Orozco shows he's back with Lammas' victory in San Francisco Mile

ALBANY, Calif. - When the Grade 3 San Francisco Mile was run at Golden Gate Fields in April 2023, jockey Irving Orozco was in a nearby hospital being treated for a punctured lung and bruised ribs sustained in a spill earlier that afternoon.

He did not ride again for four months.

When the San Francisco Mile was run for the final time on Saturday, Orozco was very much part of the action. He rode local hope Lammas to a well-timed upset from off the pace.

For the 30-year-old Orozco, as well as 66-year-old winning trainer Manny Badilla, the victory by Lammas in the $177,700 San Francisco Mile was the richest of their careers.

The milestone was foremost on Orozco’s mind after leaving the winner’s circle. His life has changed substantially in the last year. In the days after Orozco was injured last year, his mother, Hermelinda Mora, died after a lengthy illness. He dedicated Saturday’s win in her honor.

Earlier this year, Oroczo became a father for the first time.

“I was very proud,” Orozco reflected in the stables on Sunday morning. “I’ve been riding here for six years and I wanted to win this race.”

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“This race has been won by a lot of outsiders. People were hoping that a local horse would win. I felt confident I had the best local horse.”

Lammas, who races for Ron Charles and Sam Gordon, won his second Grade 3 race in the San Francisco Mile. A 7-year-old British-bred gelding, Lammas won the Grade 3 Berkeley Handicap on the synthetic main track at Golden Gate Fields in November 2022. Last September, Lammas won the Sam Spear Memorial Stakes on turf.

Orozco began riding Lammas earlier this year after the gelding’s previous rider, Evin Roman, relocated to the Midwest. Lammas and Orozco are unbeaten in three starts, including two allowance races on the synthetic track in February and early April.

In the San Francisco Mile, Lammas closed from fifth in a field of 11 to reach contention on the turn. Racing wide, Lammas ($21.60) needed the entire stretch to catch a pesky pacesetter in Air Force Red, a 5-1 chance from Southern California. Lammas won by a head.

“Plan A was to track from off the pace,” Orozco said. “He’s a grinder.”

The San Francisco Mile was Orozco’s most prestigious win since G.G. Ryder won the Grade 3 All-American Stakes in 2017, a $100,000 race.

The $100,000 Berkeley Handicap in 2022 and Saturday’s San Francisco Mile are Badilla’s only graded stakes win.

Badilla, who has been involved in racing since his teenage years, rode Quarter Horses at bush tracks in Arizona as a young man, but admits there was minimal record-keeping of such events.

“They’ll never find my name,” he said.

“I’ve done everything at the track except administrative,” Badilla said with a laugh.

Badilla spent years working as an assistant for trainer Bill Currin and Bill Morey. With Morey, Badilla was part of the team when the stable included the multiple stakes winners Bold Chieftain and Dixie Dot Com.

When Morey died in April 2015, Badilla took over the stable. He has 23 horses in his care, and his own way of handling public relations.

Badilla declines interview requests before a race out of fear of jinxing his chances.

“I won’t do it,” he said.

After a race, Badilla has plenty to say.

This summer, Lammas will be based in Pleasanton, Calif.

Golden Gate Fields is permanently closing on June 9. Northern California racing will shift to the fair circuit for the summer and early fall before relocating to the Alameda County fair grounds in Pleasanton for an autumn meeting. Supporters intend for Pleasanton to become the winter home of racing on the circuit.

Lammas will be pointed to the $150,000 Pleasanton Mile on dirt at the Alameda County Fair summer meeting on July 7. Lammas has not started on dirt since he finished fourth in the Bull Dog Stakes at Fresno in October 2022, months after arriving from Britain.

Orozco, for one, is convinced Lammas can handle the dirt.

“He can run on anything,” he said.

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