After choosing quality over quantity at recent Los Alamitos thoroughbred meets, Juan Hernandez is going for more of both as the Orange County track opens a two-week run on Friday.
California’s perennial leading jockey has two mounts on friday, including 9-5 morning-line favorite Voldemort in the allowance-level feature race, and two on Saturday, 8-5 favorite Nimah in the $200,000, Grade II Starlet Stakes and 2-1 favorite Greenwich Village debuting in a maiden sprint.
That’s just the start.
“This meet I think I’m going to be there pretty much every day,” Hernandez said on the phone Thursday. “That way I keep the feeling of the horses and keep myself fit. (In the past) when I’m off for a week, when I come back I feel like I have to start over.”
Hernandez, 33, is coming off a rare disappointing meet at Del Mar. It began Oct.31 and nov. 1 with three second-place finishes in his bid for a career-first Breeders’ Cup victory. although he won Grade III stakes with Nevada Beach in the Native Diver and Hope Road in the Bayakoa, he finished sixth in wins with nine (15%), far behind champion Umberto Rispoli’s 17 (22%).
“To be honest with you, I did some soft rides,” Hernandez said of his performance at the monthlong Del Mar meet. “That was all on me. I should do better than I did.”
Los Al should get Hernandez back in form.At the three short thoroughbred meets that the circuit’s top jockeys generally view as breaks from the intensity of Santa Anita and Del mar, Hernandez has ridden sparingly but won with seven of 14 mounts over the past year (rewarding his fans with a 16% profit on flat win bets). that includes an active streak of five stakes in a row with Tenma (in the 2024 Starlet), Sweet Azteca, Nevada Beach, Kings River Knight and Nothing Like You. it helps to ride a lot for trainer Bob Baffert, who will seek his ninth consecutive Starlet win with Nimah, Himika (Tyler Baze up) and Consequent (Kazushi Kimura).”She’s (Nimah) a smart filly,” said Hernandez, who rode the 2-year-old daughter of Gun Runner to a front-running sprint win in her debut at del Mar. “She has talent. Now we need to show we can go two turns with her.”
Hernandez is waiting to see which 2-year-old colt he’ll ride for Baffert in the Dec. 13 Los Alamitos futurity, the $200,000, Grade II highlight of the meet.
“I hope we can keep up the momentum and the high percentage of winning (at Los Al),” Hernandez said. “Hopefully we can do even better (this time).”
The meet runs Friday,Saturday and Sunday this week and next,with first post at 12:30 each afternoon.
Quarter-horse and thoroughbred racing continues at night, with first post at 5:45 p.m. on Saturday and 6:45 p.m. on Sunday.
CHANGE IS WARRANTED
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The aftermath of an inquiry into the stretch run of the Cecil B. DeMille Stakes at Del Mar on sunday was the latest example of the need for better explanations of stewards’ decisions.
First-place Unrivaled Time and jockey Diego Herrera shifted out and bothered third-place Hey nay Nay and Flavien Prat as Iriseach and Umberto Rispoli got up for second. After the stewards watched replays and ordered no change in the result, track announcer Larry Collmus explained that they decided the incident “did not warrant a disqualification.” But that’s just a restatement of what fans knew already, since there was no disqualification.
FanDuel TV’s Christina Blacker went to t
Los Alamitos Racing Update: Leading Jockeys & trainers, Upcoming Stakes (December 7-8, 2024)
Here’s a recap of the recent Los Alamitos racing results and a look ahead to the stakes races scheduled for the weekend of December 7th and 8th, 2024. This update covers leading jockey and trainer standings, and also details on the upcoming Starlet Stakes, Soviet Problem Stakes, and nighttime races.
Leading Riders & Trainers
as of the latest standings, here’s a look at the top performers at los Alamitos:
Jockeys / Wins
* Juan Hernandez / 9
* Tiago Pereira / 7
* Edwin Maldonado / 6
* Kazushi Kimura / 6
* Flavien Prat / 5
* Tyler Baze / 5
Trainers / Wins
* George Papaprodromou / 11
* John Sadler / 9
* Bob Baffert / 8
* Doug O’Neill / 8
* Steve Knapp / 7
* Phil D’Amato / 7
* Bob hess Jr./ 5
* Leonard Powell / 5
* Peter Miller / 4
* (Six tied) / 3
Upcoming Stakes Schedule – Los Alamitos (December 7-8, 2024)
Los Alamitos will host a series of stakes races across both its daytime and nighttime meets this weekend.Here’s a breakdown:
LOS ALAMITOS DAYTIME MEET
Saturday, December 7th
* Starlet Stakes (Grade II): A $200,000 race for 2-year-old fillies, contested at a distance of 1 1/16 miles. https://www.bloodhorse.com/racing/race-report/starlet-stakes-entries-announced-los-alamitos-dec-7/415391
Sunday, December 8th
* soviet Problem Stakes: A $100,000 race specifically for California-bred 2-year-old fillies, run over a distance of 1 mile. https://www.drf.com/news/los-alamitos-stakes-schedule-dec-7-8
LOS ALAMITOS NIGHTTIME MEET
Sunday, December 8th
* Winter Championship: A $50,000 race for mixed-breed 3-year-olds and up, covering a distance of 1,000 yards.
* Winter Stakes: A $35,000 race for mixed-breed fillies and mares (3 years old and up), also contested at 1,000 yards.
Key Takeaways
* Strong Competition: The Los Alamitos meet is showcasing competitive racing with leading jockeys like Juan Hernandez and trainers like George Papaprodromou at the forefront.
* Starlet stakes Highlight: The Grade II Starlet Stakes is a key race for 2-year-old fillies,offering a meaningful purse and potential for future success.
* Diverse Racing: Los Alamitos offers a diverse racing schedule, including both daytime thoroughbred racing and nighttime Quarter Horse racing.
This weekend promises exciting racing action at Los Alamitos. Fans can look forward to seeing promising young horses compete in the Starlet and Soviet Problem Stakes, while the nighttime meet will feature thrilling sprint races.
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