Article: Riders on Jockeys

Sunday August 16, 2009

Get in the saddle with the accomplished stars of Jockeys which airs on Animal Planet (Astro Channel 556).

Kayla Stra
Height: 155cm / Weight: 53kg
Born: Dec 3, 1984

KAYLA Stra talked her parents into buying her a pony when she was eight years old. When she got a little older, she bought her own horse from money she earned by working at racing stables. She acknowledges her first trainer, Ray Moore, as being a huge influence on her career. He taught her the finer points of being a horseman – how to communicate with horses by reading their body language and to have a keen feel for what they're thinking. After about 500 victories in her native Australia, Stra moved on to explore the field in different countries and is now based in California, where she will face the toughest competitors in the world – serious professional athletes who are not likely to cut her any slack.

Mike Smith
Height: 163cm / Weight: 52kg
Born: Aug 10, 1965

THE Saint Christopher Mike Smith ties to his helmet for good luck has certainly worked its magic. Smith was seriously injured during a race in 1998 but he got right back on track and emerged first at the Kentucky Derby (US) in 2005 and was inducted into the Racing Hall of Fame. He is now tied for second for the most Breeders' Cup victories (Grade One thoroughbred horse races). Smith was the first US-based jockey to win a European classic, and has been awarded the Eclipse Award, which recognises outstanding jockeys. He has also been honoured with the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award in 2000 and Jockey of the Year in 2003. In his spare time, the American manages a private wine label, called Jinettes (which means "rider" in Spanish), with fellow jockey Alex Solis.

Jon Court
Height: 155cm / Weight: 51kg
Born: Nov 23, 1960

VETERAN Jon Court has been racing for almost 30 years and has more than 3,000 victories across the United States. He grew up in Florida but moved to Colorado to pursue a career as a jockey. He registered his first win in 1980, won the Indiana Derby in 2002, and two years later relocated to California. Court enjoyed his 3,000th win at Santa Anita in Arcadia, California, in 2005 – exactly 25 years after his first win and was honoured with the George Woolf Memorial Award in 2007. Now, as the end of his horse-racing tenure approaches, he is determined to achieve his lifelong dream – a Breeders' Cup triumph. Besides racing, Court enjoys archery and riding his Harley-Davidson.

Alex Solis
Height: 160cm / Weight: 51kg
Born: March 25, 1964

ORIGINALLY from Panama, Alex Solis is known for his perfect form on a horse and extreme physical fitness. His childhood days were spent at the races with his father. At 14, he enrolled at the Panama Jockey School, and two years after graduation won his first race at Presidente Remon, Panama. He moved to Florida to continue his apprenticeship. A recipient of the prestigious George Woolf Memorial Award in 1997, Solis in 2003 won the Dubai World Cup and three Breeders' Cup races, and registered his 4,000th win at Santa Anita. The following year, he had a nasty spill while riding and suffered from broken vertebrae and three broken ribs, leaving him out of commission for seven months. However, he made a comeback and was honoured at the Sports Legends Awards for his impact on the sport in 2006. Managing the private wine label Jinettes with Mike Smith keeps him busy off the racetracks.

Aaron Gryder
Height: 168cm / Weight: 52kg
Born: June 5, 1970

GROWING up in Southern California, Aaron Gryder has been exposed to the sport at an early age due to the influence of his father and grandfather, both horse-racing fans. Little wonder then that Gryder had wanted to be a jockey since age four! Leaving home at 12, he took riding lessons with former jockey Rudy Campas. Four years later, he registered his first win in Tijuana, Mexico. As an apprentice, Gryder led the Hollywood Park Fall Meet in 1987, where he had his first Grade One win. In 1992, he won the biggest purse of his career – the US$750,000 Super Derby. He achieved his 3,000th career win in 2007 at Santa Anita. Gryder has made guest appearances on the TV drama series Dellaventura and The Sopranos. The proud father of two is involved with several children's charities. In his free time, Gryder enjoys outdoor activities including cycling, water sports, running and working out.

Joe Talamo
Height: 160cm / Weight: 49kg
Born: Jan 12, 1990

ONE of the youngest jockeys in the United States, Joe Talamo is the only apprentice to have ever won a riding title at the historic New Orleans Fair Grounds. Born in Marrero, Louisiana, the son of an assistant trainer started riding thoroughbreds at a training centre near his home when he was 11. He left high school at 16 to pursue his lifelong dream of becoming a jockey, and two months later recorded his first win as an apprentice jockey at Louisiana Downs. He received the Eclipse Award for outstanding apprentice jockey in 2007 and is the only apprentice jockey in the history of thoroughbred racing to win two Grade One races on the same day. In the 2007 Hollywood Spring/Summer meet, he finished second with the second-highest number of wins for an apprentice jockey in track history. Later that year, Talamo became the youngest jockey to participate in the Breeders' Cup.

Garrett Gomez
Height: 160cm / Weight: 52kg
Born: Jan 1, 1972

THE son of jockey Louie Gomez, Garrett became an apprentice jockey when he was 16 and boasted 182 wins that year. After back-to-back wins in the Arkansas Derby in 1994 and 1995, Gomez seized the Mid-America Triple at Arlington Park by winning the American Derby, Arlington Classic and Secretariat Stake – his first Grade One race – in 1997. He went on to win the Hollywood Park Fall Meet riding title in 1998. After winning his 2,000th race at Del Mar in August 2002, he entered rehabilitation for substance and alcohol abuse. He missed almost two years of racing, but returned in late 2004 and worked his way back to the top. The Arizona native now has Breeders' Cup wins under his belt and has clinched the Eclipse Award for the second year in a row. With more than 115 wins out of some 530 starts, Gomez is ranked as the No.2 jockey in the United States.

Corey Nakatani
Height: 158cm / Weight: 52kg
Born: Oct 21, 1970

COREY Nakatani was enthralled by what he saw at the Santa Anita racetrack when he made a quick stop there after a high-school wrestling match. The wrestler started mucking stalls and walking horses for trainer Roger Stein before talking his way into a working farm where he got the chance to ride. Completing jockey school in 1987, he began his professional racing career in Mexico in 1988, won his first race there, returned to California the following year and became the leading apprentice rider. He has had seven Breeders' Cup victories and is ranked eighth among all jockeys in Breeders' Cup earnings. Although riding is Nakatani's No.1 passion, he is also an avid golfer who carries a three handicap and has said if he could trade places with any professional athlete, it would be Tiger Woods.

Chantal Sutherland
Height: 158cm / Weight: 48kg
Born: Feb 23, 1976

DESPITE early warnings from her father against racing, Chantal Sutherland eventually found her calling on the racetrack. After graduating from York University in Toronto with a degree in communications and psychology, and training as an airline pilot, she explored flat racing and was hooked. Trained by professional jockeys Angel Cordero, Shane Sellers and Edgar Prado, the lady quickly became a top rider in her home country, Canada, and has recently relocated to Southern California to race at Santa Anita. Sutherland was named one of People magazine's "100 Most Beautiful People" in 2006 and has been featured in Vogue. She is the spokesperson for the Canadian-based Mistura Cosmetics, and is coming out with an eco-friendly perfume line called "Chantal". – Compiled by ROUWEN LIN

This article was taken from: The Star Online: Entertainment: Tv & Radio: News & Features 16 August 2009