2 years ago
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John Velazquez has utilized a saddle connected a way much than 35,000 times. He remembers winning races erstwhile helium had neither.
“You thrust successful the thoroughfare and you upwind up learning everything from scratch,” Velazquez said. “We would thrust connected immoderate surface. I lived beauteous adjacent to a large tract and we would contention there, too. We’d thrust immoderate equine we could find, for possibly 100 oregon 200 yards. Not for immoderate money, conscionable bragging rights.”
Later, Velazquez attended Escuela Vocacional Hipica, the jockey schoolhouse tally by the authorities astatine Camarero Race Track successful Puerto Rico. He was mode down technically. He was mode up successful his knowing of however antheral and carnal connect, the ways to usher a flying beast with nary joystick. Educated successful a thoroughfare and past a classroom, Velazquez has go the apical money-winning jock successful equine racing history.
On Sunday, Velazquez tries beingness connected the West Coast. He’ll articulation Mike Smith, Victor Espinoza, Flavien Prat and the remainder of Santa Anita’s formidable jockey club.
One wonders however galore ripples volition radiate, but this is simply a beauteous large rock.
“It’s truthful hard to specify who the champion jockey is,” said Jerry Bailey, who was the wealth person earlier Velazquez. “It’s whoever is riding with the astir assurance astatine the time. But he’s 1 of the champion presumption riders ever. He makes precise fewer mistakes, and helium ever puts the equine wherever helium tin triumph if helium has the chance.
“I look astatine what helium did with Malathaat successful the Kentucky Oaks past year. They didn’t get disconnected to a precise useful start. But past helium seized the infinitesimal and got her into position.”
Velazquez pulled that off and caught Search Results, ridden by Irad Ortiz, Johnny V’s protege and the victor of the past 3 Eclipse Awards.
The adjacent time Velazquez steered Medina Spirit to a Kentucky Derby victory and became the eighth jockey to triumph some successful the aforesaid weekend. That was Velazquez’s 4th Derby win. One more, and helium ties all-time leaders Eddie Arcaro and Bill Hartack.
If you’re scoring, that’s 6,362 wins and $447.3 cardinal successful purses.
Velazquez says he’s coming westbound due to the fact that it’s caller and different. At 50, it’s clip to trim the privation list.
“Mentally, it’s easier for maine now,” Velazquez said. “I’m definite that I’m amended than I was successful my 30s. I tin spot what’s going connected overmuch faster now. I’m precise arrogant of my benignant and I don’t privation to alteration it.
“Physically, I person to enactment harder, and I don’t similar moving out. I don’t similar moving and I won’t assistance weights. Maybe swimming, jumping rope, a small spot of yoga, stretching, riding bikes. That keeps maine acceptable enough.”
Velazquez says his travel got launched by Bernardo Mongil, a trainer and equine proprietor astatine Camarero. He did not commencement from the caput of the class. Some of the chap students were galloping their horses already. It took immoderate wins successful signifier races to drawback Mongil’s eye.
Velazquez sent tapes of his victories to trainers and owners successful New York. He met Angel Cordero, the pioneer Puerto Rican rider, arsenic Cordero was buying horses for Rick Dutrow.
Cordero brought Velazquez to his ain location successful New York, wherever the young jockey learned English by watching “The Little Mermaid” with Cordero’s kids. That was successful 1990.
Velazquez’s archetypal cause was Dick Allen, the famed slugger and racetrack regular who erstwhile summed up artificial turf by saying, “If a equine can’t devour it, I don’t privation to play connected it.”
“I wasn’t acquainted with him,” Velazquez said. “Then I watched tapes of his career. He was 1 of the kindest radical I ever met. He was truthful quiet, you had to inquire him to repetition what helium said, similar helium was telling you a secret. He ever would telephone and say, ‘Look astatine you, you’re doing great.’”
It took Velazquez lone 8 years to triumph a riding rubric astatine a Saratoga meet, and helium was successful the Hall of Fame by 2012. That takes successful a batch of prime-time equines, but inquire him his favourite and helium inactive says Wise Dan, who won the aforesaid 2 Eclipse Awards 3 years moving and was winning turf races astatine 7 years old.
“He was a existent hard horse,” Velazquez said. “But I got on good with him. Jose Vizcaino raced him a mates of times and bushed him up beauteous good. I said, ‘Why bash you bushed up my horse?’ I trusted him. I fto him bash what helium wanted to do.”
Santa Anita customers volition soon person their suspicions confirmed. If a equine doesn’t similar John Velazquez, you don’t privation to play him.
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