McCarthy, Centeno okay following Sunday spill

CYPRESS, Calif. – Jockeys Alexis Centeno and Trevor McCarthy escaped injury on Sunday after being involved in a two-horse spill shortly after the start of the fourth race at Los Alamitos.

The riders were briefly hospitalized for tests late Sunday afternoon and were released at about 6 p.m. Both are expected to resume riding Friday, the next day of racing at Los Alamitos.

The incident occurred in a five-furlong maiden special weight race for 2-year-olds.

Sherlock, ridden by Centeno, drifted in sharply after the break, colliding with Creative Peak, ridden by McCarthy. Both riders were unseated and fell heavily.

Riderless, Creative Peak followed the other runners in the race.

Sherlock fell over the inside rail close to where the incident occurred on the backstretch and ran through the infield before jumping the inside rail in the stretch. Sherlock ran across the main track and stopped near the outside rail more than a furlong from the finish. Sherlock had stopped by the outside rail of the main track before the other runners in the field raced around the turn.

Both horses were returned to their stables.

The riders were taken by track ambulance crews to the parking lot, where they were transferred to the care of local paramedics and taken to a hospital in Long Beach for observation.

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Centeno, an apprentice who claims five pounds, has won 47 races in his career, including 20 this year.

McCarthy relocated from New York to Southern California in May. Through Sunday, McCarthy had won 2 races from 57 mounts at Santa Anita and Los Alamitos, including the race preceding the spill on Sunday.

In an interview on Sunday evening, McCarthy said he was sore.

“I’m a little banged up,” he said. “I need a little bit of rest.”

McCarthy said he planned to take a few days off before resuming morning workouts in advance of Friday’s races. In addition to riding the final week of the Los Alamitos meeting, which ends Monday, McCarthy is preparing for his first Del Mar summer meeting, which begins July 16.

McCarthy described his start in California as “a little disappointing.”

“The trainers are very loyal to the riders that have been here,” he said. “It will take time to break in. I’m taking advantage of every opportunity I receive.

“Things like today, there are a lot of ups and downs at this meeting. Hopefully, we can win a couple more. The game always seems to keep you humble.”

After leaving the hospital, McCarthy stopped with his agent, Derek Lawson, in Long Beach for a Southern California first for the rider – a trip to In-N-Out Burger, the famous cheeseburger chain.