Woodbine sensation born to ride
Rising jockey Alderson makes strides toward Plate with impressive bloodlines
Like many in horse racing, jockey Jeffrey Alderson grew up in the sport.
His father Anthony is a trainer based out of Fort Erie Race Track. His mother Kristin works in Fort Erie’s race office. His uncle Ian was a jockey and now trains. His cousin Bryce is also a jockey.
For Alderson, a career in racing was not so much a calling, but an inevitability. Still, success in racing is not something that is passed down, but earned.
For the first five years of his career, Alderson toiled away at Fort Erie, picking up occasional mounts at Woodbine Racetrack, mostly riding mediocre horses in lower-level races, patiently waiting for a shot to ride a top-level horse.
That chance came last year for Alderson, in what he calls his “breakthrough year,” with two fillies named Ellan Vannin and Hopping Not Hoping. As Woodbine commences its 62nd thoroughbred season on Saturday, Alderson is hoping to ride that momentum — and more good horses — to a top-five finish in the Woodbine jockey rankings.
It would be quite a jump for the 24-year-old, who had not won a stakes race until last year, when he won the Shady Well Stakes with Hopping Not Hoping and the Ontario Lassie with Ellan Vannin. Those two mounts contributed to a season in which Alderson earned more than $1million in purses and finished 13th in Woodbine’s competitive jockey rankings. In 2015, Alderson ranked 21st and earned $735,189.
“Trainers and owners starting to take notice and recognize my ability,” said Alderson after spending the morning exercising seven horses at Woodbine. “We got good opportunities and we made the most of what I could do with what I had.”
One of those trainers is Tony Gattellaro. Like Alderson, Gattellaro is a new and young presence on the Woodbine backstretch. The 31-yearold has had his trainer’s licence for just two years and even though Gattellaro felt he had a nice filly in Ellan Vannin in his barn, he knew he would have trouble attracting a top jockey to ride her because of his own lack of experience.
“It just so happens that Jeffrey was young and I saw a lot of talent in him,” said Gattellaro. “I actually pegged him as one of the stronger riders at the track, and in my mind I kind of said, ‘Hey, I’m young, he’s young. Let’s see if we can make a partnership here.’ ” Ellan Vannin — named by her owner Jon Lee after the song and poem that is considered the alternative national anthem of the Isle of Man — is undefeated in two races, both with Alderson aboard, and is considered by Woodbine insiders as a top contender for the Queen’s Plate.
Alderson’s voice elevates at just the thought of having a filly that could compete in Canada’s biggest race: “Just to have the opportunity to be there, to have a mount in the race. It would be an amazing feeling — and not just for me, but for my family.”
Any good fortune for Alderson would be a welcome distraction for his tight-knit racing family. In December, Alderson’s cousin Bryce was involved in a horrific accident during a race at Tampa Bay Downs, when his horse clipped heels with another runner and fell. He suffered a traumatic brain injury and facial fractures, requiring surgery to relieve pressure on the brain and plastic surgery to repair his jaw, cheekbones and nasal passages.
Bryce is back home in Fort Erie and expected to make a full recovery, but his spill is a sombre reminder of the dangers of riding racehorses.
“You can’t really think about it,” said Alderson. “You’ve just got to continue to do what you do and not think about that.”
And that’s just what Alderson plans to do come Saturday when he will ride four horses, and more on Sunday — including Fresh Princess for Gattellaro. Ellan Vannin is pointing toward the Fury Stakes on April 30.
“He’s so athletic. He’s got a heart. He shows up every day. He’s been here since day one this year,” Gattellaro said of Alderson. “You can’t put that dedication into somebody. He definitely has it.”