Apprentice rider Luis Cardenas records first win

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Apprentice jockey Luis Cardenas recorded his first career victory Friday when, despite stumbling at the head of the lane and dropping his whip in deep stretch, he was able to rally Solitary Gem to a 3 1/2-length victory in the eighth race at Aqueduct.

The win came in Cardenas’ 15th career mount and one race after he finished second on 43-1 shot Sea Sparkle.

“Very excited, very emotional, very overwhelmed to be here in New York especially racing with the big guys,” Cardenas, 22, said after getting doused with water by his fellow riders.

Cardenas on Solitary Gem was getting a nice trip behind a trio of pacesetters. Approaching the top of the stretch, Cardenas thought he could split Remembering Bobbie on the inside and Princess in Charge on the outside. But there was not enough room and Solitary Gem appeared to clip heels with Princess in Charge.

Cardenas was able to recover, get Solitary Gem to the outside, and was able to hit her a couple of times right-handed. By the time he dropped his stick, which occurred after he moved it to his left hand, Solitary Gem was far enough in front for the victory. Solitary Gem returned $9.80.

“I was trying to see if I could get a little space and they would go a little wide and let me go through, but that didn’t work out,” said Cardenas, who rides with a 10-pound weight allowance. “Thank God, I didn’t fall off the horse. My option B was let’s go on the outside. I switched my whip and I hit her a couple of times and switched her to the [correct] lead. … It’s a long stretch.”

Cardenas is a native of Peru. He came to the U.S. when he was 12. After starting out in South Carolina, Cardenas came to New York in 2017 and worked as an exercise rider for several trainers including Randi Persaud, Bruce Levine, and Leah Gyarmati. Solitary Gem is trained by Leah Gyarmati.

“She gave me the opportunity, she gave me a great filly to ride and I took it home,” Cardenas said.