Jockey Lezcano wears happy face after ending 0 for 80 skid
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SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - It was easy to see the relief on jockey Jose Lezcano’s face on Sunday morning after he won two races on Saturday to break an 0-for-80 start to the Saratoga meet.
Lezcano rode two of Linda Rice’s five winners on Saturday’s card, reuniting a team that had plenty of success as recently as this winter, when they teamed to win 27 races from 93 starts, but waned during the spring.
“Linda’s a great person. Like any other trainer, the owner asks for the jockeys, she has to do whatever she had to do,” Lezcano said. “It’s a business, I understand completely. I’d love to ride all the horses, but if you’re the owner asking for Flavien [Prat] you’re going to get Flavien.”
Lezcano is named on Rice-trained horses on Wednesday and Thursday.
Lezcano, who has ridden 3,575 winners in his career, believes he’s given all the horses this meet their best chance to succeed.
“Sometimes you feel like you give a bad trip to the horse or I could have done this or done that,” Lezcano said. “I feel like I’ve given the trip the horse needs, but I don’t have the horse. I feel like when I have the horse I can do my job.”
Lezcano was actually disqualified from a victory in the last race on opening day of the meet. On Aug. 9, Lezcano was disqualified from second and placed third in the Grade 2 Troy when his mount Warolo was deemed to have bumped with Doncho, who finished third.
Lezcano, who was not suspended for either infraction, disagreed with both calls. In the Troy, Lezcano felt it was Doncho who bumped him initially, which led to further bumping in deep stretch.
“Before the quarter pole I’m in the three-path, I stayed in the three-path,” Lezcano said. “The only time I moved is when I got bumped. I asked [NYRA steward Victor Escobar] am I supposed to give up my ground, am I supposed to go to the five-path or am I supposed to hold my ground? He said, ‘you’re supposed to hold your ground.’ "
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