Simon Hobson grew up in England, where his father trained racehorses. Eventually, the elder Hobson moved his tack – and his family – to Italy, where his son became a steeplechase jockey, a career he would continue to pursue with a degree of success in France and the United States.
Simon would follow in his dad’s footsteps in North America, where he began saddling his own stable of horses in 1995. His travels eventually landed him at Golden Gate Fields, but after the Northern California circuit’s recent collapse, he tried running a string at the more competitive Southern California tracks.
“We went down to Santa Anita with Golden Gate horses and they basically weren’t good enough,” Hobson conceded.
Although he wasn’t in Dobson’s stable at the time, a now 5-year-old gelding named Crypto Ride was a horse who couldn’t quite cut it at Santa Anita and Los Alamitos, going 1 for 15, with his lone victory coming as a 2-year-old. But at Emerald Downs, where he and Hobson are now based together, he figures to be among the favorites in a one-mile claiming race that goes as race 6 on Friday night’s seven-race card.
“We’d heard so many great things about Emerald Downs,” said Hobson, who will have top local jockey Kevin Krigger aboard Friday. “The weather is phenomenal. Even when it gets hot here, there’s always a little breeze.”
Crypto Ride has both the highest career (76) and last-out (70) Beyer Speed Figures in the field of eight horses, who will vie for a purse of $13,000. But Crypto Ride hasn’t raced since finishing fourth at Los Alamitos nearly 11 months ago, although he’s been working quite well over the local strip since his relocation.
“He seems a very genuine horse,” Hobson said of the grandson of the undefeated Pacific Classic winner Candy Ride. “He’s always seemed like he tries hard in his races. I’ll be a tiny bit concerned about his fitness, but he’s in super form. We’ve often had horses who’ve gone on dry spells and come back to winning ways.”
Fortyshadesoftiger and No Ordinary Tiger, both 3-year-olds by top local sire Smiling Tiger, figure to be among those vying for the lead, something Hobson wants no part of for his charge.
“He hasn’t raced for a while, so I really don’t want him to be too far toward the front,” Hobson said. “I’d like to have a nice, conservative ride. Maybe just sit in the middle of the pack and have a bit of a kick at the end.”
Between the Tigers, Fortyshadesoftiger is most intriguing. Claimed for $10,000 by Jesse Valasquez’s barn on May 31, he’s been stretched out to a mile for his two most recent races and improved his career-best Beyer by 28 points to a 69 while finishing first and second in those starts.
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