Rich Strike Is Resting, but He’s Not Done Racing

The New York Occasions Sports activities division is revisiting the themes of some compelling articles from the final 12 months or so. Wealthy Strike received the 148th Kentucky Derby in Might as an 80-1 shot.

Eric Reed and Sonny Leon find out about life’s altering scores. Theirs got here on the primary Saturday in Might in a bit horse race known as the Kentucky Derby. Each have been first-timers to the game’s grand spectacle, and nobody gave their colt, Wealthy Strike, a lot of a shot to run away with the roses.

He had received as soon as in his seven earlier races, competing principally within the minor leagues at Turfway Park, a 90-minute drive northeast of Churchill Downs, in Florence, Ky., outdoors Cincinnati. Actually, Wealthy Strike barely made the Derby discipline, claiming the final beginning spot the day earlier than the race due to a rival’s late defection.

How they bought there didn’t matter to Reed, the colt’s coach, and Leon, his jockey. What mattered was what they did about it: They proved that they belonged.

Leon hustled Wealthy Strike from final to first with a swerving, impeccably timed stretch drive that had individuals within the grandstands trying by their packages and tv viewers at residence trying by Google to search out out who these guys have been with the 80-1 shot.

What they discovered was that Reed was a Kentucky hardboot who received races in bunches on the on line casino racetracks in Ohio, Indiana and West Virginia, and that Leon, a 32-year-old Venezuelan, was his go-to rider. The colt’s proprietor, Rick Dawson, had precisely one horse in his steady and that was Wealthy Strike, whom he purchased for $30,000.

These will not be the varieties of people that normally win premier races within the sport of kings. It’s as an alternative usually sheikhs and industrialists, who throw thousands and thousands of {dollars} round in pursuit of regally bred racehorses in an effort to win America’s biggest horse race.

“We confirmed all people that anybody can do that, not simply the elite,” mentioned Reed, nonetheless giddy greater than eight months after the Derby. “All of us got here from nowhere. We pulled a significant upset. We shocked the world.”

Abruptly, the ding-ding-ding of slot machines on the on line casino tracks at Belterra in Ohio and Mountaineer Park in West Virginia gave solution to the siren track of the New York and a Triple Crown race. They skipped the Preakness in Baltimore however got here to New York, the place they completed sixth within the Belmont Stakes.

“It was an excessive amount of after the best way he ran in Kentucky,” Reed mentioned. “However what a visit for me and my guys. Simply being there.”

Additionally there in New York have been Jerry Dixon and his son Jerry Jr., the colt’s groom and the fourth era of the household within the horse enterprise. So was Gabriel Lagunes, an completed jockey on the on line casino circuit who has been driving between West Virginia and Kentucky for years to train Reed’s horses.

In July, Leon traded the on line casino circuit he dominated for South Florida’s Gulfstream Park, the racetrack the place he first landed after arriving in America in 2015. Again then, he couldn’t safe an agent and was primarily an train rider. Now, he rides in 5 – 6 races a day and has earned greater than $1 million in purses at one of the vital aggressive racetracks within the nation.

“Wealthy Strike put me within the prime tier,” Leon mentioned. “I’m working tougher than ever to point out I belong.”

As for Wealthy Strike, he took his entourage to Saratoga Springs, N.Y., the place he ran fourth within the Travers Stakes, after which again to Kentucky for a second-place end on the Lukas Traditional after which the Breeders’ Cup Traditional for a fourth-place run.

The colt’s previous performances for the 12 months inform the story of an trustworthy racehorse that competed in opposition to the perfect of his era and by no means embarrassed himself: 9 begins, one victory and three in-the-money finishes for greater than $2.4 million in earnings.

“These have been robust races, however he all the time confirmed up and tried laborious,” Leon mentioned. “He’ll all the time be my favourite horse.”

Wealthy Strike is resting now on a farm within the bluegrass, simply being a horse. However he’s not completed. There have been modest presents from stallion stations in America in addition to abroad to face him for stud.

Come January, nonetheless, Reed will deliver him again to his coaching middle close to Lexington, Ky., and start getting him prepared for an formidable marketing campaign. Dawson, the proprietor, desires to run him as a 4-year-old.

“He’s twice the horse that he was in Might bodily and mentally,” Reed mentioned. “He’s grown up.”

The primary cease is Dubai on March 25 for the $12 million World Cup and, if Wealthy Strike stays blissful and wholesome, the final shall be Santa Anita Park in California on Nov. 4 for the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Traditional. In between, Reed is pointing for 3 stakes races in Kentucky and New York.

The Dixons shall be alongside for the journey, as will Leon and Lagunes.

“Everyone remains to be on the group and there’s no plan to vary them,” Reed mentioned. “Win or lose, Wealthy Strike has finished sufficient for us. Hey, we received the Kentucky Derby.”