AT LAST, PINCAY TIES SHOE; JOCKEYS JOIN IN CELEBRATION OF LAFFIT'S RECORD-MATCHING FEAT.Byline: Kevin Modesti Staff Writer Riding a horse named I Be Casual past the finish of Thursday's fourth race at Hollywood Park Hollywood Park may be several places:
What happened next is even more rare than a flashy expression of personal triumph by the normally stoic Pincay. Omar Berrio, riding the runner-up, raised his whip overhead. Pat Valenzuela Patrick Valenzuela (born October 17, 1962 in Montrose, Colorado) is an American thoroughbred horse racing jockey. Born into a racing family, his father plus three of his uncles were jockeys. , aboard the third-place finisher, lifted his. And with arms aloft, the three jockeys faded into the distance - the one in gold and green galloping into history. ``I was happy for (Pincay),'' Berrio said later, explaining why he celebrated after losing a hard-fought race by a head after leading yards from the wire. ``When I was a little boy, watching TV in Panama, Laffit was my idol.'' It seemed as if everybody in the small but noisy crowd at Hollywood Park felt like the fawning fawn 1 intr.v. fawned, fawn·ing, fawns 1. To exhibit affection or attempt to please, as a dog does by wagging its tail, whining, or cringing. 2. Berrio on the cool, clear afternoon when Pincay, 52, equaled Bill Shoemaker's mark for lifetime riding victories, setting the stage for a possible tie-breaker today. Pincay got a hero's welcome as he jogged I Be Casual back to the winner's circle win·ner's circle n. pl. winners' circles An enclosed area at a racetrack where the winning horse and jockey are brought for awards and publicity. Noun 1. while an Olympian fanfare blared from the loudspeakers. ``Hot damn, that was exciting!'' fellow Hall of Famer Chris McCarron Christopher John "Chris" McCarron (b. March 27 1955, Boston, Massachusetts) is an American thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame retired jockey. He was introduced to the sport of thoroughbred racing by his older brother, jockey Gregg McCarron. said, sprinting out from the jockeys' room to greet Pincay with a shout of ``All right, Laffit!'' and a pat on the hip. ``Congratulations, Laffit!'' growled Jack Van Berg John Charles Van Berg (born June 7, 1936 in Columbus, Nebraska) is an American Hall of Fame horse trainer. Born into a horse racing family, his father is Hall of Fame trainer, Marion Van Berg. , I Be Casual's Hall of Fame trainer, offering a handshake. Pincay beamed and stroked the horse's mane mane the region of long coarse hair at the dorsal border of the neck and terminating at the poll in the forelock. Present in the horse and other Equidae. Similar gatherings of coarse hairs are present in the giraffe, gnu, various antelope, cheetah and lion. Called also juba. . The rest of the Hollywood Park jockeys stormed out of their locker room as the fans in the weekday crowd of 5,578 pressed against the rail above the winner's circle. ``Laffit, you're the best athlete in the world!'' a man in the crowd yelled as the winner's circle photographs were snapped, Pincay and I Be Casual surrounded by his family, rival jockeys and the horse's owners and handlers. Dismounting, Pincay was scooped up by the other jockeys and carried to the scale to weigh in. ``I thought they were going to throw me in another cake,'' Pincay said later, referring to a past occasion when the jockeys dumped the fanatical dieter in a huge sheet cake. Then it was back to the winner's circle for a formal ceremony that included the wheelchair-bound Shoemaker. Hollywood Park president Rick Baedeker congratulated Pincay ``on behalf of all the racing fans here.'' Baedeker unveiled a $10,000 check, a donation by racetracks to the Shoemaker Foundation, established following the jockey's 1991 auto accident to aid injured horsemen. Pincay's agent, Bob Meldahl, fought back tears. ``He's gotten to the top of the mountain, but he needs one more to be up there by himself,'' Shoemaker said into a crackling microphone. ``I'm rooting for him. Go get 'em, Laffit!'' Pincay answered: ``I just (tied) the record of the greatest rider who ever lived.'' How much sweeter can it get when Pincay actually breaks the record? It could happen today, when he's scheduled to ride in five of Hollywood Park's eight races, although none of his horses is favored on the morning line. It could happen Saturday, when he has mounts in six of the nine races. Pincay tied the record by posting a single winner for the fifth straight day, this time with a swooping rally from sixth aboard I Be Casual, a gray 3-year-old gelding gelding castrated male horse. who'd been winless in 11 previous races under other jockeys. Whipping left-handed, he pushed his horse's head in front of Berrio's AJ Flyer a few strides from the finish. The winner, bet down from a 2-1 morning line, paid $4.40. This was the 44,640th ride of Pincay's career; Shoemaker had 40,350. ``I thought I was going to win easy,'' Pincay said of the moment when he angled I Be Casual out from behind other horses at the top of the stretch. ``That other horse kept fighting.'' The win came on the second of Pincay's five tries Thursday. He picked up a promising mount, Bob Baffert-trained De Witt De Witt, uninc. town (1990 pop. 8,244), Onondaga co., central N.Y., a residential suburb of Syracuse. at 2-5 odds in the second race, after Emile Ramsammy Emile Ramsammy (born December 11, 1962 in Trinidad, Trinidad and Tobago) is a Canadian thoroughbred horse racing jockey. He had more than 500 victories racing in the Caribbean before emigrating to Canada in the early 1990s. complained of an upset stomach. Skeptics grumbled that the publicity-conscious Baffert orchestrated the switch, but their speculation was moot after De Witt finished second. A good thing, perhaps, because Pincay's wife and children hadn't arrived at the track yet. Pincay finished sixth, seventh and fifth in three later tries. The real celebration awaits. THE TOP TEN Jockey Wins Bill Shoemaker William Lee Shoemaker (August 19, 1931 – October 12, 2003) was an American jockey. Referred to as "Bill", "Willie," and "The Shoe", William Lee Shoemaker was born in the town of Fabens, Texas. At 2. 8,833 Laffit Pincay x 8,833 Pat Day x 7,608 David Gall 7,396 Angel Cordero 7,057 Chris McCarron x 6,841 Jorge Velasquez Jorge Velasquez (born December 28, 1946 in Chepo, Panama) is an American thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey. Jorge Velasquez career in thoroughbred racing began in his native Panama but as a teenager moved to the United States. 6,795 Russell Baze Russell Baze (born August 7, 1958 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) is the second-most winningest jockey in the history of Thoroughbred horse racing and a member of the United States Racing Hall of Fame. x 6,785 Sandy Hawley Desmond Sanford "Sandy" Hawley, CM, MA, LL.B (born April 16, 1949 in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada) is a Hall of Fame jockey. Sandy Hawley started his career as a 17-year-old boy, hotwalking horses at a Toronto racetrack. 6,449 Larry Snyder 6,388 x Active CAPTION(S): 2 Photos, box Photo: (1 -- color) Patrick Valenzuela raises his hand after Laffit Pincay, left, wins the fourth race. Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press (2 -- color) Bill Shoemaker, left, joins Laffit Pincay in a postrace press conference. Both are at 8,833 victories. Benoit Photo/Associated Press Box: THE TOP TEN (See text) |
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