Monday Morning Message with Jason Beem for Feb. 3, 2025

Jason looks back at the weekend and discusses a really rare high and low first race for a brand new apprentice rider on Sunday. 

A good Monday morning to you all! Busy week of Kentucky Derby (G1) and Oaks (G1) preps around the country and honestly of the three big preps for the boys, I thought all were pretty solid efforts by the winners. 

I feel like a lot of us dismiss the early season New York preps, but Captain Cook looks like a horse with some real ability. Of course, Citizen Bull we knew already was good, but sure want to see how he is with some actual pressure in a race. And Burnham Square had a nice run in the Holy Bull (G3), and I think the runner-up Tappan Street looked good too. Lots to be excited about on the Derby and Oaks front as we continue down this long path towards the first Saturday in May. 

We had a couple of graded turf stakes over the weekend at Tampa Bay Downs, and as sometimes is the case, they were dominated by Chad Brown-winning horses. Neither race was particularly exciting, but nice horses and good efforts from both. Flavien Prat made his first appearance ever at Tampa Bay Downs as far as anyone knew, and he won with four of his five mounts. Not a bad trip up to Oldsmar for Flavien.  

The race and event that stuck out to me most this weekend was the third race at Tampa on Sunday, just a normal maiden claiming event with a $20,000 purse. 

Let me go back to a couple of weeks ago first though. We were having our hat giveaway day at the track, and as part of that we do jockey autograph sessions. One of our marketing interns was in charge of texting me to tell me which jockeys were signing so I could announce to the crowd on-track who was down there and available for autograph signings. 

At one point she texted me the name “Victor Lara,” and I did a double-take, because I hadn’t ever heard of that name as a jockey. So I looked him up and sure enough, he hadn’t ridden a race yet in his career. I should say at least here in the U.S. or anywhere Equibase lists because sometimes riders have ridden outside of the country and it’s not noted on Equibase. So he’s a 10-pound apprentice, and wouldn’t you know it, he was having his first mount on Sunday in the third race on board a horse named Words of Fortune. 

Words of Fortune was 15-1 on the morning line and coming to Tampa after a pair of eighth-place finishes to start his career. The first was at Gulfstream Park, the second at Churchill Downs which was for a $20,000 claiming tag. Sunday he was in for $16,000 and drawn in post 4.  He took a little money and ended up going off at just under 8-1. 

Someone once told me that for any rider's first career mount, you should have them ride either a total speed horse or a deep closer. They didn’t tell me the reason for this but I assume it’s so either way you’re not in traffic or in a tough spot. You either got everyone behind you or everyone ahead of you. Made sense to me at least. 

So Sunday Victor Lara found himself between horses in a three-way battle for the lead. Turning for home, his horse and a horse named Riding a Dream started to edge away from their competition. I often say while calling a race you actually miss a lot of stuff because your eyes are zoomed in through the binoculars bouncing from horse to horse, or more accurately, from jockey silks to jockey silks. So I didn’t really see any contact between the 4 and the 9 in the stretch. In fact my eyes were keeping an eye on the number 3 K Paz who was rolling up the rail. Lara and Words of Fortune started to edge away from the 9, and they just barely held off the 3 (who rolled up the inside) to get the win. It was such a close finish I couldn’t mention in the call that he had just won his first race on his first mount. 

And then the inquiry sign popped up. Without even seeing the replay, I got nervous for the kid. After they ran the replays a few times and after a couple minutes of deliberation, the stewards came in to tell me that they had made a disqualification of Victor’s horse for interference against the 9 in the stretch. 

I try to never have rooting interests in any race I call, and while I didn’t have a rooting interest here, my heart sank for the young man. My protocol at Tampa when announcing a DQ is to wait until they take the inquiry sign down, and then announce it because there is a little delay between the sign coming down and the numbers switching. I watched him as I made the announcement that his horse would be taken down and his friends and supporters immediately ran to him and patted him on the back and walked with him back towards the jocks’ room. 

I’d be curious how many riders have had that experience that he had yesterday. Winning on your first mount, only to be disqualified. I’m sure it’s happened but it has to be a tiny number of riders it's happened to. Hopefully he’ll get that first win sometime soon and in 20 years he’ll tell the story about Sunday. I’m sure it stinks for him right now. Chin up, Victor! 

Everyone have a great week!