LOS ALAMITOS : Women Jockeys Ride Into Spotlight

In the male-dominated sport of horse racing, women took the spotlight last weekend, as two Arabian stakes races were won by female jockeys.

On Friday night, Roxane Losey rode Novators Art to victory in the $10,800 Region I Sprint Stake.

On Saturday, Moana Schwertsik scored her first stakes victory with Saltiki in the $10,050 Halali Distaff.

Friday’s rain ended a long streak at Los Alamitos, where the track had been rated as fast for 177 consecutive racing nights. For the first time since Dec. 11, 1993, the track was sloppy.

The off track didn’t seem to bother Novators Art, who broke from the outside post position in the eight-horse field. Unable to clear the inside horses, Losey and Novators Art were forced to travel five wide around the turn in the 4 1/2-furlong race.

“Actually, that was a good place for him,” Losey said. “The track seemed kind of faster out there.”

Once around the turn, Novators Art and Losey set their sights on leader Magna Terra Smoky.

“As soon as I turned for home and leveled out down the lane, we had so much momentum going that I knew we were going to catch him,” Losey said. “I was very confident. I kind of glanced around to see if there was anybody else there but Smoky, and I thought, ‘We’re going to win this race.’ ”

Losey and Novators Art finished a neck ahead of Magna Terra Smoky, covering the 4 1/2 furlongs in :59 1/5.

The stakes victory was the first for Losey at Los Alamitos, where she is one of the top 10 Arabian jockeys and the second-leading female rider.

Schwertsik, who grew up in Austria, started her riding career at this meeting, after nine years as a thoroughbred exercise rider. The 29-year-old seems to have found her niche with Arabians, and with Saltiki in particular. Both of her victories have been on Saltiki.

Schwertsik rode a classic race in the Halali Distaff. Sending Saltiki to the front early, she matched the front-running Strawberry Fields before pulling away to an easy three-length victory.

“It went perfect,” Schwertsik said. “It’s definitely a good feeling when you come around [the turn] and still have a lot of horse left on the end.”

Los Alamitos Notes

In other Arabian stakes races, veteran Jerry Lambert rode Styyx to victory in the $10,300 ARAC California Open on Friday, and Miss Wiking and jockey Gary Boag used a late run to win the Region I Sprint Distaff.

Many expected Down With Debt, the 1994 world champion quarter horse, to win her 1995 debut Friday night in the trials for the Vessels Maturity. Not many expected Mongoose Effort to be there with her as they finished in a dead heat for the victory in the second trial. Running in the first trial heat, Bill Thompson’s Avison posted the fastest qualifying time for the $114,000 Vessels, to be run June 30. . . . In trials for the $75,000 California Sires Cup Derby, multiple stakes winner Cool Papa Bell led the list of qualifiers for the July 1 finale. . . . Sunday post time has been changed from 5 to 6 p.m. for the summer.