Cardenas to miss time with minor hand injury
OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Apprentice jockey Luis Cardenas, who has gotten his career off to a terrific start, will be sidelined for about two weeks after injuring his hand in a Sunday morning training incident at Belmont Park.
Cardenas was working a horse for trainer Phil Serpe when the saddle slipped. Turning into the stretch, Cardenas was unseated. Though he got up fairly quickly, he was taken to a local hospital with hand pain.
P.J. Campo, the agent for Cardenas, said the injury is not serious but doctors told Cardenas to take it easy for a week to 10 days.
Cardenas, a seven-pound apprentice, was named on seven horses both Sunday and Monday. He was scheduled to ride two horses on Thursday.
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Cardenas only started riding in December. He has compiled a record of 9 wins, 13 seconds and 11 thirds from 96 mounts at the Aqueduct winter meet. His win total has him ninth in the jockey standings.
While Cardenas will be sidelined briefly, five-pound apprentice Romero Maragh was named on three horses Thursday and one Friday as he has officially moves his tack from South Florida.
Maragh missed about a year due to a fractured back suffered during a spill at Gulfstream in January 2019, and he has gone 2 for 42 since his return.
Cancel on hot streak
When jockey Eric Cancel won Sunday’s $100,000 Gander Stakes aboard 15-1 shot Chowda, it capped his third consecutive three-win day at Aqueduct. The nine victories from 21 mounts he recorded Friday through Sunday gave him 41 for the meet, second only to Jose Lezcano, who has 48.
Cancel then won three of the first five races on Monday’s holiday card to move within five of Lezcano.
Over the last 14 cards entering Monday, Cancel had won 21 races from 79 mounts. Over the first 22 cards of the meet, Cancel had ridden 20 winners from 130 mounts.
