Calvin Borel
Pop, Pop, Pop
Steve Haskin on the 32 strikes debate:
Did Victor Espinoza overdo his use of the whip in the Kentucky Derby? It would certainly appear that he did. In his mind, was it abuse or mistreatment? Of course not …
So, while Espinoza is guilty of overuse of the whip on Stellar Wind, and arguably American Pharoah, and deserves to be punished, incidents like that are going to continue unless we adopt policies like the one they have in England. Not because of any cruel intent, but because of the natural act of using the whip to urge on a horse. You can’t just tell a jockey to stop something he’s done all his life. You have to make penalties serve as an inducement where he at least thinks about what he’s doing and learns to control his actions. The British jockeys have learned it; so can ours.
It sounds as though the stewards’ review of the Kentucky Derby is over:
“We have [reviewed the ride again] and we have the same feeling we had after the race was over: It’s within the boundaries of our regulations. He did hit the horse quite a few times but it was all within the rules of the state.”
Calvin Borel explains why jockeys may use padded crops more:
“You have to hit them six times to one times to the old crop; that’s what it amounts to, because they really don’t feel it,” Borel said. “With that kind of crop [padded], you have to — not hit them hard — but keep popping them.
“Riders hit them more often probably because of the pop, pop, pop; it keeps making noise. And it probably looks worse. With the regular whip, you get their attention when you hit them one time.”
Every Winner’s Circle a Stage
Frankie Dettori, “the housewives’ favourite jockey,” on his most famous move:
“Everyone associates me with the dismount,” admits Dettori, who perfected it with seven winners in one famous Saturday at Ascot in 1993. “I’m the slave to my own act now. I do it because children on school holidays, perhaps having a day out at Lingfield, expect me to. It’s part of the thing I’ve created. I can’t get out of it.”
Flashback to 2008: About that award-winning Dettori dismount photo.
On the subject of ebullient jockeys: John Scheinman profiles Calvin Borel on BC360. “At Churchill, trainers stand in line like I’m selling ice cream,” says agent Jerry Hissam of his client. “At Saratoga …”
Preakness Picks
Mea culpa: Super Saver never appeared on my top 10 list before the Kentucky Derby. He didn’t appear on any of my tickets Derby day either, despite one small mention I made Derby week of his positive attributes. (I can’t toss him? Well, I did.) For the Preakness, though, I’m on the bandwagon. Despite Todd Pletcher’s concern that 14 days may be too quick a turnaround (a worry Andrew Beyer knocks down), all reports are that the colt came out the Derby in excellent condition and is exercising enthusiastically at Pimlico. With little pace expected, and his now proven versatility, Super Saver will be tough to beat in the Preakness. I’ll be playing an exacta with Caracortado, the California-bred gelding with an ugly Santa Anita Derby running line shipping east for the first time. He’s fresh, he has heart, and he prefers to be forwardly placed, a running style that should suit a race without much speed.
More picks: Horserace Insider, The Rail, Hello Race Fans.
Calvin Borel walks back: Flush with the immediate thrill of a Derby win, the jockey made a bold prediction. “I’m going to win the Triple Crown this year.” This week, he’s feeling more circumspect:
“I knew if he could win the Derby, he’d be really tough in the next two legs,” said Borel. “But to predict a Triple Crown? You just can’t do that. Man, winning it is tough to do.”
“It’s a challenge, for sure. But it’s something you look forward to. To me, there’s nothing as exciting in this game as potentially going to the Belmont with a Triple Crown candidate, and that’s certainly what we’re hoping for.”
Kenny Mayne checks in from Baltimore:
As I climbed four flights of stairs I wondered if we’d have to airlift Hank Goldberg onto the roof. He’s weighed down by that much money.
Changing the subject: I’ve been meaning to return to Wednesday’s post on the Breeders’ Cup, in which I glossed over a couple important points; I might wait another day or two to do so, considering the news this afternoon that MI Developments has voided the Oak Tree at Santa Anita contract. Regarding the discussions between the Breeders’ Cup and Oak Tree about hosting the event permanently at Santa Anita, Oak Tree executive Sherwood Chillingworth commented, “This certainly could affect that in some way.” Understated.
Elsewhere: A short piece about fractions for Hello Race Fans.
The Borel Factor
Imagine the Derby winning rider on another horse, muses Jennie Rees:
Not to disparage the jockeys of the horses below, and maybe it wouldn’t apply at any other track, and maybe not any other race. (And in no way to take anything away from Super Saver’s big effort.)
But wouldn’t you want to know what kind of trips that Lookin At Lucky and Ice Box would have gotten if Calvin Borel had been aboard?
Both might have had better trips with Borel aboard, but would it have mattered for either? I briefly wrote about the Derby fractions yesterday; individual splits were ugly, final fractions lousy. It seems unlikely a rider change would have meant anything to Lookin at Lucky, “bumped two or three times” in the early going. After a troubled first in :25.84, the favorite did pick up the pace a little, running the second quarter in :24.11, the third in the same time, and the fourth in :24.62, but his final quarter was an unexciting :26.95. Whatever else happened, Lookin at Lucky didn’t have it yesterday — not losing ground at the start might have moved him up in the order of finish, but he wasn’t going to win. Ice Box is a little more interesting to consider: He ran every quarter but the first faster than the winner. You can’t begrudge trainer Nick Zito for wondering about what might have been, if the Florida Derby winner had only broken a bit more quickly and not been steadied twice in the stretch.
That Rees is even wondering about what could have been with Borel reflects how big a story is the rider this year: “Borel is the Derby king,” with his uncanny affinity for Churchill Downs. Blame the rider “for turning America’s great race into a rerun” with his rail-riding confidence. Call him “a man of destiny.” “He knows Churchill Downs better than anyone else,” and his “uncluttered mind seems to be an absolute gift in pressure situations.” After winning three times in four years, is there any chance the public will let Borel go to post in the 2011 Derby on a horse that’s more than 3-1?
How Super Saver prepped: Lightly. This year’s winner started in two preps (making him the fourth consecutive horse to win the Derby doing so — it’s time for me to concede such contenders must be taken seriously) and had only one work between the Arkansas Derby and Kentucky Derby:
Of the top five finishers, two came out of the Arkansas Derby (Super Saver, Noble’s Promise) and two (Paddy O’Prado, Make Music for Me) from the Blue Grass Stakes — a reminder that race still has some claim as a legitimate Derby prep, regardless of what handicappers think of the Polytrack era or its longshot winners.
5/3/10 Addendum: Somehow I missed Borel’s post-Derby prediction:
“I’m going to win the Triple Crown this year,†he declared.
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Jessica Chapel writes and edits in Massachusetts. Railbird is a Thoroughbred horse racing blog published from June 2004 to July 2019. More / Contact
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