ARCADIA – Jerry Bailey is sitting on the verge of breaking two mighty big annual records. And he'll be sitting on seven mighty good horses in the eight races of the $14 million Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships at Santa Anita on Saturday.
Statistics through Tuesday provided by the Daily Racing Form show Bailey with 63 stakes victories this year. The record is 68 by Mike Smith in 1994. Bailey's mounts have earned $20,416,354 in purse money this year, approaching his record of $22,871,814 set last year.
A victory in the $4 million Classic, which Bailey has won four times, would break the money mark. Topping the stakes victory record probably will have to wait beyond Saturday.
But considering that Bailey is booked on four opening-line favorites – Sightseek (6-5, Distaff), Aldebaran (3-1, Sprint), Cuvee (8-5, Juvenile) and Medaglia d'Oro (3-1, Classic) – and two good-chance horses, even the stakes record may not be safe on Saturday.
Three of Bailey's favorites – Sightseek, Aldebaran and Medaglia d'Oro – are trained by Bobby Frankel, who is having a record year himself. On Oct. 4, Frankel notched his 23rd Grade I stakes victory of the year, accomplished with 13 different horses, surpassing D. Wayne Lukas' 1987 Grade I record.
Frankel's horses have amassed $16,741,041 in earnings this year. Lukas holds the record with $17,842,358 in 1987.
With Frankel, 62, and Bailey, 46, boosting each other along the record trail, Frankel was asked what, other than good horses, made them such a potent combination.
"Obviously, he's a great rider," Frankel said. "He makes mistakes like anybody else, but he just makes less than anybody else. It's a good feeling when you're riding him because there's less thinking for me to tell him what to do.
"He knows the horses. I just put him on them and he does the rest."
Is there any "chemistry" between the two?
"I think the chemistry is the horses," Frankel said.
The Dallas-born son of a dentist, Bailey had a pony as a youngster and became interested in thoroughbreds at age 11 when his father claimed some at Sunland Park, across the border from El Paso in New Mexico. Bailey began his riding career at Sunland in November 1974, moved to his current New York base in 1984 and has been the king of East Coast riders since the mid-1990s, securing Eclipse awards as the North American champion in six of the past eight years and the last three straight.
Bailey, 5-foot-5 and 112 pounds, leads in Breeders' Cup victories with 13. One of his most memorable came 10 years ago at Santa Anita when he guided Arcangues, a French import he hadn't even seen before Breeders' Cup Day, to a victory in the Classic that produced a record $269.20 payoff for a $2 win bet.
Bailey had, of course, heard of renowned French trainer Andre Fabre. But Bailey hadn't seen a picture recently enough to be able to recognize Fabre in the crowded paddock.
As for Arcangues: "When I went to the paddock before the race, I didn't know if he was a bay or a gray," Bailey said. "The only way I knew it was him was that he was wearing saddlecloth No. 11."
Bailey didn't connect with Fabre in the paddock and was given a boost into the saddle by one of the three "lads" accompanying the horse. Their riding instructions were wasted since Bailey doesn't speak French.
Fabre finally caught up as Bailey and Arcangues came through the archway approaching the track. Fabre said: "Drop him off the back," meaning let the speed horses have their way early and make one come-from-behind run.
"Which was what I was planning to do anyway, judging from what I had seen in his past performance charts in the Daily Racing Form," Bailey said.
Bailey saved ground along the rail and was no better than seventh for the first mile. Then Arcangues made a willing run between horses to get the lead from favored Bertrando and win by two lengths.
"All I know is that he gave me a great burst at the end," Bailey said.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/20031023-9999_1s23breeders.html
Statistics through Tuesday provided by the Daily Racing Form show Bailey with 63 stakes victories this year. The record is 68 by Mike Smith in 1994. Bailey's mounts have earned $20,416,354 in purse money this year, approaching his record of $22,871,814 set last year.
A victory in the $4 million Classic, which Bailey has won four times, would break the money mark. Topping the stakes victory record probably will have to wait beyond Saturday.
But considering that Bailey is booked on four opening-line favorites – Sightseek (6-5, Distaff), Aldebaran (3-1, Sprint), Cuvee (8-5, Juvenile) and Medaglia d'Oro (3-1, Classic) – and two good-chance horses, even the stakes record may not be safe on Saturday.
Three of Bailey's favorites – Sightseek, Aldebaran and Medaglia d'Oro – are trained by Bobby Frankel, who is having a record year himself. On Oct. 4, Frankel notched his 23rd Grade I stakes victory of the year, accomplished with 13 different horses, surpassing D. Wayne Lukas' 1987 Grade I record.
Frankel's horses have amassed $16,741,041 in earnings this year. Lukas holds the record with $17,842,358 in 1987.
With Frankel, 62, and Bailey, 46, boosting each other along the record trail, Frankel was asked what, other than good horses, made them such a potent combination.
"Obviously, he's a great rider," Frankel said. "He makes mistakes like anybody else, but he just makes less than anybody else. It's a good feeling when you're riding him because there's less thinking for me to tell him what to do.
"He knows the horses. I just put him on them and he does the rest."
Is there any "chemistry" between the two?
"I think the chemistry is the horses," Frankel said.
The Dallas-born son of a dentist, Bailey had a pony as a youngster and became interested in thoroughbreds at age 11 when his father claimed some at Sunland Park, across the border from El Paso in New Mexico. Bailey began his riding career at Sunland in November 1974, moved to his current New York base in 1984 and has been the king of East Coast riders since the mid-1990s, securing Eclipse awards as the North American champion in six of the past eight years and the last three straight.
Bailey, 5-foot-5 and 112 pounds, leads in Breeders' Cup victories with 13. One of his most memorable came 10 years ago at Santa Anita when he guided Arcangues, a French import he hadn't even seen before Breeders' Cup Day, to a victory in the Classic that produced a record $269.20 payoff for a $2 win bet.
Bailey had, of course, heard of renowned French trainer Andre Fabre. But Bailey hadn't seen a picture recently enough to be able to recognize Fabre in the crowded paddock.
As for Arcangues: "When I went to the paddock before the race, I didn't know if he was a bay or a gray," Bailey said. "The only way I knew it was him was that he was wearing saddlecloth No. 11."
Bailey didn't connect with Fabre in the paddock and was given a boost into the saddle by one of the three "lads" accompanying the horse. Their riding instructions were wasted since Bailey doesn't speak French.
Fabre finally caught up as Bailey and Arcangues came through the archway approaching the track. Fabre said: "Drop him off the back," meaning let the speed horses have their way early and make one come-from-behind run.
"Which was what I was planning to do anyway, judging from what I had seen in his past performance charts in the Daily Racing Form," Bailey said.
Bailey saved ground along the rail and was no better than seventh for the first mile. Then Arcangues made a willing run between horses to get the lead from favored Bertrando and win by two lengths.
"All I know is that he gave me a great burst at the end," Bailey said.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/20031023-9999_1s23breeders.html
