RED TR Racing's Kentucky Derby (Grade 1) winner Rich Strike will breeze between Races 5 and 6 on Memorial Day, Monday afternoon at Churchill Downs in preparation for his next start in the $1.5 million Belmont Stakes (G1).
The timed workout will occur at approximately 3 p.m. First post for the nine-race program is 12:45 p.m.
Trainer Eric Reed's exercise rider, jockey Gabriel Lagunes, will be aboard for the workout.
The 80-1 upset winner of the Derby will ship to Belmont on Tuesday in search of the third jewel of racing's Triple Crown on Saturday, June 11.
Classic Causeway, 11th last out in the Kentucky Derby, has been transferred from the barn of trainer Brian Lynch to that of Kenny McPeek, reports the Daily Racing Form. The 3-year-old son of Giant's Causeway is owned by his breeders, Kentucky West Racing and Clarke M. Cooper Family Living Trust, who had no prior relationship with McPeek.
“You're always sorry to see a horse of his caliber leave the barn,” Lynch told DRF. “I wish him and the connections nothing but the best.”
Classic Causeway finished third in the G1 Breeders' Futurity at Keeneland and second in the G2 Kentucky Jockey Club at Churchill Downs as a 2-year-old. The colt won both the G3 Sam F. Davis Stakes and the G2 Tampa Bay Derby at Tampa Bay Downs this season, but finished 11th and last in the G1 Florida Derby in his final start before the Run for the Roses.
In the Kentucky Derby, according to Equibase, Classic Causeway “leaned outwardly at the start while breaking a step slowly, rated off the pace three-wide in the first turn, moved along between horses into the far turn, steadied hard among foes passing the five-sixteenths pole, got floated out by Cyberknife in upper stretch, and made little impact.”
No immediate plans have been revealed for Classic Causeway's next start.
Mandy Pope's homebred Charge It looked like a promising up-and-coming 3-year-old when he finished second in the Grade 1 Florida Derby, such that the son of Tapit was bet down to odds of 16-1 in the Kentucky Derby. Unfortunately, Charge It did not perform to expectations, fading to finish 17th of 20 while beaten 28 lengths by Rich Strike.
Trainer Todd Pletcher told the Daily Racing Form this week that the colt has since undergone a throat procedure.
“We're pretty confident he displaced his soft palate, so hopefully we've done something to correct that,” Pletcher told DRF. “Certainly we feel like he's more talented than that, so now we can regroup a little bit.”
No concrete plans have been made for Charge It's future, but the colt has been shipped from Churchill to Belmont Park to prepare for a summer campaign.
There is one important face you won't see in the winner's circle photographs from this year's Kentucky Derby. Perhaps one of the most vital parts of the team, Rich Strike's regular exercise rider Gabriel Lagunes watched the race from the clocker's tower on the Churchill Downs backstretch.
“I cried after he won,” Lagunes said. “Before the race, (trainer Eric Reed) asked me, 'Do you think this horse can win?' I said, 'If he gets in, I promise he runs first, second, or third.' I love this horse.”
It was a bold statement considering Rich Strike's 80-1 odds on toteboard, but Lagunes, also a professional jockey at smaller tracks across the Midwest, certainly wasn't wrong.
As much joy as that Kentucky Derby-winning moment must have held, however, it pales in comparison to the emotion that washes across Lagunes' face when he talks about the annual children's celebration he sponsors in his hometown of Veracruz, Mexico.
Located on the Gulf of Mexico, Veracruz is a hotbed for cartel violence and also has a significant portion of its population living in poverty. In 2020, according to datamexico.org, 35.7 percent of the population was in a situation of moderate poverty and 5.25 percent was in extreme poverty.
Lagunes' family was among the poorest. He had to step away from our interview to collect himself when he recalled that he and his brothers never received any toys on the biggest gift-giving holiday of the year, the Jan. 6 Día de Los Reyes celebration.
“Here, in the United States, it's Santa Claus,” Lagunes explained. “In Mexico, it's Santo Reyes. I would go to school, and everybody would have new toys, but my brothers and I had nothing.”
Lagunes goes above and beyond every year to ensure that no other children in Veracruz ever have to feel that way again. Every year, he sends toys for over 200 children and hosts a Three Kings Day celebration including piñatas, bags of sweets, inflatables, a bounce house, and ice cream.
The following video shows a few scenes from the celebration:
This man embodies the true spirit of giving; he doesn't underwrite the celebration because of his own excess, but because he knows what it feels like to have nothing.
Lagunes' mounts have averaged an average of roughly $1 million annually since 2014 (remember, jockeys keep 10 percent of that total, with a further percentage designated to an agent), and this past winter, with so many jockeys staying at Turfway Park for the winter, Lagunes took a salary exercise rider position in Reed's barn just to stay afloat.
Still, Lagunes used his own money to finance the January celebration this year so that no child went without.
He seemed surprised when asked about the charitable action, as if he didn't realize the news of the celebration had reached the United States.
“I buy for everybody,” he said, eyes watering and voice choking up with emotion. “I see the kids smile, and that's good for me.”
It's that level of virtuosity that has defined Lagunes throughout his career in the US, as well. It isn't often that trainers will talk about a jockey's work ethic or kind demeanor even after a loss, but Lagunes simply inspires that level of respect.
“He's got a heart of gold,” said trainer Tommy Drury, Jr. “He always tries his heart out and you always get 100 percent from him on your horse.”
Lagunes first rode Quarter Horse races in Mexico at the age of 12, progressed through the amateur ranks and would go on to win more than 3,000 professional races in Mexico. He moved to the United States in 2006 to continue pursuing a career with horses, and has now won 1,514 races here.
“I'm not smart, and I'm not well-educated, but I love horses and I love my job,” Lagunes said. “This is my life, horses. They don't ask for anything back.”
Reed recognized Lagunes' horsemanship from the first time he saw him ride at Delaware Park in 2007, and began riding Lagunes on his horses at Mountaineer Park about three years ago. When Lagunes approached him about a regular job over the winter at Turfway, Reed was quick to agree.
“He's a damn good horseman,” Reed said of the jockey. “He's got a good heart, but he's real smart about horses, too.”
From the first morning Lagunes was legged up on Rich Strike at Turfway, Reed knew he'd found the colt's perfect match.
“He taught the horse a whole lot, how to relax out there, but how to also gallop without getting so nervous,” Reed explained. “Richie likes to gallop fast, and most of the riders would try to slow him down and fight him, but Gabe realized that if you let him just have his head he won't ever go too fast. He's comfortable that way. That's when Richie really started getting good, once he could go out there and gallop the way the horse wanted, not the way the rider wanted.”
Lagunes added that Rich Strike can be a difficult horse to exercise in the mornings.
“The horse is not easy,” Lagunes said. “Before, he would play too much in the mouth, and so I knew I needed to let him loose. He didn't like anybody behind or too close to him, but now I know the horse.”
“They get along so well,” Reed echoed. “I decided that when the time came to start getting serious, to keep Gabe on him to help things progress. It's a big journey, and he's probably one of the most important parts.”
Lagunes drives to Churchill Downs every morning from his home in Florence, Ky. (about 1 ½ hours away), just to gallop Rich Strike. He'll travel with the team to Belmont Park ahead of the third jewel of the Triple Crown, missing out on potential afternoon mounts just to travel with the Kentucky Derby winner.
“Everybody I think understands what Gabe's doing and they're rooting for him,” Reed said.
Gabriel Lagunes with Kentucky Derby winner Rich StrikeGabriel Lagunes gallops Rich Strike at Churchill Downs ahead of his win in the 148th Kentucky Derby
