On Racing: Another Jockey Heartbreak on Derby-Go-Round

Let's see, it must be here somewhere. Deep in the old paper files, musty and yellowed with age. I know I've heard the story before. Ah, here it is: "More Famous Jockey Replaces Less Famous Jockey Aboard Horse with a Serious Chance in a Big Race." It's a tale as old as time, a song as old as rhyme. Bet you didn't know that Judah Ben-Hur, hot stuff in all the arenas, bumped Sheikh Ilderim's regular driver out of the chariot for the big dance against Massala in Rome. Or that stable lad Skeeter Bosworth was all tacked up and ready to make that famous midnight ride, on the "eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five," when suddenly Paul Revere showed up and said, "Step aside, kid. This one's too important." The news that Umberto Rispoli was removed from Rock Your World, winner of the Runhappy Santa Anita Derby (G1), just two weeks before the colt was scheduled to run in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) was one of those shoulder-sagging developments that knocks the romance right out of the game. After winning two straight aboard the Candy Ride colt for trainer John Sadler, Rispoli seemed as firmly lodged in the saddle as any rider could be. But that was before Joel Rosario and his agent, Ron Anderson, indicated their availability. And that was that. "I warned him what could happen," said Scott McClellan, Rispoli's agent. "Rosario had two Derby horses out there at the time, but there was a possible scenario. Understandably, my jock took it pretty hard." And rightfully so. Rispoli, a former Italian champion and group 1 race winner in five countries, has acclimated brilliantly to the Southern California riding style. At 32, he has had plenty of time on the international stage to hone his skills, but as a relative newcomer to U.S. racing he provides the wide-eyed spark of a kid in the world's best candy store. In the wake of the Santa Anita Derby, Rispoli's Twitter feed was replete with love notes to Rock Your World and their anticipated date at Churchill Downs. "No words can describe how I feel," he wrote. "It's my first Derby, I can't be more happy!... Would like to thank also @johnsadlerracing and all the barn, @hronisracing for the support and opportunity!" Sadler and owners Hronis Racing and Michael Talla have every right to choose their rider for a possibly life-changing race like the Kentucky Derby. There is a lot at stake. And there is plenty of precedent for dumping one jockey in favor of another, for whatever reason. During the 1960s, Bill Shoemaker and agent Harry Silbert had the pick of the litter when it came to choice mounts. As 1964 dawned, Shoe had just nailed down his sixth straight national title in money won. Derby horses were his for the taking. He landed first aboard Northern Dancer to win the Flamingo Stakes and the Florida Derby, but he was drawn to the California colt Hill Rise, who had torn through four impressive stakes wins under Don Pierce, including a six-length romp in the Santa Anita Derby. "Pierce came up to the press box after that race, and someone asked him if he was excited about riding Hill Rise in the Kentucky Derby," recalled Dan Smith, Santa Anita's assistant publicity director at the time. "Don was surprisingly subdued in his answer. Turns out he knew he was already out, and Shoe was in." Let the record show that Shoemaker and Hill Rise finished second to Bill Hartack and Northern Dancer in the 1964 Kentucky Derby. In 2011, Robby Albarado already was named in the entries to ride Animal Kingdom in the Derby when he suffered a broken nose in a post parade accident on the Wednesday before the race. Albarado assured anyone who would listen that he would be ready to ride by Derby day, but Animal Kingdom's ownership wanted to see him ride the day before, to allay any concerns. When Albarado took off Friday, John Velazquez was able to pick up the mount because his Derby horse, Uncle Mo, was scratched. Albarado ended up riding four races on the Derby undercard. "There may have been a bit of miscommunication," said Graham Motion, Animal Kingdom's trainer. "I'm not sure that Robby knew keeping the mount meant he had to ride on Friday. But then, he probably felt in order to be at his best for the Derby, he needed to take Friday off. It was a tough position." Rispoli will be at Churchill Downs during the week of the Kentucky Derby, riding horses for, among others, John Sadler. Life goes on. Rispoli's big horse on Derby day now becomes Smooth Like Strait, a contender in the Turf Classic Stakes (G1T). "Who knows? We may get a chance to ride this horse again," McClellan said of Rock Your World. "You can't win by complaining. I've been an agent since I was 17, and it's happened to me both ways. I'm sure when I had Chris McCarron and Alex Solis, I got put on horses when some other jock was taken off. Happening this late, though, it did take away a chance to land a good Derby horse." It also deprived the Derby of a good story. Rosario, winner of the 2013 Derby aboard Orb, is among the elite athletes of the sport. If he wins with Rock Your World it will be a satisfying sight, but no new ground will be broken. The idea of someone like Rispoli in the Derby mix would have been a headline-grabbing moment like the victory of the callow teenager Ron Franklin and Spectacular Bid, or the loyalty shown journeyman Stewart Elliott by the Smarty Jones team, or the two Derby splashes made by an otherwise second tier rider like Mario Gutierrez, courtesy of patron Paul Reddam. "There's not much loyalty in horse racing in this country," Motion noted. "It's different from the jockey situation in Europe. But in our sport, loyalty to both trainers and jockeys can be fleeting." And there are still almost two weeks to go.