Jara, Santos make winning team

Jockey Fernando Jara, who is new to Oaklawn Park, picked up his first Arkansas stakes win on Saturday when he guided Spirit Wind to victory in the Poinsettia Stakes.

It was a fun win for his agent, former jockey Jose Santos. The retired Hall of Famer, who rode primarily on the East Coast, did experience Oaklawn stakes success himself back in 1988.

“I won a stakes for Wayne Lukas, with a horse named Lost Kitty,” Santos recalled. “The stakes name was the Honeybee.”

Santos said his son Jose Santos Jr. - who has made a name for himself as an agent – encouraged him to take Jara’s book this season at Oaklawn. The older Santos had previously represented Jara.

“We worked together maybe 14 years ago at Delaware Park,” Santos said. “We were riding first call for Todd Pletcher at the time. Fernando is a very good jockey.

“Then he went to Dubai, come back again, and my son dragged me over here. He said, ‘Come on, you’re going to work for Fernando.’ I said, ‘Okay.’ I said to my wife, ‘I’ll be gone for a little while, but not forever!’ And here we are.”

The Oaklawn season continues into May.

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