Jockey’s grooming comes along nicely

Jockey Ricardo Santana Jr. hopes to return to the winner’s circle after the Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park today with Tapiture, which he calls the best horse he has ever ridden.
Jockey Ricardo Santana Jr. hopes to return to the winner’s circle after the Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park today with Tapiture, which he calls the best horse he has ever ridden.

HOT SPRINGS - Asked if Tapiture is the best horse he’s ever ridden, Ricardo Santana Jr., without hesitation, said, “Yes.”

Asked if he was nervous on the eve of maybe the most important race of his young career, Santana, without hesitation, said, “No.”

“I never get nervous for the big races,” Santana said during training hours Friday morning at Oaklawn Park.

The next step in the maturation process for Tapiture and Santana will come today at Oaklawn in the $600,000 Grade II Rebel Stakes for 3-year-olds, a major Kentucky Derby prep race and the final local steppingstone to the $1 million Grade I Arkansas Derby on April 12.

The 1 1/16-mile Rebel is part of an 11-race card that includes the $200,000 Grade IIAzeri Stakes for older fillies and mares and the $200,000 Grade III Razorback Handicap for older horses.

Weather permitting, the infield will be open today for Oaklawn’s annual boat and truck giveaway promotion. There is a 70 percent chance of rain late this afternoon, according to The Weather Channel.

Racing begins at 1:05 p.m., with probable post time for the Rebel, the 10th race, 6:04 p.m.

Taptiture is the 9-5 program favorite for the Rebel on the strength of a sparkling 4 ¼-length victory in the $300,000 Grade III Southwest Stakes on Feb. 17. It was the second consecutive victory for the chestnut son of Tapit, who races for his breeders, Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC (Joan Winchell and son Ron), and is trained by Steve Asmussen.

Santana, 21, completes Tapiture’s team. Santana was Oaklawn’s runaway riding champion last year - the youngest in approximately four decades - and tops the standings again this season.

Asmussen, who has won five Oaklawn training titles since 2007, has been the jockey’s biggest supporter for more than a year. Santana has ridden 104 winners at the past two Oaklawn meetings, with 51 coming for Asmussen. Of 28 stakes races Santana has won in the United States since leaving his native Panama in 2009, 19 have been for Asmussen.

“Horses run for him, plain and simple,” Asmussen said Friday morning.

Asmussen is already among the most accomplished horsemen of his generation. He is a two-time Eclipse Award winner as the country’s top trainer (2008-2009), a winner of more than 6,700 races, including the Preakness twice, and eligible this year for election into the National Museum of Racingand Hall of Fame.

Maybe the biggest highlight on Santana’s resume is a 4 ¼-length victory aboard Tapiture in the $150,000 Grade II Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes on Nov. 30 at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.

The jockey has never won a Grade I race - the most prestigious in the country -or ridden in a Triple Crown event.

“Hopefully, this is the horse that will take us to the next level,” said Santana’s agent, Ruben Munoz. “As long as he keeps doing well on him … but at the end of the day, there’s a lot of things tied to these kind of races. This is an important race for us, but it’s also an important race for the owners and the trainer.”

Jose Lezcano rode Tapiture in his Aug. 17 career debut at Saratoga in upstate New York, but Santana has ridden the colt in his past four starts, the first three coming at Churchill Downs.

Tapiture doesn’t actually turn 3 until May 3, the date of this year’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs.

“He’s matured a lot since the first time I rode him,” Santana said.

“He’s a really nice horse. I have a lot of confidence in him.”

Munoz has had a slow hand managing Santana’s promising career.

The jockey will again be based in Kentucky after the Oaklawn meeting ends April 12, a move that allows him to ride for Asmussen at Churchill Downs and travel throughout the country to ride for the trainer in stakes events at smaller venues like Lone Star Park in Texas, Prairie Meadows in Iowa or Indiana Downs.

That philosophy resulted in several victories in six-figure races in 2013.

“He’s just a pup,” Munoz said. “He’s not a Saratoga kid yet.”

At a glance RICARDO SANTANA JR.

AGE 21 BIRTHPLACE Panama City, Panama RESIDES Louisville, Ky.

FIRST WINNER Sept. 21, 2009 (Delaware Park)

NOTEWORTHY Leading jockey this year at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs. … Has increased his final numbers each year in all categories since he began riding in the United States in 2009. … Missed several months after breaking his back in a spill at Aqueduct in New York on Nov. 22, 2009. … Won 152 races to rank 48th nationally year. Ranked 31st nationally last year in purse earnings ($6,025,918). … Leading rider last year at Oaklawn with 70 victories, including 32 for main client, trainer Steve Asmussen. … Has 28 career stakes victories in the United States, including 19 for Asmussen. … Regular rider of Kentucky Derby candidate Tapiture. … Began Friday with 385 victories and $12,060,536 in purse earnings in his North American career.

Sports, Pages 19 on 03/15/2014

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