Apprentice jockey Juan Saez looks promising at Ellis meet

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The seeds planted at the Churchill Downs meet that ended Sunday are about to grow as tall as summer sunflowers for Juan Saez, the 17-year-old apprentice widely expected to be the leading rider at Ellis Park this summer.

Saez had five wins and seven seconds from 27 mounts during the final eight-day stretch at Churchill.

“This kid has lots of possibilities,” said his agent, former longtime jockey Julio Espinoza. “The way he looks on a horse has a lot of trainers talking good things about him. He sure doesn’t look like a bugboy.”

Saez is the younger brother of Luis Saez, who already has won more than 1,000 races since coming to the United States from the family’s native Panama in 2009 and has become firmly established as a top jockey on the East Coast. Espinoza said the younger Saez won three races in Panama before coming to Kentucky.

“Juan only rode about 11 races there and won three,” said Espinoza, meaning Saez will get to ride with a weight allowance until next June 20, one year after his fifth career win. “We have a lot of live business lined up for him at Ellis.”

Saez has seven mounts on the Thursday opener and eight more on a nine-race Friday card, many of them top contenders.

◗ Jockey Jon Court had hoped to be back for the Ellis opener but has not fully healed from the broken hand sustained in a spill in the last race on Kentucky Derby Day at Churchill. Court, who topped the Ellis standings for five straight years (1998-2002), said he hopes to return by mid-August.