Bowen has bounced back in a big way

There’s something to be said for being the big fish in a small pond. For starters, none of the fish consider the size of the pond. It is nothing more or less than the world in which they strive. Sure, the big fish could get seriously greedy and disturb the quality of life in the pond. But a big fish also can draw attention to his small pond, and the pond can benefit from the buzz.

Russell Baze, Mario Pino, Carl Gambardella, David Gall, Deshawn Parker – these are all athletes whose have spent their careers playing, more or less, for one racing franchise. Whether it was Maryland, Boston, the Bay Area, southern Illinois, or the mountains of West Virginia, they took on the same dangers and doubts, the same physical challenges of weight and injury, that guys named Shoemaker, Cordero, Pincay, and Stevens faced under the bright lights in the big cities. The horses they rode might have gone 32 mph instead of 35, but the game was still played without a net.

Last year, as Rocco Bowen was about to put to bed his second straight championship at Emerald Downs with 126 winners (nearly doubling second-place Julien Couton), he said he was seriously considering a career move to somewhere down the road.

Then came a nasty spill at Golden Gate Fields last March 17 when the filly he was riding, Cash Prize, suffered a fatal injury after finishing second in the Camilla Urso Stakes. Bowen hit the deck hard but escaped serious injury.

“There were people who thought I was hurt worse than I was, and that really hampered my business,” Bowen said Friday from Emerald Downs after his morning workers. “Not that anything is ever for sure, but riding at Emerald was more sure than staying in California.”

The result has been another championship season, with a win total approaching 100 as racing resumed Friday evening. Bowen said he’ll be keeping the pedal to the metal through the end of the Emerald Downs meet on Sept. 23, in an effort to not only top his record total from last year, but to sweep a personal goal as leading money winner, stakes winner, and percentage rider as well.

The effort has not come without cost. Earlier at the meet Bowen passed out from dehydration after a race.

“It takes more than that to slow me down, though,” Bowen said. “I was riding the next day.”

On Sunday, Bowen will be the only jockey to ride all 10 races on an Emerald Downs program topped by a pair of $50,000 events. Such a day is unthinkably difficult on both body and mind, and Bowen was asked how he prepared for such an ordeal.

“I’ll get a lot of fluids the night before,” Bowen said. “I’ll eat maybe a chicken breast and a wing. I love chicken and I cook my own. And then I’ll do a lot of homework, especially coming into a big day like Sunday. I probably won’t go to bed until midnight, but I’ll sleep really well being that prepared.”

With a career still on the rise, Bowen, 29, derives considerable inspiration and pragmatic advice from two veteran riders – the retired Joe Steiner and the late Garrett Gomez. After his accident at Golden Gate, Bowen recalled Gomez once telling him, “If you’re not falling, you’re not riding enough horses.” As for Steiner, Bowen has taken to heart the admonition that an exhausted jockey is only cheating himself, his horses, and the people for whom he rides.

So, rather than heading straight to Northern California at the conclusion of the Emerald Downs meet, Bowen said he’d be stepping off the merry-go-round to recharge his batteries. This is a radical notion, since jockeys are only paid when they play.

“I’m getting a little tired, mentally more than physically,” Bowen said. “I’ll be going to go home to Barbados, relax and take time off. Try to be a real person for a while.”

First, though, there is Sunday. Bowen rides the 4-year-old filly Gazing in the $50,000 Washington Cup Filly and Mare Stakes, and he has high hopes in the $50,000 Muckleshoot Tribal Classic at 1 1/16 miles, a race honoring the casino-rich Muckleshoot Tribe, which purchased Emerald Downs in 2015.

Bowen’s hopes are attached to the 8-yearold gelding Mike Man’s Gold, who finished a close third in the Muckleshoot Classic last year after a tough trip, with Bowen on board. The rider is looking for retribution this time around.

“That’s one of my favorite horses,” said Bowen, who has won seven races with Mike Man’s Gold over the past two seasons. “And believe it or not, he got better and sounder as he got older. I’ve never seen anything like it. He’s acting like a 3-year-old again.”

Mike Man’s Gold races for trainer Joe Toye and a partnership that includes Greg and Chuck Conley.

“I got a really nasty trip in this race last year, so I need some redemption,” Bowen added. “I plan to take it to the boys, because I know my horse can go 45 and change and keep going. If I’m on the best horse I’m on the best horse. But win, lose, or draw, I’ll always give him a love pat after crossing the wire, because he’s such a cool dude.”