Interview With Victor Espinoza, Triple Crown Jockey
By Jacob Bigley
Twelve days after providing one of the most dramatic moments in racing history, Triple Crown Champion American Pharoah will return home to Santa Anita on Thursday, June 18. Owned and bred by Ahmed Zayat and trained by Santa Anita-based Bob Baffert, American Pharoah is due to arrive from Louisville via Tex Sutton charter at Ontario International Airport at approximately 10 a.m., and he will then be vanned with a six-unit law enforcement escort to The Great Race Place, with an estimated time of arrival of 11:30 a.m.
“Along with the rest of the country, we were in awe of American Pharoah’s performance in the Belmont last Saturday and we’re honored to be able to welcome him back home here to Santa Anita,” said Keith Brackpool, Santa Anita Chairman. “We’d like to congratulate Mr. Zayat, Bob Baffert, and Victor Espinoza on winning America’s first Triple Crown in 37 years and we want to thank them for sharing this magnificent horse with all of us.”
Ridden by Victor Espinoza, the three-year-old colt by Pioneer of the Nile won Santa Anita’s Grade I FrontRunner Stakes on Sept. 27 and was subsequently sidelined due to a foot injury, causing him to miss the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on Nov. 1.
Headquartered at Baffert’s Barn 5 over the fall and winter, American Pharoah began his assault on the elusive Triple Crown with his first recorded breeze on Feb. 4, a crisp three furlong move in 36.20. Under Baffert’s stewardship, “Pharoah” would go on to register a total of six Santa Anita works prior to taking the Grade II Rebel Stakes by 6 ¼ lengths at Oaklawn Park on March 14.
In all, American Pharoah had eight works at his Santa Anita base in advance of winning the first leg in the Triple Crown, the Kentucky Derby, on May 2.
“From day one, we couldn’t miss any time with him,” said Baffert last Wednesday morning. “We went three eighths, three eighths, five eighths … We hit every mark and he just thrived. The timing of everything was perfect.”
American Pharoah will be greeted by his trainer and jockey, along with an anticipated throng of invited media, at the Baffert Barn upon his arrival Thursday. It is also expected that the Triple Crown Champ will parade for the public on Santa Anita’s main track between races soon.
Interview with Triple Crown-winning jockey Victor Espinoza, conducted by Mike Willman, Santa Anita Director of Publicity.
MW: How does it feel to be back at Santa Anita?
VE: It feels nice to be back. I have been on the road for a couple of weeks, I was only supposed to be on the road for two days, but it’s been fun. I was not ready for all this after I won the Triple Crown but it is worth it.
MW: You threw out the first pitch at Yankee Stadium and they gave you a jersey with #3 on the back, which is the number that was famously worn by Babe Ruth and has been retired for some time. How was that experience?
VE: It was amazing; it was a new experience for me. The only reason for “number three” has to do with the Triple Crown.
MW: What was going through your mind the last 1/16 of the mile of the Belmont?
VE: A lot of things were going through my mind, but my main focus was on American Pharoah. I didn’t want to celebrate even thought I knew I had this won; things can go wrong because there was still a little bit of ways to go to the wire and I was not ready to celebrate at that point … I wanted to wait and make sure I crossed the wire with no mistakes. When I crossed that wire, everything was completely different and pretty much my life changed. To win the Triple Crown after so many years, to be so close last year, I didn’t want to be in that same situation.
MW: It almost seemed like this horse kept getting better and better over each race. What kind of a horse is American Pharoah?
VE: He is special. He is an amazing horse and he is truly a champion, which is what it takes to win the Triple Crown. A true champion. To be able to run all those races and in such great time, and also to have such a strong campaign in the Kentucky Derby… I remember the first time I rode him, he wasn’t ready for that race – he was probably at 70%. He had a strong race, and it was the first time I rode him a little bit harder. I thought that this race was a race he needed in order to win the next two. If he did not run the way he did in the Kentucky Derby, there would not have been a Triple Crown. Because that was the key, I feel like that was the toughest race American Pharoah and I had to win. I was really proud of him. And the Preakness – I have never run a horse in so much rain but American Pharoah had fun and I had a lot of confidence in him; knowing he was ready made me not worry about the Preakness. Another thing (before the Belmont): I saw him work in the last two workouts and he looked outstanding, I just love the way he works and for that reason, I had so much confidence in him. It’s all about confidence. In my entire career, I always have confidence in myself and American Pharoah, as well as the whole team.
MW: [Asked about Espinoza’s contributions to City of Hope]
VE: [Talked about his time with City of Hope. Espinoza believes that safety and health is the most important thing in life, so he was happy to be able to donate his earnings to City of Hope.]
MW: What are your goals in life?
VE: To win as many races as I can.
MW: What does being the first Hispanic Triple Crown jockey?
VE: It means a lot for the Spanish community. To encourage young guys, no matter what nationality or where you come from – you can do what you like to do and reach all your goals in life. For me, I never had dreams; I always had goals. Because dreams might not come true, [but] sometimes they do … goals are the most important thing. When I found out about American Pharoah at Del Mar last year, I knew he was special and had a goal to race with him.
MW: Where do you come from? Can you reflect and on how much you’ve accomplished?
VE: I come from just outside Mexico City; a town called Hidalgo where I grew up on a farm. There was a lot of work on the farm. I used to wake up at 6 a.m. every day to take all the animals up the mountain for the day and then run back home and go to school. When I was younger, I thought that was not fun but now that I look back, I see it was fun where I grew up and that I had the best childhood ever with the best parents ever.
MW: Do you think having to work hard at a young age helped you get to the point you are now?
VE: I think so. I work really hard to succeed at my career. I haven’t taken a day off; every day I work out or come here [Santa Anita]. I used to buy all the tapes of the big races. I have a mechanical horse in my house with a TV in front of me, and I used to put the tapes in and practice every movement of the jockey who won the big races. Every single day, whichever jockey won that race, I would copy his every move on the mechanical horse. I have been using the mechanical horse since I started my career.
MW: Can you describe that feeling after you won the Triple Crown?
VE: When I crossed that wire I thought, “Finally I got it done!” In the moment it was a little bit of shock that I’m the one who won the Triple Crown.
MW: [Asked about Espinoza’s initial comment of “Holy Stuff!” after the win]
VE: [Laughing] I didn’t know I had a camera on me but that was pretty much how I felt. I was talking to the other riders in Spanish and I think he [Miguel Gutierrez] was more excited than me!
MW: You’ve become the highest profile jockey in America; what is your advice for young jockeys?
VE: Never give up. Sometimes we have ups and downs and when you are in the downs, that is the time to work even harder. You need to have goals in life as a jockey. To win as many races as you can. It is not easy but if I can do it, anyone can do it. Never give up. For me, when you reach the top of your goals and are at the top of your game you need to stay there and work even harder. A lot of times, I see other jockeys who make the mistake of being the best rider for one year and then they take a step back. For me, I work harder and it was harder for me because I had a lot of pressure to improve and win as many races as I could like everyone expected me too and that was the hard part. I recommend to everybody to keep going forward.
MW: Is your plan to stay home and ride at Santa Anita and then Del Mar later on?
VE: Yes. I am going to stay here and get ready for Del Mar. Now my goal is to get ready for Del Mar and win a lot of races in Del Mar.
[Victor Espinoza closed out the interview talking about how he was going to throw out the first pitch at the Angels game on Tuesday and how much he likes the Angels and Mike Trout.]
