Frank Lyons to take Julien Leparoux's book at Gulfstream
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Julien Leparoux will have a new agent in Frank Lyons when he moves his tack to Gulfstream Park for the winter while his longtime agent Steve Bass stays home in Kentucky to recover from a serious heart ailment.
Leparoux, a two-time Eclipse Award winner, has been a perennial top-five rider for the last 15 years on the Kentucky circuit while mostly spending the winter months in Florida. He said Bass’s illness necessitated the change.
“We’ve had a lot of success together,” he said.
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Lyons, 56, has filled a number of different roles in a lifetime of racing while probably best known as the trainer of Desert Stormer when the mare won the 1995 Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Belmont Park. A well-traveled native of Ireland, Lyons has spent most of his time since he stopped training in 2001 as a broadcaster for TVG and more recently for NYRA, as well as a bloodstock agent specializing in European imports. He even worked a stint as a jockey agent for Rene Douglas in California in 1997 when taking a hiatus from training.
Lyons credited trainer Brian Lynch, who often uses Leparoux on his horses, as the catalyst to the new working relationship, which will begin after Churchill Downs ends its fall meet Nov. 29. Gulfstream in Hallandale Beach, Fla., starts its four-month championship meet Dec. 2.
Leparoux, 37, has been a standout jockey since trainer Patrick Biancone, a fellow French native, began mentoring him as an apprentice in 2005. Leparoux was voted the Eclipse for top apprentice in 2006 and as outstanding jockey in 2009. He has won 2,765 races, including seven Breeders’ Cup events, with mount earnings of more than $172 million.
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Bass, 63, has worked for Leparoux since November 2005 and usually accompanies him on his travels, but a recent heart scare will have Bass sticking close to home for the immediate future.
“Whether or not we can rejoin forces back here in Kentucky in the spring, that’s something that’ll depend on my health,” said Bass, who became an agent after his 10-year riding career ended in 1994. “Julien has been an absolute joy to work for. He’s taken me a lot of nice places, done a lot for my family. I’ve loved every minute of it.”