Norberto Arroyo, Jr. aboard Why Two © Benoit
NORBERTO ARROYO, JR., MAKING THE MOST OF FRESH START HERE
Jockey Norberto Arroyo, Jr., arrived in California about five days before the start of the Del Mar meeting. He made his presence known by working horses a couple of mornings at Santa Anita, then headed south with his brother/agent Nelson.
“I came here with no business whatsoever. None whatsoever,” Norberto said Sunday morning. “This has really been something.”
With seven days left in the 39-day meeting, Arroyo is tied for seventh in the jockey standings with 13 wins and has been in-the-money another 22 times with purse earnings of $618,492.
Maybe not eye-popping stats. But impressive considering that only one year ago he was: Looking at the rubble of his house in Kentucky that had burned to the ground; Recovering from a broken pelvis incurred in a spill; Dealing with the “talented but troubled” rider tag from a cocaine addiction and a 2 ½ year prison term on drug charges.
“With my dedication to the Lord and to work, I knew this was going to happen at some point,” Arroyo said. “But not here. Not at Del Mar. Not this quickly.”
The latest step forward came Friday in the second through fourth races. Arroyo won them all, the first aboard Red Tie Day ($8.40) for trainer Richard Baltas, the next on Oopper Wallah ($48.20) and Pedro Cerrano ($29.00) for Peter Miller.
Let Nelson brag about his older brother a little.
“What I saw in those three races is that his timing is completely back,” Nelson said. “He’s been a baseball player, basketball player and boxer since he was four years old. He was a home run king and MVP of the team when he played shortstop in high school and a point guard MVP in basketball. He’s got a talent for sports and part of that talent is he sees things before they happen, before they unfold.
“I saw that in those races. He moves his head a tiny bit, and I could tell that now he knows where everybody else is in the race and probably what they’re going to do. He’s learning about all the other jockeys here and once he learns their (tendencies), good things and bad things, that makes it easier for him. That’s what I saw in those three races.
“When I came to California in December, it was with the hopes of bringing Norberto over one day. The goals of this meet were to get into these good barns. They’re all here, they’re all great people.
“I thought it would be a great place where Norberto could really fit in and be relaxed. The goal was to remind people of Norberto’s talent because he has a God-given gift. Our goal is to leave a mark on the game,” Nelson said. “The two places to be to do that are New York and California. This (California) is much better for him. The people are more laid back, a lot more humble. He fits very well.
“So far things have been going great. Were we expecting this? Not this good, not this fast. We got lucky right away and the way he rides is speaking for itself. We’re getting chances from all the trainers. There’s not one closed door, and that was our goal, to establish relationships and be able to ride for everybody.”
Nelson, his wife and five children – from college age to eight months – have been settled in Arcadia, near Santa Anita. Norberto, his wife and four children – ranging from 20 to 5 years old – are planning to join them next month.
Released from prison in 2012, but unable to be licensed right away, he worked at a shoe store for around six months. Granted a conditional license in Kentucky that fall, the Arroyo brothers went to Turfway Park and Norberto proceeded to win the riding title and notched his 1,000th career win that fall.
In late March of 2015, Arroyo fractured his pelvis in a spill at Sunland Park in New Mexico and returned to his home in Kentucky only to experience the catastrophic fire.
"My house burned down with everything in it. I was able to walk away with my kids and the clothes I was wearing. ” Arroyo said.
Miller admits to having a soft spot in his heart for Norberto and is a longtime friend of Nelson. Norberto rode Fast Parade to a Del Mar track record for 5 furlongs on grass, :54.75 on August 16, 2006 that was Miller’s first win for prominent owner Gary Barber.
“He’s had his troubles and issues, but he appears to have outgrown them,” Miller said. “I think he can be a mainstay on this circuit.”
Baltas accorded Arroyo the mount on longshot Imperative in the Pacific Classic and remains a solid supporter.
“He gives you an honest effort, he knows how to ride and he knows how to win,” Baltas said.
FAVORED ENOLA GRAY, TWO OTHERS SCRATCH FROM TORREY PINES
Unbeaten Enola Gray, the 4-5 morning line favorite, and two other 3-year-old fillies were scratched Sunday morning from the day’s featured Grade III $100,000 Torrey Pines Stakes.
John Sadler-trained Uptown Twirl and Jerry Hollendorfer’s Dreamarcher were the other scratches from the one-mile dirt event.
“She came back from the last training session and coughed,” said Phil D’Amato, trainer of Enola Gray. “We had her scoped and she had some mucous, about a two on a scale of five. We’d want her 100 percent clean for a graded stakes like this, so we’ll take care of it and look for a race at Los Alamitos.”
BAFFERT HAS A GOOD DAY ON BOTH SIDES OF THE COUNTRY
Del Mar-based Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert and Hall of Fame rider Mike Smith took care of business in a big way Saturday on Travers Stakes Day at Saratoga Race Course.
