Rosario picks up mount on McKinzie for Breeders' Cup Classic
Joel Rosario will be the new rider on McKinzie in the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 2 at Santa Anita, trainer Bob Baffert said Wednesday.
Rosario will take over from Mike Smith, who has ridden McKinzie in all 13 of his starts, which included seven wins and five seconds.
McKinzie most recently finished second in the Awesome Again Stakes on Sept. 28 at Santa Anita behind Mongolian Groom. That gave McKinzie a record of 2 wins and 4 seconds in 6 starts this year. In Grade 1 company this year, he was second in the Awesome Again, Met Mile, and Santa Anita Handicap, and he won the Whitney.
Rosario has been the regular rider for another Breeders’ Cup Classic contender in Yoshida, so he will need a new rider. Yoshida most recently was third in the Woodward.