This could be a good weekend at Del Mar for jockey Hector Berrios. The game is being played on his turf.
Berrios rides local favorite Iscreamuscream in the $300,000, Grade I Del Mar Oaks on Saturday and contender Moment’s Pleasure in the $150,000 Solana Beach Stakes on Sunday after warming up with the interesting long shot Abhita in the $100,000 CTT and TOC Stakes on Friday.
All three stakes are on the turf course. And, as fans have learned, Berrios gives horses their best chances to win on grass.
“In my opinion, Berrios is the best grass rider in Southern California,” said Bob Ike, the former Southern California News Group handicapper who makes selections at BobIkePicks.com and co-hosts the Thoroughbred Los Angeles radio show. “First, he makes a concerted effort to find the rail and save ground, which is crucial in turf racing.
“He goes out there with a game plan, understands pace, saves as much ground as possible, and rarely gets stopped, which is the big worry when riding the rail. He has a knack for sensing when horses are tiring in front of him, and angling out at just the right time.”
Races tend to be run differently on turf than on dirt because of differences in the footing and the shapes of the tracks, among other factors. Those peculiarities favor some horses and jockeys over others.
Turf races tend to be won by horses positioned for strong closing kicks, while dirt main-track races generally favor horses running close to the lead throughout.
“In turf races, I can place a horse where the horse is comfortable. In dirt races, you have to put the horse more in the (front of the) race,” Berrios said in a phone interview from Del Mar, with his agent Michael Burns translating questions and answers.
Berrios, 37, began riding at age 17 and became a star in his native Chile, where there’s plenty of turf racing. After coming to California and Florida for the first time in 2011, he began his second and more successful foray to the United States in 2022 when Chilean trainer Amador Sanchez brought horses to Del Mar.
A fast start to the 2022 summer meet launched Berrios into the top five of the jockey standings at Del Mar and Santa Anita. He’s currently fourth at Del Mar with 11 wins from 45 mounts, a healthy 24%.
His two best horses here are dirt-track horses: The Chosen Vron, the great California-bred sprinter, and Blue Stripe, the 2022 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes winner and Breeders’ Cup Distaff runner-up.
That supports Berrios’ view that he’s just as good on dirt, and he wins more on turf because trainers give him better turf horses to ride.
“They all consider me to be very effective on the turf,” Berrios said. “But maybe it’s because I ride horses with better chances on the turf.”
The statistics say Berrios is excellent on both surfaces but his skill on turf is more rare.
According to Brisnet stats, Berrios has won 21% of his starts overall in 2024. That rates him below Juan Hernandez (23%) and even with Umberto Rispoli (21%) at the top of the list of the most productive Southern California jockeys. A win bet on each of Berrios’ mounts would be netting a nearly 10% profit so far.
Berrios has also won 21% of his turf-course starts. That rates him even with Rispoli (21%) and well ahead of Hernandez (17%) and other busy jockeys on the circuit. A win bet on Berrios’ turf mounts would be returning a better than 25% profit.
(To be clear: Those betting profits are largely the result of Berrios’ win aboard Atitlan at 35-1 odds in a maiden race on Del Mar’s opening-day card July 20. But, in retrospect, maybe a colt switching from dirt to turf and from Kyle Frey to Berrios shouldn’t have been such a high price.)
Is Berrios a strong turf rider or a strong overall rider? It’s not an either-or choice, because the tactical nature of turf races can be the best test of all of a jockey’s skills.
Said Bob Ike: “I have thought for a long time that being a good turf rider is what separates the top riders from the average riders. Any jock can win with a speed horse sprinting on dirt. Not so on turf, especially in two-turn grass races.”
Berrios was already thinking about this week’s three turf stakes mounts when we spoke Wednesday morning.
Abhita, in Friday’s CTT and TOC Stakes, is a deep closer who can compete with favorite Linda’s Gift only if she shows big improvement in stretching out to the 1⅜-mile distance.
“She’s a different filly,” Berrios said of the Antonio Garcia-trained 5-year-old. “She needs a good pace in front of her, so her running style can be effective, so she can close.”
Moment’s Pleasure, in Sunday’s Solana Beach, comes in off an allowance-level win on the same 1-mile course for trainer Craig Lewis.
“She’s also a (filly) who likes to run third or fourth (early in a race),” said Berrios, who will have to time his run at the pacesetters. “We have the material to win the race.”
Iscreamuscream, in Saturday’s Del Mar Oaks, is undefeated in three starts after winning the San Clemente Handicap on opening day, the first time Berrios was aboard. She won a front-running duel in the San Clemente but won from off the pace in her previous start. The 1⅛-mile race will be her first beyond 1 mile for trainer Phil D’Amato.
“Wherever she’s comfortable, that’s where she’ll be,” Berrios said of early positioning. “She’s a very good filly.”
After drawing the No. 1 post in a field of eight, Berrios should have every chance to save ground in the Oaks, which rounds three bends after starting in the infield chute.
Iscreamuscream and Berrios are 8-5 favorites on the morning line, ahead of Whiskey Decision and Rispoli at 5-2.
Iscreamuscream bettors will be in good hands.
Follow horse racing correspondent Kevin Modesti at Twitter.com/KevinModesti.
Originally Published: August 15, 2024 at 12:51 p.m.
Source link : https://www.sgvtribune.com/2024/08/15/horse-racing-on-del-mar-grass-course-jockey-hector-berrios-is-a-cut-above/
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Publish date : 2024-08-16 07:55:01
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