Lopez returns at top of his game

When apprentice jockey David Lopez fractured his back in a spill at Golden Gate Fields on June 6, he expected to be riding again in six weeks. But complications kept him sidelined for 4 1/2 months.

When he returned to riding when Golden Gate Fields opened last Thursday, Lopez was hoping to get one victory. Instead, he won with his first two mounts and ended the day with three winners from four mounts. Three of the winners were saddled by Billy Morey, who made four trips to the winner’s circle that day.

And Lopez hasn’t slowed down.

During the first week at Golden Gate, Lopez collected nine wins from 20 mounts, with one second and five thirds.

“I think I made a pretty good statement this week,” said Lopez, who turned 26 on Saturday. “I hopefully wanted to win one on opening day and maybe three the first week.”

Lopez was injured when his mount in the 10th race on June 6, Redneck Girl, ducked in sharply and unseated him. He fractured four of his transverse processes, which are the bony projections on each side of the vertebra.

Lopez had planned to move to Southern California after the long winter-spring meet at Golden Gate but had to set those plans aside to recover. He and agent Dennis Patterson still thought he could go south for the Del Mar summer meeting, but the injury continued to trouble him. Lopez was allowed to work horses briefly but had to back off because of the pain. About a month after the spill, doctors advised Lopez that it would take four to six months to heal.

Lopez said waiting until he was fully recovered before returning to the saddle “was the right thing to do.”

“I didn’t want to be out there at 70 percent for the trainers,” he said.

Lopez and his brother Erick, another jockey, are sons of jockey C.C. Lopez. David Lopez said his father gave him sound advice on how to handle the injury and the long recovery.

“My dad was very helpful because it was my first injury,” said Lopez.

Hollendorfer sending two

Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer is planning to enter two in Sunday’s $75,000 Pike Place Dancer for 2-year-old fillies going one mile on the turf: Cajun Cookin, who won her debut at Santa Rosa before running eighth in the Generous Portion Stakes at Del Mar, and Kiss N Scat, who graduated at Golden Gate on Sept. 26.

“Cajun Cookin is by Unusual Heat, and we want to get her on the turf,” Hollendorfer said. “Kiss N Scat is a nice runner.”

Also scheduled to run in the race are the Simon Callaghan-trained Corps de Ballet, who would be the lone turf winner in the field; Joan of Arch, who was second in a maiden race on turf for trainer Molly Pearson; and recent maiden winner Reckless Charm for trainer James Cassidy. Steve Miyadi might enter Run for Retts, who finished sixth in front of Cajun Cookin in the Generous Portion.

Hollendorfer also trains Northern California’s top juvenile filly, Stays in Vegas, who is coming off a win in the Surfer Girl Stakes on turf at Santa Anita. Plans for her next start are being determined.

“There are lots of races for her,” Hollendorfer said.

Fresno handle dips

Despite adding one more race day this year at the Big Fresno Fair, total handle declined from last year’s meeting. The meeting ran Oct. 8-18, one week later than last year’s meet.

The all-sources handle for the nine-day meet fell 1 percent from last year’s eight-day meet, from $9,430,428 to $9,294,990. The daily all-sources handle dipped 1.4 percent. Ontrack handle dipped 3 percent, from $2,869,560 in 2014 to $2,795,485. That equated to a 13.4 percent drop in the daily average handle.

Average attendance dipped 11 percent, from 8,372 in 2014 to 7,455 this year.