They combined for victories with Drefong in the $500,000 Grade I King’s Bishop and then Arrogate in the $1.25 million Travers, the “Summertime Derby” for three-year-olds. The Travers time, 1:59.36, established a track record.
Drefong and Arrogate both trained at Del Mar and Arrogate won a prep race here, against only two rivals, on August 4.
Baffert also notched two wins at Del Mar on Saturday, Above Board ($3.20) in the second race and Life’s Blessings ($3.40) in the ninth, both under Flavien Prat.
PRAT PADS LEAD IN JOCKEY STANDINGS WITH FOUR-WIN SATURDAY
Flavien Prat expanded his lead atop the jockey standings to six over Rafael Bejarano and Santiago Gonzalez with four wins on Saturday’s card.
Prat’s victories came aboard Above Board (2nd, $3.20), Thunder Basin (4th, $11.60), Nodiac (7th, $3.60) and Life’s Blessings (9th, $3.40).
Bejarano was at Saratoga with stakes mounts for trainer Bob Baffert. Gonzalez was 0-for-5 here.
“We’ve got a little separation and I think we’ve got a chance to do some more good today,” Derek Lawson, Prat’s agent said Sunday morning. “There’s still (seven) racing days left and a lot can happen. But it’s still a realistic goal. Flavien has never won a riding title.”
CLOSERS – Selected works from 167 on dirt and 39 on turf officially timed Sunday morning: Dirt – American League (4f, :46.40), Big Cazanova (4f, :48.60), Majestic Heat (4f, :47.60), Stays in Vegas (4f, :48.40), Living The Life (6f, 1:10.40); Turf – Obviously (4f, :47.40), Diplodocus (5f, 1:05.80), Elektrum (5f, 1:01.00), Entrechat (5f, 1:02.20), Nancy From Nairobi (6f, 1:13.40), Ebadan (7f, 1:28.80), Power Ped (7f, 1:29.40).
DEL MAR STATISTICS
Jockey Standings
(Current Through Saturday, August 27, 2016 Inclusive)
|
Jockey |
Mts |
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
Win% |
In-money% |
Money Won |
|
Flavien Prat |
165 |
33 |
23 |
18 |
20% |
45% |
$1,969,825 |
|
Rafael Bejarano |
135 |
27 |
29 |
21 |
20% |
57% |
$1,875,487 |
|
Santiago Gonzalez |
178 |
27 |
28 |
20 |
15% |
42% |
$1,304,018 |
|
Tyler Baze |
158 |
19 |
21 |
28 |
12% |
43% |
$1,239,764 |
|
Kent Desormeaux |
113 |
19 |
19 |
15 |
17% |
47% |
$1,200,398 |
|
Victor Espinoza |
58 |
14 |
9 |
9 |
24% |
55% |
$1,535,978 |
|
Norberto Arroyo, Jr. |
91 |
13 |
12 |
10 |
14% |
38% |
$618,492 |
|
Stewart Elliott |
87 |
13 |
7 |
7 |
15% |
31% |
$489,530 |
|
Tiago Pereira |
88 |
11 |
11 |
7 |
13% |
33% |
$504,550 |
|
Mario Gutierrez |
90 |
10 |
11 |
14 |
11% |
39% |
$779,893 |
Trainer Standings
(Current Through Saturday, August 27, 2016 Inclusive)
|
Trainer |
Sts |
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
Win% |
In-money% |
Money Won |
|
Philip D'Amato |
80 |
18 |
11 |
10 |
23% |
49% |
$1,241,272 |
|
Richard Baltas |
69 |
14 |
16 |
8 |
20% |
55% |
$849,841 |
|
Bob Baffert |
55 |
14 |
11 |
6 |
25% |
56% |
$1,193,665 |
|
Peter Miller |
84 |
13 |
14 |
11 |
15% |
45% |
$739,486 |
|
John W. Sadler |
51 |
11 |
8 |
9 |
22% |
55% |
$765,840 |
|
Mark Glatt |
46 |
9 |
8 |
10 |
20% |
59% |
$364,634 |
|
James M. Cassidy |
40 |
9 |
3 |
7 |
23% |
48% |
$461,079 |
|
Michael Machowsky |
20 |
9 |
0 |
1 |
45% |
50% |
$266,297 |
|
Doug F. O'Neill |
104 |
8 |
14 |
16 |
8% |
37% |
$626,635 |
|
Chris A. Hartman |
28 |
6 |
5 |
3 |
21% |
50% |
$221,000 |
Winning Favorites Report
(Current Through Saturday, August 27, 2016 Inclusive)
Winning favorites -- 102 out of 282 -- 36.17%
Winning favorites on dirt -- 73 out of 184 -- 39.67%
Winning favorites on turf -- 29 out of 98 -- 29.59%
Winning odds-on favorites -- 23 out of 43 -- 53.49%
In-the-Money favorites -- 200 out of 282 -- 70.92%
In-the-Money odds-on favorites -- 35 out of 43 -- 81.40%
Contact: Dan Smith 858-792-4226/Hank Wesch 858-755-1141 ext. 3793