If the opening week was any indication, the battle for top jockey honors during the spring-summer meet should be a good one. Three riders – Paco Lopez, perennial leader Edgard Zayas, and Miguel Vasquez – are currently deadlocked atop the standings with six wins apiece over the first four days of the session, with Leonel Reyes right behind with five victories.
Rajiv Maragh also got his meet off to a good start, winning three races over the weekend, including Saturday’s main event, the Go Cats Go overnight handicap, aboard Horsepower for trainer Joe Orseno. Horsepower rallied from last down the center of the course to overtake the hard-knocking 9-year-old Xy Speed and Reef Runner, who finished second and third, respectively, just noses apart at the wire.
Emisael Jaramillo, who finished a narrowly beaten second aboard Nakatomi for trainer Wesley Ward in the Golden Shaheen on Saturday, also figures to be in the leading-rider mix throughout the meet. Jaramillo made the grueling 7,877-mile trip back from Dubai in time to guide the first-time starter Ortley Avenue to a wire-to-wire victory here in Sunday’s opener.