HORSE RACING: SOLIS LETS HIS RIDING SPEAK FOR HALL VOTE.Byline: KEVIN MODESTI Horse Racing horse racing, trials of speed involving two or more horses. It includes races among harnessed horses with one of two particular gaits, among saddled Thoroughbreds (or, less frequently, quarterhorses) on a flat track, or among saddled horses over a turf course with ARCADIA - Alex Solis Alex O. Solis (born March 25, 1964 in Panama City, Panama) is a jockey based in the United States. He currently lives in Glendora, California and rides predominantly in Southern California. He first gained national prominence when he won the 1986 Preakness Stakes with Snow Chief. is not a boastful man, so it took steady urging before he would venture an opinion on a question that's bugging a lot of horse-racing observers these days. Is Alex Solis a Hall of Fame jockey? ``I hate to judge myself,'' Solis said before Thursday's races at Santa Anita Santa Anita may refer to:
Solis has a lot to look forward to as he turns 42 on Saturday. He's the regular rider of Brother Derek Brother Derek is a thoroughbred horse. A foal of 2003, he was thought to be a contender for the Triple Crown in 2006. He was an early favorite in the Kentucky Derby. However, after starting in post position #18, he fell short in the "Run for the Roses," finishing in a dead heat for , favorite for the April 8 Santa Anita Derby The Santa Anita Derby is an American Grade 1 thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds run each April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California and carries a purse of $750,000. and the May 6 Kentucky Derby Kentucky Derby One of the classic U.S. Thoroughbred horse races. It was established in 1875 and run annually on the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs track in Louisville, Ky. With the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes, it makes up U.S. racing's coveted Triple Crown. . And he's on the ballot for the first time for the thoroughbred racing Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs Saratoga Springs, resort and residential city (1990 pop. 25,001), Saratoga co., E N.Y.; inc. as a village 1826, as a city 1915. Skidmore College is the largest source of employment, but the city also has light manufacturing. , N.Y., which will collect the votes in April and announce the results May 30. Too bad for him that the Kentucky Derby doesn't come before the voting. If Solis wins the Derby, the Panama native will fill in the biggest gap in his Hall of Fame resume. It's possible that no jockey has come so close to greatness, in so many ways, before affirming it. He has finished second in the Kentucky Derby three times, missing by a head with Captain Bodgit behind Silver Charm. He finished third in each of the Triple Crown races with Mane Minister. He finished second or third in eight Breeders' Cup races before his breakthrough victory with Kona Gold. His victory with Dare and Go in the Pacific Classic is remembered more as Cigar's most shocking defeat. In the star-packed Southern California jockey rooms of the 1980s and 1990s, where he dressed alongside Hall of Famers Bill Shoemaker, Laffit Pincay, Eddie Delahoussaye, Chris McCarron and Gary Stevens, Solis was perceived as the next guy on the list. But Solis' accomplishments might be sufficient to convince enough of the 190-member Hall of Fame voting panel. He did win the Preakness with Snow Chief and the Breeders' Cup Classic The Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade 1 Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race for 3 years old and older run at a distance of 1ΒΌ miles (2012 m) on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup. and the Dubai World Cup The Dubai World Cup is a Thoroughbred horse race held annually since 1996 at the Nad Al Sheba Racecourse in the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The race is operated through the Emirates Horse Racing Authority (EHRA) whose Chairman is Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, with Pleasantly Perfect. He has topped the rider standings at every major Southern California meet, including six in a row in 1996-97 when most of his Hall of Fame rivals were active. He was on the way to an Eclipse Award season before the 2004 accident at Del Mar that left him with a pair of five-inch titanium rods and eight screws in his back. Solis, Craig Perret and Eddie Maple are nominated for the Hall. In the complicated new system, the panel may check off any or all of the candidates, but only the top vote-getter will be inducted - and then only if he is named on 75 percent of the ballots. Having been around so many Hall of Famers, Solis has a clear picture of what made them great: ``They're not only great at riding horses. They do great things in the (racing) industry. They're great people - well-balanced.'' On the off-the-track criteria, Solis absolutely is a Hall of Famer. The father of four is hard-working and well-rounded. He once said that when he's no longer a rider, he'd like to become a writer, to spread the word about his sport. On the track, his achievements are way ahead of some recent Hall of Fame honorees but clearly behind some others. A Derby win could change that, but it wouldn't come until after this year's verdict is in. Objectively, it's a tough call. ``I leave it up to other people to make that decision,'' Solis said before riding two winners Thursday. ``I know the things I've done.'' --Hello, Dubai: Three Southern California-based horses will try to continue the U.S. domination of the $6 million Dubai World Cup when the sport's richest race is held Saturday in the United Arab Emirates United Arab Emirates, federation of sheikhdoms (2005 est. pop. 2,563,000), c.30,000 sq mi (77,700 sq km), SE Arabia, on the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. . Choctaw Nation (Victor Espinoza), Super Frolic Frolic - A Prolog system in Common Lisp. ftp://ftp.cs.utah.edu/pub/frolic.tar.Z. (Corey Nakatani) and Wilko (Garrett Gomez) join fellow American horses Brass Hat (Willie Martinez) and Magna Graduate (John Velazquez) in taking on Europe-based favorite Electrocutionist (Frankie Dettori) in the 1 1/4-mile race at Nad al Sheba. Electrocutionist drew post 1 in an 11-horse field. Choctaw Nation will try to improve on his third-place finish a year ago. The race is scheduled for 9:20 a.m. PST PST Paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia, see there . Betting will be available at Santa Anita today and from 6:30 a.m. Saturday, and through online platforms. Half of the 10 runnings of the World Cup have been won by U.S. horses: Cigar (1996), Silver Charm (1998), Captain Steve (2001), Pleasantly Perfect (2004) and Roses in May (2005). CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: All that's missing from Alex Solis' resume is a Kentucky Derby victory. Rabih Moghrabi/AFP/Getty Images Box: OUT OF THE GATE BY KEVIN MODESTI |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion