SARATOGA WATCH LIST - Young Upstarts

SARATOGA WATCH LIST: Young Upstarts

WRITTEN BY MARION E. ALTIERI

Which youthful Horses and Jockeys will bound into the Winner’s Circle this year? You might be surprised...

Mo Donegal, winning the Belmont Stakes on June 11, 2022. Note that Jockey, Irad Ortiz, is standing in the irons and waving his crop in celebration — a tradition that Jean Cruguet started 45 years ago when he and Seattle Slew won the Triple Crown, also at Belmont. Photo by Viola Jasko, courtesy of NYRA.

Irad Ortiz atop Mo Donegal (6) and Jose Ortiz atop Nest (3) after winning 1st and 2nd at The 2022 Belmont Stakes. Photo by Amira Chichakly, courtesy of NYRA

Horses and Humans, alike, flock to Saratoga each Summer, like moths drawn to fire. This entire season will be a celebration of Life: following almost three years of Pandemic and historic, world-wide isolation, the world – at least, Saratoga – is ready to rock once more.

Some swarm to the town and to the track, intent on a mission to make “easy money” – whatever that is. : )

Others follow their craving to excel, that inner drive to become their best, and there’s no better proving ground than the deep surface of the Saratoga Race Course. Jockeys, horses and trainers spend the year before charting their respective paths to the (starting) Gate to Glory.

But this piece isn’t about those fortune-seekers who come here looking for an easy buck: those numbers are legion. The focus here is on individuals whose dreams, guts and raw talent may bring them to this hallowed space precisely because they do have The Right Stuff.

Stablemates Mo Donegal (6) and the Filly, Nest (3) duke it out in the Belmont Stakes 2022. They came in 1-2. Photo courtesy of Arab News Pakistan

Mickaëlle Michel

Mickaëlle Michel, doing what she does best: riding like a warrior rushing into battle. Photo courtesy of Mickaëlle Michel, Twitter

Mickaëlle Michel winning on the dirt in Japan. Photo courtesy of NAR (Japan Horseracing Authority)

If the steely gaze of Jockey, Mickaëlle Michel, one of France’s winningest Jockeys, doesn’t freeze your blood – you’re probably not alive. Don’t confuse her strong gaze with angry defiance: it’s the look of a woman who knows herself and her talents, and is determined to achieve the goals she’s set for herself 12 years ago. Like most little girls, Michel grew up loving horses; at 14 she discovered a Jockey school in Marsailles near her home—and she never looked back. Horse racing became her passion:

“It became my goal to be a jockey,” she said. “I would like to become an international jockey like Frankie Dettori or (Saratoga’s own) Irad Ortiz, who can ride a group race all over the world.”

But, ah: anyone who aspires to a career in horse racing – most notably, females – must be absolutely certain of their calling, and work harder than they ever imagined.

Michele has worked hard, and long: she became a fanfavorite in Japan after riding in the World All Star Jockeys Championships in Sapporo in 2019; the Japanese embraced her, and she was invited back by owner-breeder, Mr. Teruya Yoshida. Michel spent 10 weeks riding exclusively for Yoshida’s Shadai Stallion Station, the first female to score a provisional license. She had 294 starts in two months, winning 35. Following her exhilarating stay in Japan, she raced in Dubai, Italy and the 2021 Shergar Cup at Ascot.

“Work hard, never give up” is the young Jockey’s motto: she loves to ride fast and hard. Her husband/manager, the former jockey Frederic Spanu, said that her aggressive style would be best served in the United States. America was the next logical step, so in May she and Spanu moved to Kentucky.

Having Michel on campus for the Saratoga meet would be a gift to race fans, who are quick to embrace and encourage a hot, new rising star. She’s stated that she intends to ride in Saratoga, so be on the lookout for her. He intent gaze, the reflection of her grit, reminds us of another beloved by Saratoga fans: the mighty Julie Krone. If Mickaëlle Michel has even a fraction of Krone’s will and talent, we predict that the young starlet soon will become a major constellation in the Adirondack night sky.

Dylan Davis

Dylan Davis, 1,000th Win. Belmont. Photo by Chelsea Durand, courtesy of NYRA

Photo by Walter Wlodarczy, courtesy of NYRA

Dylan Davis, the talented 27-year-old son of New York’s own Robbie Davis, was already well-established in American racing when he broke his clavicle (collarbone) on March 20, 2021. Horribly-enough, the legacy Jockey wiped out in a three-horse pileup at Belmont, a tragic accident in which one horse died.

Davis was rushed to the hospital and treated, but naturally his career got side-tracked with orders to rest and not ride for at least 10 weeks. Davis is an accomplished jockey, following both his instincts and trainers’ instructions – but not so good at obeying initial doctors’ orders. In fewer than eight weeks, he was back on horses, and on May 29, 2021, he won Race 7 at Monmouth on Bottle Rocket Man for Chad Brown.

