Pereira family rides a father's dream, a mother's will, a child's heart

In a quiet neighborhood not far from Santa Anita, a little girl scuffled playfully with the family dog, sidestepping toys on the living-room carpet with Mom close by and Dad in the kitchen making dinner. A nice, relaxing suburban evening.

Then the wide-screen television turned on for a replay of the 2010 Dubai World Cup, and the girl’s attention went from poodle to horse. Valentina Pereira, who turns 3 in August, has seen this race before. She knows how it ends.

But this story is how things began – the girl’s precarious start to life, her mother’s will, and because Sunday is Father’s Day, it is about her dad the jockey. This is about a family.

“Daddy!” the girl shouted at the screen as horses flashed across the wire in a blanket finish. The finish was so close that another jockey raised his arm and gave a triumphant fist pump.

Tiago Pereira is accustomed to close calls. He is Valentina’s father, the jockey, and he was in the Dubai photo finish. It was a nose either way, too close to call.

“He thought he won,” Pereira said, referring to the celebrating rider.

Things are different than they seem, in racing and life. Some surprises are welcome, others not so much. Dubai was good. The photo showed Pereira and longshot Gloria de Campeao had upset the $10 million Dubai World Cup by a whisker, still the biggest win of Pereira’s career. A lot has changed since.

On Sunday at Santa Anita, Pereira will spend Father’s Day riding the card. It is a special day for the soft-spoken Brazilian, who has emerged as one of California’s top riders. Pereira, 42, entered the week as the Santa Anita season’s third-leading rider. If it’s close, Pereira wins more than not. He is 7 for 11 in photos at the meet.

A strong-finishing left-hander, Pereira is on pace for his best season since arriving from Brazil five years ago. His mounts this year have earned more than $2 million; he has won stakes with Marckie’s Water, The Hunted, and Law Abidin Citizen.

On track, it’s good stuff. Away from the track, Pereira, wife Fernanda and daughter Valentina meet challenges that put things in perspective. One reason Father’s Day is special to Pereira is because it was not easy to qualify as a father. He does not complain.

“Me, other people … we have different problems,” Pereira said. “This is life.”

Pereira is from a family with seven kids, Fernanda is an only child. Both lived and were raised in Brazil and shared similar aspirations – they hoped to raise a large family.

“I think a big family is [better] than a small family,” he said. “Children play with children. Big families continue.”

Racing’s economic reality in Brazil is that purses are low, so they waited, while taking a circuitous route to California – from Brazil, to Dubai, to Macau, back to Brazil. Tiago and Fernanda married in 2011. Two years later, Pereira was ready to act on an idea he dreamed up watching televised races one day in Rio de Janeiro.

The races were broadcast from the U.S.

“It was a downhill race,” Pereira recalled. “I said, ‘I like this race, maybe I will go ride at this track. It’s different.’ I saw it was Santa Anita. I thought, ‘One day, maybe I go to America.’ ”

One day.

Tiago and Fernanda could have stayed in Rio de Janeiro, where they owned a home at the track. Tiago was among the leading riders, and Fernanda was a licensed veterinarian. But adventure called, and racing luck provided motivation to relocate.

Pereira won a Group 1 in Brazil, but his mount was disqualified for interference. That was bad enough, then stewards hit him with a three-month suspension for the infraction.

“I was so mad,” Pereira recalled. “I said, ‘I do not want to ride here.’ ”

Besides, he and Fernanda were ready to start from scratch. He gave up his ranking as a top Brazilian rider, and she gave up her veterinary practice.

Pereira began riding at Santa Anita in early 2014, Fernanda joined soon after. They planned to settle down and start a family.

“In my heart, I wanted four or five children,” Tiago said.

The subject of miscarriage is an awkward topic of conversation. Tiago and Fernanda are candid. She became pregnant with twins and miscarried.

A second pregnancy was unplanned but welcome.

“We were so happy,” Fernanda said.

She also was concerned. “I was worried because of the first time,” she said.

This time, she and Tiago believed all was normal with the pregnancy.

