Apprentice Hargrove won't join New York colony just yet

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Camila Hargrove, who won back-to-back races last week at Finger Lakes and Saratoga with just her fifth and sixth career mounts, will not be in any hurry to join the local riding colony any time soon her agent, Jose Santos Jr., said Wednesday.

Hargrove rode a couple of races for trainer Wesley Ward in Kentucky two years earlier before being sidelined by a knee injury. She finally resumed riding earlier this month, finishing eighth aboard Bye for Now for trainer Ray Handal here Aug. 6, then guided the 3-year-old to a popular victory at Finger Lakes just 13 days later for her first career win. Hargrove wasted little time finding the Saratoga winner’s circle when victorious on Essence L Vee for trainer Mark Hennig the following day.

“She got lucky and won two right off the bat, which doesn’t happen often,” Santos said. “My main goal with Camila is to get her fifth win as close as possible towards the end of the year to start her bug.”

Santos said Hargrove will continue her full-time gallop job with Handal while taking on selected mounts at Belmont this fall, as well as out-of-town assignments on dark days when mounts become available.

“We’ve already got a few calls for Belmont, and I’ll look to get her mounts at either Parx or Penn National, wherever I can find the best opportunities, to get her as much experience as possible,” Santos added “I’d like her to have at least 100 mounts before taking on NYRA full time.”