Kevin Spacey starred in “The Usual Suspects,” but will probably not be attending Del Mar this meeting. That doesn’t mean that the usual jockeys and trainers will not be in the forefront once again at this prestigious stand.
As far as the riders are concerned, a handful of the jockeys get the prime mounts year in and year out. It’s kind of like a ‘Catch 22’ thing. The owners and trainers want the best riders on their best horses and, in many instances, the best horses win the most races. So by riding the top stock at the meet, the premier riders just fall into a groove and attract all the attention. The rest of the crew is left struggling for mounts.
That is one reason why it is so important for the jockeys to get a good start at every Del Mar meeting. Once a rider gets a quick win or two under his belt, the owners will rally around that chauffeur.
The jockey to catch, literally, will be Rafael Bejarano. He has basically dominated the action at all Southern California stops since he switched his tack to the West Coast. Last year, he won with 39 of his 223 mounts and bested Flavian Prat by 9 winners to cash the riding title.
The next six riders were well bunched as Prat had 9 more wins than the 6th most successful rider, Kent Desormeaux.
Quantity is all fine and good as winning in this sport is not a sprint but a marathon. There are some other names that ride at a high percentage and must be respected. Mario Gutierrez, who rode Nyquist to victory in this year’s Kentucky Derby, popped with 18% of his mounts last year as did Corey Nakatani.
And when the money is down, Mike Smith is a good place to land. He won with 11 of his 71 mounts at the Del Mar meet last year, but was ninth overall in purses won at over $1.2 million.
The people that stir the drink are the trainers at every meeting in this country and Del Mar is no different. As far as a day-to-day outfit goes, it doesn’t get any better than the stable run by Jerry Hollendorfer. Before concentrating on the tracks in Southern California, he was the perennial leader in the Bay Area and he just does it with hard work.
Last summer, he led the lead in winners among trainers with 22 happy endings from 104 mounts, for a clever 21% clip. Peter Miller, who is stabled year round at San Luis Rey Downs, which is close to Del Mar, saddled 37 more horses but only met 20 of them in the winner’s circle.
Doug O’Neill and Richard Baltas were next in the standings with 17 victories. Phil D’Amato, who took over when the late great Mike Mitchell passed away, had 14 wins at last year’s meet but once again, Bob Baffert outdid himself.
The Silver Fox only saddled 66 horses at Del Mar last year but 13 won, 13 were second, 8 were third and 52% ran in the money.
That is very bankable.
Often times in this game and in all sports, players have to dig a little deeper to get real success and if bettors go the extra yard, they can find a diamond in the rough among trainers at Del Mar.
Ben Cecil is such a diamond. Cecil probably spent more time sunning himself at the beach than at the track as he only saddled 15 horses at this meet last year. But 4 won, 4 others were in the money and he hit at a super 27% rate.
Wesley Ward, William E. Morey and Janet Armstrong are also very dangerous conditioners. Sure, they cannot compete with the huge stables on the circuit, but they specialize in putting their horses where they can win and win they do.
This holy threesome only saddled 22 horses combined at Del Mar last summer, but 7 won to make it a 32% proposition.
Granted, these are just guidelines of the past but history does repeat itself and these individuals must be followed.
