2021 Breeders' Cup: Rosario takes flight after riding records, first Eclipse Award
DEL MAR, Calif. – In order to get somewhere, you’ve got to go everywhere.
That’s sort of the mantra agent Ron Anderson and jockey Joel Rosario have lived by this fall as the former attempts to make the latter the leading rider in the country in the most important category – purse money won.
“If you want to lead the country on the second page of the Form,” said Anderson, referring to the page in Daily Racing Form that lists the statistical leaders, “you have to travel.
“Good horses, big purses, and if you got to go to different places you got to go.”
Rosario has certainly been a man on the move. After riding the summer meet at Saratoga, he dominated the rider standings at Kentucky Downs.
Thereafter, it was a smorgasbord of tracks. Perhaps the best example of Rosario’s itinerary occurred in late September/early October when he rode at five tracks in nine days – winning 13 races, seven of which were stakes.
“It’s tough on you, but I like to travel,” Rosario said. “I don’t know if it was like that in the beginning, but you kind of get used to it. The good horses and winning make it easier.”
So far, it’s worked out as hoped. Rosario entered November as the leading rider in purse money won with $25,947,942. He leads North American riders in stakes wins (65) and graded stakes wins (46). He has a chance to set single-year records in both categories. Garrett Gomez won 76 stakes in 2007. Jerry Bailey won 55 graded stakes in 2003. Oh yeah, Anderson was the agent for both of those guys in those years.
Rosario’s pursuit of records as well as his first Eclipse Award could depend on how he fares Friday and Saturday at the Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar. Rosario is named to ride in 12 of the 14 races, including favorites Knicks Go in the $6 million Classic, Jackie’s Warrior in the $2 million Sprint, and Echo Zulu in Friday’s $2 million Juvenile Fillies, a mount he picked up on Monday after his scheduled mount, Ain’t Easy, was not entered due to injury.
Rosario has won at least one Breeders’ Cup race each of the last seven years. In 2018, he won three, including the Classic aboard Accelerate. In 2019, he won two and in 2020 he won two, including the Dirt Mile aboard Knicks Go.
In 2021, Knicks Go has developed into the top older horse in the country with Grade 1 victories in the Pegasus World Cup and Whitney on his résumé as well as Grade 3 victories in the Cornhusker and Lukas Classic. Knicks Go is a fairly easy horse to ride in that he has one way of going – to the front.
“He’s a smart horse,” Rosario said. “He just likes to run, he likes to compete. He doesn’t want to get beat. When he takes the lead, he likes it.”
The Classic will be Knicks Go’s first attempt at 1 1/4 miles.
“I think he can do anything as long as he’s happy,” Rosario said. “He just likes to be free-running.”
In the Sprint, Rosario rides a similarly styled runner in Jackie’s Warrior, whose blazing speed has made him the top-rated sprinter in the U.S. Jackie’s Warrior has won 8 of 11 starts, losing only once – by a head in the Grade 1 Woody Stephens – in nine one-turn races.
“He just likes to go but he also can sit a little bit like he did in Saratoga when [Life Is Good] went to the lead,” Rosario said. “He was able to sit and came inside. He can do anything; he’s a good horse.”
Echo Zulu is an undefeated, two-time Grade 1-winning filly who is the 4-5 morning-line favorite in the Juvenile Fillies against just five competitors. Rosario will be riding her for the first time.
Rosario has other chances in the Breeders’ Cup as well. On Friday, he rides Slipstream (Juvenile Turf) and Derrynane (Juvenile Turf Sprint) for trainer Christophe Clement, for whom he’s won 22 races this year. Two of those wins have come on Gufo, whom Rosario rides in Saturday’s $4 million Turf.
“He’s patient, he gives horses good trips, he saves ground, and he’s very strong in the finish,” Clement said of Rosario. “But he’s also able to go to the lead, and because he’s got a very good sense of pace, when he gets to the lead he doesn’t get it wrong.”
Three of Rosario’s 13 career Breeders’ Cup wins have come for trainer Chad Brown, including the 2019 Mile aboard Uni. Saturday, Rosario rides Blowout (Mile) and Royal Flag (Distaff) for Brown.
“He’s making a lot of the right decisions in all of his races, all surfaces, all distances,” said Brown, who has teamed with Rosario to win 13 races from 44 starters this year. “He’s getting good position in his races. Ron Anderson, his agent, has done a fabulous job putting him in a lot of different barns.
“You pop on the TV and you could see Joel anywhere this year. The guy’s been all over the place. To his credit, he’s stayed healthy, he’s stayed focused and he’s put a lot of miles in. He’s very deserving of the success he’s had and the great year he’s having.”
Following the Breeders’ Cup, Rosario will head to Churchill Downs to ride the rest of November. He’ll be at Aqueduct for the first weekend of December when the final four graded races of the year on the NYRA circuit are run.
“After that, it’s a coin flip,” Anderson said regarding where Rosario winds up for the winter.
One thing’s for certain, a plane will be involved.