An ultrasound can detect a baby’s heartbeat after just eight weeks, and Fernanda relaxed as she entered the second trimester. Two weeks before the 2016 summer due date, she went for a routine ultrasound, anticipating the unborn girl was fine. The doctor offered a chilling evaluation.

“There’s something wrong with her heart,” the doctor said. “It’s really big. Her heart is really, really big.”

An atrium valve was malformed and leaking. Time was critical.

“Oh, my God,” Fernanda said. “It was a shock, and Tiago was riding in Del Mar.”

She was hurriedly admitted to Huntington Hospital in Pasadena. Delivery by Cesarean section was scheduled for the following day.

Doctors prepared Fernanda and Tiago for the worst. The baby might require heart surgery immediately after birth. There was a chance she might not survive.

More than 500 infants are admitted each year to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Huntington. If the odds were against an infant with a heart defect, at least she was in the right place. Huntington offers the region’s highest level of neonatal intensive care.

Valentina Pereira was born Aug. 16, 2016. Whether by miracle, or a testament to her resolve, or a reflection of her parents, she did not require surgery. From the time she was born, all she did was improve – right in the middle of the summer racing season.

Even though the average length of stay for an infant in Huntington’s NICU is 21 days, Valentina was home in 10.

Pereira keeps things private, and he continued to ride, driving 100 miles each way, back and forth from Del Mar.

“It was very hard for him, but he still rode the same,” agent Patty Sterling said. “He still came out. It was difficult, but it did not affect his riding.”

Valentina came home from the hospital, and Pereira continued to ride at Del Mar. Those unfamiliar with Pereira might never have known it happened.

Summer racing continued.

On Aug. 27, Bill Spawr had his eye on a filly in a claiming race. With Pereira aboard, Skye Diamonds scored a decisive win and was claimed by Spawr for $40,000. The filly acted skittish after the race.

“When she came back, she was making [unusual] moves, trying to get away from the winner’s circle,” Spawr said. “[Pereira] had his legs out of the stirrup. He was using his legs to pat her on the shoulder, to move her around using his legs, not using his hands or the stick.”

Pereira had never ridden for Spawr, but the jockey’s actions that day made an impression on Spawr.

“I said, ‘This guy’s a good horseman – he has compassion for horses,’ ” Spawr said. “I’m going to watch this guy.”

Spawr did more than watch. He began to use Pereira regularly, including on Skye Diamonds, who won seven races, three graded stakes, and earned $570,100 for Spawr and sold as a broodmare for $500,000. Pereira was aboard for 16 of her last 17 starts.

“He’s got compassion,” Spawr said. “It’s not just jump on and let’s go out and work them. He walks the shed row and pets them. He’s a quiet guy, a good guy, and he’s a good horseman.”

This season at Santa Anita, Spawr and Pereira have teamed for 10 wins from 35 races, the third-highest trainer-jockey total of the long meet. Pereira also rides regularly for trainers Phil D’Amato, Richard Baltas, and Mark Glatt.

Meanwhile, Valentina’s condition improved without surgery. She needed only supplemental oxygen in her early months. And more welcome news arrived this month following a checkup at Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles, where cardiologist Jay Pruetz gave Valentina a glowing review. Her heart valve is not perfect, but for now, no procedure is needed.

Valentina acts just like any kid. In the Santa Anita box seats last weekend, she stayed busy by testing binoculars. Except she held them backward. She viewed through the wrong end, and everything looked farther away.

In a way, it was fitting. Things are often different than they appear. Tears still get shed. Following another recent miscarriage, Fernanda said she and Tiago discussed adoption.

“We really want a sister or brother for Valentina,” she said.

“It’s hard,” Tiago acknowledged, quickly saying how grateful he is to have a relatively healthy daughter. “I thank God for giving us this chance, [though] not four or five [kids] because of the problems.”

At home on the living-room carpet, Valentina plays with the dog and her dad. One of her favorite games is to ride around on her father’s back and pretend he is a horse.

Pereira rides horses, even on Father’s Day. His favorite moment is at the end of the day, when he gets home and Valentina rushes to greet him with just one simple word: “Daddy!”