CYPRESS, Calif. - Jockey Kyle Frey has a Christmas dilemma. He has less than a week to find a unicorn for his young daughter.
“She’s been making requests all month,” Frey said on Sunday morning in the jockeys' room at Los Alamitos. “Can Santa get me this?”
Acquiring a unicorn will be impossible, but Christmas will be plentiful for Frey and his family this year - and not just because of the gift list.
Frey rebounded from personal struggles in the middle of the year to finish the season in excellent form. He won his richest race of the year in Saturday’s Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity aboard the outsider Wynstock, and was tied for the lead in the jockey standings going into Sunday’s final day of the two-week meeting. He finished the meet in a tie for second, one win behind Edwin Maldonado.
While recent statistics are favorable, Frey said so is his personal outlook toward riding.
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Frey, 31, did not ride for more than seven weeks in late summer while taking a self-imposed mental break. On Sunday morning, he took a philosophical view about Wynstock’s win, and how he has handled day-to-day affairs since returning to riding in late September.
“I try to have a positive attitude and gratitude for what opportunity comes my way,” he said.
“Everyone has their own approach. Some guys need to pump themselves up and be driven toward success. That’s something I do without trying.”
Frey has been at the forefront of the subject of mental health for jockeys. Earlier this month, Frey was part of a panel discussion on the subject at the University of Arizona’s Racetrack Symposium.
On the track, Frey and Wynstock have become an unbeatable team this fall.
Frey rode Wynstock to a 13-1 win in a maiden race at a mile at Santa Anita in October for trainer Bob Baffert. Wynstock led throughout the maiden race and again in the $200,000 Los Alamitos Futurity.
Wynstock was rated as Baffert’s third-string runner in the Los Alamitos Futurity until the steely colt fought through the stretch to win by a half-length over Stronghold, who led for a few strides in the stretch. Wynstock was 13-1 on Saturday.
“He’s a cool horse,” Frey said. “He’s starting to get confident. He’s a lot of fun to ride, that’s for sure.”
Frey did sustain a setback over the weekend. On Sunday, he was suspended for one racing day, the Dec. 26 opening day of the Santa Anita winter-spring meeting, and fined $250 for excessive use of the whip aboard Ryder’s Candy in the second race at Los Alamitos on Saturday.
Frey was cited for striking Ryder’s Candy seven times, one more than the permitted limit. Ryder’s Candy finished second in a claiming race for maidens.
Baffert trains Wynstock for Los Alamitos track owner Ed Allred, and track vice-president Jack Liebau. Purchased for a hefty $700,000 at a 2-year-olds in-training sale in Florida in April, Wynstock has earned $162,740.
Wynstock is Baffert’s eighth winner in the Los Alamitos Futurity in the last 10 years.
Wynstock joins a hearty list of promising 3-year-olds of 2024 trained by Baffert. Should Wynstock continue to progress toward the Triple Crown, the colt will not be part of the Kentucky Derby lineup unless Baffert is the official trainer, Allred said in the winner’s circle on Saturday.
Baffert is currently barred from having runners in the Kentucky Derby because of a longstanding dispute with Churchill Downs management over a post-race positive found in Medina Spirit, who finished first in the 2021 Kentucky Derby for Baffert.
In the last few years, a few of Baffert’s leading 3-year-olds have been moved to California trainer Tim Yakteen in advance of the Kentucky Derby.
Allred said Wynstock will remain with Baffert in the spring.
“I’m not saying he’s a Derby horse,” Allred said on Saturday. “We’re not going unless Baffert trains him.”
When Wynstock does start in coming months, Frey hopes to continue the partnership.
“Wherever he goes, whether I’m involved, I wish the connections all the best,” Frey said on Sunday. “I just want to emphasize that I’m grateful to Bob for letting me ride him back.”
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