Miyadi Gives Frey A Leg Up To 1,000th Win

Career victory No. 1,000 for jockey Kyle Frey, achieved in Friday's third race aboard Tizlightning, came after getting a leg up from trainer Steve Miyadi, which was entirely fitting given their long, mutually beneficial relationship.

“They told me (about the chance for No. 1,000) in the paddock, I had no idea. If I'd have known that, he's a jinx, I'd have put someone else on the horse,” Miyadi said, joking. Miyadi followed it up with:

“No, he's a good kid. He started working for me when he was a boy. His dad worked for me and didn't want him to be a jockey, and I respected that. But here we are 1,000 wins later. I know the whole family – mom, dad, sisters, brothers – it's a family affair.”

Even so, don't even think about putting Miyadi in the sentimentalist category.

“I've never given him a compliment after he wins a race for me, and that rule still stands,” Miyadi said.

Frey got his 999th win on November 12 but had zero wins last weekend and a runner-up finish in Friday's first race before cracking the milestone by taking Tizlightning, a 2-year-old Lori Gallegos California homebred, wire to wire and narrowly holding off the late charge of Bright Leaf and apprentice Emily Ellingwood at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif.

“It means a lot,” Frye said. “It was a long road, but hopefully the next thousand will come a little quicker. It means a lot to win it for Steve. I talked to my dad a week or so ago and he (remarked) about how great it would be to get it for Steve. It's pretty cool.”

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Kyle Frey Reaches 1,000-Win Mark With Front-Running Score At Del Mar

Jockey Kyle Frey registered a head victory Friday in the third race at Del Mar aboard the 2-year-old gelding Tizlightning and in the process won the 1,000th race of his career.

Frey put Tizlightning on the lead out of the gate and stayed there throughout. He had to nurse the tiring horse through the last sixteenth of a mile but got it done. The bay son of Stanford is owned and was bred by Lori Gallegos and is trained by Steve Miyadi, a primarily Northern California-based trainer who had used Frey hundreds of times previously in the Bay Area. The winner paid $4.80 as the favorite in the starter optional claiming sprint after running six furlongs in 1:11.40.

The 29-year-old Frey, a Northern California native who has ridden at tracks from coast to coast, appears to have found a riding home in Southern California this past year and his recent marriage and the birth of his daughter have given him even more reason to stay in one spot.

Frey was the Eclipse Award winner as the nation's top apprentice in 2011. His career has started and stopped several times due to injuries, but he's riding in fine form now and has become one of the steady members of the Southern California colony.

Frey has followed in the footsteps of his late grandfather, Paul Frey, who was a talented jockey who rode in both California and Washington State.

“I feel great joy in this win,” Frey said afterwards in the winner's circle. “I was asked about the fuss of the pressure of reaching a milestone, but I really didn't feel that. I'm just real happy I got it done.”

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