Cohen has live mounts in pair of allowances
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Jockey David Cohen will be aboard leading contenders in both divisions of a first-level allowance for fillies and mares that was split for the Friday card at Oaklawn Park.
The races are set as the fifth and eighth and will be run over a mile. The purse for each is $106,000.
Cohen will be aboard Ava’s Grace in the fifth. She could go favored when she breaks from post 2 in the field of seven. Ava’s Grace is moving back into the overnight ranks after running fifth in the Grade 2 Azeri won by champion Ce Ce on March 12 at Oaklawn. Robertino Diodoro trains Ava’s Grace for Cypress Creek Equine.
The chief threat could be Sunny Isle Beach, who was third at this level and distance in her last start March 19 at Oaklawn. John Hiraldo has the mount for Ribble Farms and trainer David Vance.
Cohen’s mount in the eighth is Ursulina, who breaks from the rail in the field of eight. She could start as the second choice behind Tap for Me, a daughter of the champion racemare Groupie Doll who is coming off a maiden special weight win for which she earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 84.
Ursulina was fourth at this level and distance last time, when breaking from an outside post. For the effort, she earned a Beyer of 73, which is one of the best last-race numbers in the Friday race.
A shift in the Oaklawn riding colony is taking place this week, with jockeys Joel Rosario and Florent Geroux among those heading to Keeneland and Ramon Vazquez moving to Santa Anita. Cohen, who is a past title winner at Oaklawn, plans to remain based in Hot Springs. The meet runs through May 8.
“I do have opportunities to go to Keeneland and bounce back and forth when it makes sense for some stakes,” Cohen said. “I am fully committed to finish up Oaklawn strong. I do have some horses running [Kentucky] Derby weekend, so I’ll leave here [the last week], show up to Kentucky.”
Cohen said when he arrives in Kentucky he will have a new agent. Doug Bredar, who represents Geroux, will have his book. Bill Castle has been Cohen’s agent for about 13 years and also has Vazquez.
“Kentucky is my home, and for me to succeed as much as possible in Kentucky, I need to have a Kentucky agent,” Cohen said last week. “Billy and I have had a lot of great success together. I think it’s very unlikely that you see a long-lasting agent-jockey relationship like that. And to stress a point, it’s not ending on a negative or bad note. It’s more so circumstances of where I want to be in racing, Kentucky.”
Castle, who was to travel to Southern California this week as Vazquez gets set up at Santa Anita, will continue to represent Cohen through the end of the Oaklawn meet.
“We had 13 great years together, had a lot of success, won titles, the Travers,” Castle said. “I consider him family. I think he and Doug will be great together. I think they will make a great team.”
Cohen said Bredar fit for a few reasons.
“I don’t have conflicting business with Florent,” Cohen said. “We have business that complements each other.”
Cohen said he would continue to ride for longtime clients M and M Racing and Diodoro.