Less than one year later, Davis sat atop Heels Together in the winner’s circle at Belmont, celebrating Davis’ 1,000th win. Heels together, trained by Christophe Clement, is a Hard Spun filly, out of High Heeled Girl (Malibu Moon).

The look on Davis’ face says it all – he would not sit on the bench, watching the racing world move on without him. He’s a young man willing to put in the work and passion it takes to excel in the sport that chose him. Saratoga is happy to welcome Dylan Davis back to his Saratoga home for the 2022 meet.

Sonny Leon & Rich Strike

Sonny Leon atop Rich Strike, winning the Kentucky Derby on May 7, 2022. Photo courtesy of Churchill Downs Media

Sonny Leon aboard Rich Strike immediately after winning the Kentucky Derby, May 7, 2022. Photo by WDRB / Eric Crawford

Venezuelan-born Sonny Leon is no stranger to racing: he 5’6,” 32-year-old Jockey began his career in 2015, was the leading rider at Mahoning in Ohio for the past three seasons. With $15,542,534 in winnings so far, the focused rider performed so well that he ended 2021 as 11th in the nation for total victories. He’s amassed $3,891,737 as of this writing.

Of course, a chunk of that cheddar came from his beautiful, 80-1 romp to the finish line first as he and Rich Strike brought down the house on May 7, 2022. The seeminglyunlikely duo started from the worst-possible position: 21 in the Churchill starting gate.

History was made that day, and Leon was the hero. He seemed to fall out of grace five weeks later, when he and Rich Strike came in sixth at the Belmont Stakes.

But this sport is horse racing. There’s no such thing as a Sure Thing. So many factors go into the winning and the losing of a race: in Leon’s case, there was a huge difference between the blazing-fast pace at Churchill downs and the molasses created by the lethal combo of Big Sandy + rain. The considerably-slower pace, in concert with Rich Strike’s craving to be on the rail determined that, well, it just wasn’t their day.

Rich Strike, checking out the competition at Belmont Park, June, 2022. Ears pricked, he's alert and SO handsome! Photo by Susie Raisher, courtesy of NYRA.

With age comes Wisdom, as we know – and it’s known that, those who talk the most, condemning others, usually know the least about the topic. So, naysayers aside, Sonny Leon will be at Saratoga to ride Rich Strike. – we have it from the horse’s mouth. (Well, from the Trainer’s…) : ) We hope that Leon is given the props he deserves as the Jockey who took his horse straight from that horrible 21-hole, right over to the rail. And from the rail, into the winner’s circle and their deserved-cascade of red roses. Leon’s tale is not over, wait and see...

Without horses, horse racing couldn’t exist, of course. There are many wannabe star horses who’ll trek to Saratoga this Summer in the hopes of establishing themselves in the Pantheon, and the Hall of Fame.

It’s impossible to tell exactly who’ll show up, as horses get sick. Trainers and owners change their minds. Extraneous circumstances can change everything.

At this writing, it’s entirely possible that Epicenter, Smile Happy, Messier, and Creative Minister may make Saratoga their Summer homes.

But two names no doubt will be at the Spa, a least for the Travers: Mo Donegal and Rich Strike. Ripole may even bring his beautiful filly, Nest, hoping to do another Belmont 1-2.

How do we know that Rich Strike will be here? In an exclusive phone conversation, his Trainer, Eric Reed, said: “I can tell you that we anticipate, as long as he’s healthy, to workout at least once on the track – I think we’ll get a much better performance in that [The Travers] race."

When asked if Sonny Leon might be aboard Rich Strike in Saratoga, Mr. Reed responded enthusiastically,

“ABSOLUTELY!” His smile was evident, even over the phone. Everyone who works with and for Mr. Reed is like family to him; Leon wouldn’t have been exiled because of one loss. (Mr. Reed had instructed Leon to take Rich Strike to the center of the pack, rather than the deep Belmont rail. Mr. Reed graciously took on the responsibility for that call, and stated so for the press soon after the Belmont. Not many Trainers would make a point of taking the blame publicly – but Eric Reed, like his magnificent Rich Strike, is a unique individual.)

Those who know nothing about history may forget that, in 2015, Rich Strike’s sire, Keen Ice, trounced American Pharoah, whipping him and winning the Travers. (The Graveyard of Champions: Saratoga has taken down bigger fish than Pharoah.) Upsets are in Rich Strike’s very DNA, he was born to knock over the competition and drive them into the ground. Regardless of what post position he draws, Rich Strike and his driver will find the Saratoga rail, and if he’s not blocked in, we believe that he will make his Daddy proud.

You read it here first. : )