Carol Cedeño at Belmont (~ RAYMOND)
Jock night started off like any other night… I was over at flickr, looking photos from my contacts, commenting on some photos from the Preakness and looking at some amazing jockey portraits going on over at Raymond’s.
Then I was over at fellow TBA-er Superfecta’s, reading about how there’s still more work to be done before any grand proclamations should be made. The topic of Casino Drive came up, natch, and more specifically the topic of his jock.
At first it seemed like he would get Japanese superstar Yutaka Take, but then another report indicated that they’d actually prefer an American jock.
Nobutaka Tada, the representative for Yamamoto, said he was leaning toward an American-based rider.
“A mile and a half, you need to understand the pace,” Tada said. “American jockeys have an advantage here.”
This made me start to think about who’d I’d like to see on Casino Drive, or on any of them, for that matter. Kent D, who had the mount last out, is clearly spoken for and Denis of Cork is switching from Borel to Albarado.
Denis of Cork, owned by William Warren, worked five furlongs in 1:01 on Monday at Churchill Downs. In the Belmont, he will be ridden by Robby Albarado, replacing Calvin Borel, who rode Denis of Cork to a third-place finish in the Derby.
“I have no issue with Calvin – he has two wins on him and a third in the Kentucky Derby,” said David Carroll, who trains Denis of Cork. “Mr. Warren felt like Robby Albarado’s success at Belmont Park and winning nine Grade 1s there is the way he wanted to go. He wants to give [Denis of Cork] every opportunity and was very adamant that if Robby was available, then that was the way he wanted to go.”
Here’s a run down of the last rider for each of the other known contenders:
Macho Again – Leparoux
Tale of Ekati – Coa / Prado
Anak Nakal – Bejarano
Tomcito – Cornelio
Behindathebar – David Flores
Ready’s Echo – Johnny V
Spark Candle – Chavez
Also from the article:
Top riders yet to commit to a Belmont mount include Garrett Gomez, Edgar Prado, and John Velazquez.
So I guess Ready’s Echo is not spoken for and maybe Coa is on Tale of Ekati.
In no particular order my fav riders are Albarado, Prado, Bejarano, Cornelio, Castellano, Coa, Alan Garcia, Channing Hill and Carol Cedeño. It’s tough to pick one, I can’t get Castellano’s ride on Pays to Dream in the Dixie out of my head but I also loved Prado’s ride on Tale of Ekati in the Wood, which is closer to Casino Drive’s running style.
Damn, is it too early to make a new poll? Who would you like see on Casino Drive?
Update: for the current jock assignments, check DRF.