixteenth maiden special weight contest on the turf, on 4-year-old filly Sanguine for owner Augustin Stable and trainer Jonathan Thomas.

After racing in fourth place early, Sanguine and Morales moved smartly to the lead nearing the far turn and held off a late challenge from Aunt Dorothy to win by two-and-three-quarter lengths. Sanguine paid $4.60 to win as the betting favorite. “I knew she was the best horse in the race,” Morales said of the daughter of Quality Road. “I'm glad (Thomas) put the confidence in me to ride her.”

The occasion was recognized with a ceremony that included his rival jockeys in the winner's circle after the race.

“”It's a big accomplishment to me, because when I started. … you never think you're going to even make it to 1,000. Making it to 2,000, it's hard to believe,” Morales said. “I've been thinking about it a long time and it's not an easy task, so I'm very proud and I'm very thankful for all the help I've gotten through my career. I just want to keep on going.”

He got a good start in that regard in the fifth race, helping 3-year-old filly Leishlanick break her maiden for owner Wills Jarrett and trainer Angel M. Rodriguez.

Given the circumstances surrounding his injury and the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic that has affected all aspects of daily life, Morales accepted achieving the feat in front of an empty grandstand, with his wife Erin and their two children, agent Paula Bacon and other relatives and friends watching from home.

“It definitely would have been sweeter with them here, but I really waited too long. I couldn't care less if I was the only person here,” he said, laughing.

But they were foremost in his thoughts beforehand and afterward. “Paula has made a big difference in my career, and I think I have made a difference in hers,” he said. “We are a great team. I give all the thanks to my wife, my parents and my brothers and sister, and my kids (Sophia and Camilo), who watch me every race. My parents are in town with me, so we'll go buy a steak after the races and celebrate a little.”

Morales, a five-time riding champion at Presque Isle Downs in Erie, Pa., plans to return there for the meeting beginning July 27.

Morales is fourth in the 2019-2020 Oldsmar standings with 61 victories. He has won two graded stakes, capturing the Grade II Super Derby in 2005 at Louisiana Downs on The Daddy and the Grade III Sam F. Davis Stakes here last year on Well Defined.

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Gerald Bennett Wraps Up Both Trainer, Owner Titles At Tampa Bay Downs

If it's June, Gerald Bennett must be at the Ocala Breeders' Sales Spring 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale (moved from April this year due to COVID-19), looking to strengthen his Winning Stables, Inc., roster with future Thoroughbred standouts.

Or he could be driving back from Delaware Park with wife Mary after delivering a shipment of 13 runners from Tampa Bay Downs for the Wilmington, Del., meeting that began Wednesday.

With a few days remaining in the Oldsmar oval's 2019-2020 season, Bennett still can be found at his barn overseeing a few dozen horses, many of which have helped him capture a fifth consecutive Tampa Bay Downs training championship with 60 victories (the current season concludes with racing Wednesday and June 30, with the 2020-2021 meeting beginning July 1).

The 76-year-old conditioner shared his first Oldsmar training title in 2010-2011 with Jamie Ness, the track's all-time record-holder with nine titles, won consecutively from 2006-2015.

What's different this season: Bennett has also wrapped up his first Tampa Bay Downs owners title with 23 victories. Bennett, who sent out 15 winners under his Winning Stables, Inc., banner and eight in various partnerships, is four ahead of both Godolphin, LLC (19 victories) and owner-trainer Juan Arriagada, who won 11 races individually and eight in various partnerships.

“It's great to be able to keep going strong year after year,” said the Springhill, Nova Scotia native, who ranks 14th all-time in North America with 3,903 victories. “You need that fire and desire to do it right because it's a lot of work to stay successful, and right now I still have it.”

Bennett, the father of trainer Dale Bennett, has recruited new owners to the sport virtually from the start of his career, when he competed in Canada. “It's important for the sport to bring in new owners,” he said. “You get those friendships established and win some races, and they bring more of their friends into it. I'm fortunate to have owners who like to run their horses where they can win, and hopefully you can buy more young stock that you can turn into stakes horses.”

Owners who partnered with Winning Stables on victories this season included James Georgeades and Ron Pugliese, Jr., of JPG2 and Mr. Pug, LLC; Harold L. Queen; Arnoriver Racing (Mike Arnone); Martin Goodell; and Mary Thomas and Michael Vitello.

While Bennett maintains an excellent rapport with his owners, it is in the barn area where he seems most at home. His reputation for turning claiming horses into allowance winners and allowance horses into stakes performers has been honed through years of study, dedication to his profession and subscribing to the belief that no detail is too small.

