Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Luxury ride
Santana fixture atop jockey standings
HOT SPRINGS — Victories continue to pile up for jockey Ricardo Santana Jr.
His talent was evident before he left his native Panama. It has remained the same since, and Oaklawn Park leads the way among its
examples.
Despite a five-day suspension to begin his 2018 season for careless riding last year, Santana
is a virtual lock to win his sixth consecutive riding title with only four days during the Racing Festival of the South left on the track’s schedule.
Santana has ridden 59 winners at Oaklawn this season. David Cabrera is second on the list with 41.
In his career, he’s
three victories away from 1,000.
The final run begins today at 1:30 p.m., with
Santana listed to ride in six of the 10 races on the card. Two of his scheduled mounts are trained by Steve Asmussen, a horseman whose streak of success at Oaklawn has in recent years worked hand in hand with Santana’s.
Asmussen has led Oaklawn in training victories eight of the past
10 seasons and is as assured as Santana to win another title this season. He has trained 38 winners, eight more than second-place Robertino Diodoro.
Santana said thoughts of riding titles never entered his mind before his experiences at Oaklawn began.
“I never once thought about being one of the leading riders over here,” Santana said. “I have to give Steve a lot of credit. He’s put a lot of trust in me, and he’s given me a lot of confidence.”
While not officially underway until Thursday, a sense that Oaklawn Park’s Racing Festival of the South has begun always arrives with the post-position draw for the Arkansas Derby, scheduled for today in the racetrack’s main hall, near the paddock on the first level.
The $1 million Grade I 11/ 8mile Arkansas Derby, the last of the significant prep races for 3-year-olds on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, is scheduled for Saturday and will complete the festival’s seven stakes races that begin with the $150,000 6-furlong Bachelor Stakes for 3-yearolds Thursday.
The Arkansas Derby is the festival’s final of five graded stakes that begin with the Grade I $700,000 Apple Blossom Handicap and the Grade III $400,000 Fantasy Stakes, both 1 1/16-mile races — the former for fillies and mares 4 years old and up and the latter for 3-year-old fillies — on Friday. Saturday will bring the Grade III $400,000 6-furlong Count Fleet Sprint Handicap for horses 4 years old and up; the Grade II $750,000 11/ 8- mile Oaklawn Handicap for horses 4 years old and up; and the Arkansas Derby.
Santana said he looks forward to the Racing Festival of the South each year.
“We’ve worked hard all season, and it’s great to get to these races,” he said. “I think we have a good shot to do well in them.”
Santana’s agent, Ruben Munoz, said he saw the earmarks of riding success in his client shortly after they met. He was particularly impressed by Santana’s top rank among young riders at a Panamanian jockey school run by Laffit Pincay.
“I brought him straight from Panama to the U. S.,” Munoz said.
Jockey Gary Stevens, a member of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame who has ridden winners
of three Kentucky Derbies and a total of nine Triple Crown races, said he has noticed a year-by-year improvement in Santana’s riding skill.
“I’ve seen him really develop,” Stevens said. “He’s always had skills, and his skill continues to improve. His attitude is the biggest change I’ve seen since I’ve gotten to know Ricardo. He’s always shown me a lot of respect, and I’ve just watched his personality develop, and I think that’s helped in his race riding. He’s gained confidence in himself. He knows he’s good now, and he’s a good rider. He’s going to go a long way if he stays healthy.”
Trainer Mac Robertson said Santana has always taken the correct steps to fulfill his potential.
“Trainers like jockeys that work hard, because it’s a hard job, and you work every day,” Robertson said. “But usually the cream rises to the top. Obviously, Santana’s got a lot of talent. He rides hard, and he works hard. He helps himself, and he’s done it the hard way.
“He’s gone from falling off four or five horses every week, trying to work them, to being really tough to beat in the stretch. He’s a hard jockey to get by. I think a lot of jockeys move a little early trying to catch him, and he’s a strong finisher.”
“He’s hard-working, he listens, and he takes directions from people who have been places before him,” Munoz said. “He’s a good-natured kid. He’s likable. He’s a great son to his parents, and those are the factors that allow a jockey to be at peace and calm, and horses sense that.”
Munoz said Santana has learned from the penalties handed to him last season.
“He’s become more careful and more aware of his surroundings, absolutely,” he said.
“Sometimes we make mistakes in races,” Santana said. “You want to try too hard. You know next time you have to do a better job not to make the same mistake. Sometimes we just try too hard and maybe put somebody in danger, and that’s not right.”
Santana said his long-term goals include the sort of results that have made Stevens a Hall of Fame rider.
“We’re really blessed to be doing what we are doing right now, and we’re doing good,” Santana said. “We really want to go to the next level. It’s one of the dreams of every rider, to win a Triple Crown race, the Kentucky Derby, a Breeders’ Cup, those kind of big races. You just want to get better and better and better.”