Jockey Garcia grateful for Pacific Classic score

DEL MAR, Calif. – The victory by Collected in the Pacific Classic on Saturday was a welcomed one for jockey Martin Garcia, who has had limited action at this meet in part because of a back injury sustained this spring.

Garcia has ridden in just 27 races at this meet at Del Mar, and the win by Collected was only his second victory. But the $600,000 first prize, of which he gets 10 percent, propelled Garcia all the way to ninth in earnings among his peers this summer at Del Mar.

“We needed that,” Garcia said Sunday. “I took a little break, didn’t want to push it. Now, I’m back.”

Garcia was hurt while trying to keep the promising Reach the World upright when that 3-year-old colt suffered a fatal injury in a workout at Santa Anita four months ago.

“It was really painful,” he said. “I went to therapy for two months, a lot of acupuncture.”

Garcia has been closely aligned for years with trainer Bob Baffert, and it has been both a blessing and a curse. Garcia is an integral part of the operation, working many of Baffert’s best runners, and even though he often does not ride them in races – like with Arrogate – he does get some good mounts, like Collected.

“He’s important. He’s like my stepson,” Baffert said. “He’s a big part of the team. He knows what I want, what I like.”

But Garcia’s association with Baffert has often left other trainers reluctant to use him, figuring if there’s a conflict, Garcia would ride for Baffert. Garcia recently hired agent Nelson Arroyo to represent him in hopes of getting more mounts.

“Nelson’s doing a good job of opening some doors with other trainers,” Garcia said. “That’s the key.”

Because of his reduced workload this year, Garcia is on pace to have his least-productive year of the decade. His mounts have earned more than $5 million in each of the past seven years, and in three of those years, they topped $10 million. This year, Garcia’s mounts have earned a bit more than $2 million. He was at $1.4 million before the Pacific Classic.

But Garcia, who has a sensational sense of humor, has retained his good nature through the highs and lows. An unraced 2-year-old who has worked well he’ll call “my secret weapon.” Garcia once worked in a deli in Northern California and cooks his own meals almost every day, joking that he only makes “frijoles and tortillas.” He’s passionate about his work. He’s always an early arrival for morning workouts.

“I like my job,” he said. “I love horses.”