Among his best horses are millionaire Beau Genius, who won the Grade I Philip H. Iselin Handicap and the Grade II Michigan Mile and One-Eighth in 1990; Secret Romeo, a multiple-stakes winner who earned $865,790; Bucky's Prayer, a mare who won the 2007 Lightning City Stakes; Fast Flying Rumor, who set a Tampa Bay Downs Beyer Speed Figure record of 108 (since bettered) while winning the 2016 Turf Dash; and R Angel Katelyn, who won three stakes races during the 2016-2017 meeting.

Bennett's lone stakes victory this season came with 6-year-old Florida-bred mare Lady's Island, who won the Minaret Stakes for owners Matties Racing Stable and Averill Racing on Feb. 15.

Win or lose, Bennett is back at the barn by 5 a.m. the next day to oversee each horse's regimen. “I'll be walking in the shed row when a horse stops in front of me, and the hot walker is amazed because the horse knows me,” he said. “Mary says it's because I feed them peppermints, but they get to know your voice and have confidence in what you're doing.”

In that regard, Bennett's Thoroughbred athletes aren't much different than the owners he trains for and the bettors who support his horses.

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Ever-Consistent Antonio Gallardo Scores Fifth Leading Rider Title At Tampa Bay Downs

For two days, Antonio Gallardo tried to ride through the pain in his right knee. But after finishing second aboard 4-year-old filly Olendon in his sixth assignment on May 30 at Tampa Bay Downs, he knew the risk of doing more serious damage demanded he seek medical attention.

The diagnosis wasn't really a surprise: a small fracture that would heal with rest and treatment. The 32-year-old jockey has set his sights on returning to action at Monmouth Park in New Jersey, which starts its 75th season on July 3.

“I'm using laser therapy and a lot of ice and swimming in the pool,” said Gallardo. “I'll have to decide what to do after I see the doctor again on June 24, but I'm trying hard to be ready for that first weekend.”

Gallardo will head to Monmouth with his fifth Tampa Bay Downs riding title in seven seasons. He rode 122 winners during the 2019-2020 meeting, 23 more than six-time champion Daniel Centeno, who has moved his tack to Delaware Park. Last year's champion, Samy Camacho, in third place with 96 winners, is at Gulfstream Park.

Gallardo, who has also won four titles at Presque Isle Downs in Erie, Pa., holds the Oldsmar single-season record of 147 victories, set during the 2014-2015 meeting. The product of Jerez de la Frontera in Cadiz, Spain has ridden 1,916 winners in the United States, finishing second in the country in 2015 and 2016 with 320 and 332 victories, respectively.

“Every title feels good. My first one (2013-2014) was really special, because I remember how slow I started in this country and how good it felt to break out,” Gallardo said. “But when you win one or two titles, the difficult part is staying on top. The only way you stay there is to try your best every day and be good to everybody.”

Although he did not win a stakes race here this season, Gallardo's day-in, day-out consistency helped him surpass Camacho for the track's money-leading crown. His mounts earned $1,626,842, $4,592 more than Camacho, who won the Grade II, $400,000 Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby on March 7 on King Guillermo.

Gallardo's 22.8-percent strike rate was also best among all jockeys with 10 or more mounts. On Jan. 19, he rode five winners on a Tampa Bay Downs card for the fifth time, and he tied a track record on April 29 by teaming with trainer Claude “Shug” McGaughey, III on three victories.

“It was weird that I didn't win a stakes, but you can't be greedy,” said Gallardo, who won five stakes during the 2018-2019 Oldsmar meeting and has eight career graded-stakes victories, including the Grade I United Nations Stakes in 2018 at Monmouth on Funtastic. “Every season is different with new jockeys and new trainers, and I feel good with what happened.

“I'm thankful to the trainers and grooms and exercise riders who help me, and to my agent, Mike Moran, for getting me on good horses. And everyone at the track who has done a real good job dealing with (COVID-19).”

Gallardo, who lives with his wife Polliana and their children – 11-year-old Carlos and 6-year-old Christa – on a nearby farm, has felt the effects of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic beyond his profession and home life. His parents, sister, grandmother and numerous other relatives live in Spain, one of the countries hardest hit by the virus.

“That has made it a rough time not only for me, but for a lot of people,” said Gallardo, who visited his homeland last fall. “I worry about my family staying safe and wish for everyone to be responsible because (the virus) is still here.”

Putting the brakes on a career, and a lifestyle that brings one into contact with top Thoroughbred owners and trainers, isn't easy for a world-class jockey. But Gallardo plans to take his next steps with confidence once he receives medical clearance and is able to compete at 100 percent.

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