DEL MAR : Family Trip Rejuvenates McCarron
Chris McCarron so enjoyed his eight-day vacation last month that he already is planning another.
He’s hoping to take a week off during the fall meeting at Hollywood Park. The jockey and his family--wife Judy and their three daughters--plan to do some snowmobiling in the west end of Yellowstone Park.
His experience in July was his first real vacation in 21 years, and McCarron believes a brief respite now and then breaks up the grind of year-round racing in California.
The results seem to agree. Mentally and physically renewed, the Hall of Fame jockey is riding at the top of his game, competing with Corey Nakatani and Gary Stevens at the top of the Del Mar standings.
He already has eight stakes victories through the first 26 days of the meeting, and on Thursday surpassed Bill Shoemaker as the leading stakes winner here. His victory aboard Denim Yenem in the $75,700 California Equine Retirement Foundation Stakes was his 94th stakes victory here. He had tied Shoemaker on Sunday when Alphabet Soup scored an 11-1 upset in the $76,325 Harry F. Brubaker Stakes.
“I’m riding more ‘live’ horses and that just comes from work,” he said. “I’m working a lot harder in the morning and with more enthusiasm than I was in the previous four, five months. I’m very eager to come to work and I think it shows in the results.
“I started the year with a pretty sour attitude. I was tired because all the years are lumped together and I didn’t really have my heart in what I was doing. When you have an attitude like that, it shows in your performance.”
In February, McCarron told longtime agent Scotty McClellan that he was going to take some time off. He realized his oldest daughter, Erin, would be a high school senior [starting next month], and after that, she would be going to college out of state.
“I wanted to take a family vacation, so the five of us could spend some time together,” he said.
McCarron and McClellan chose a week they figured the jockey could miss during the Hollywood Park meeting, and the McCarron family visited friends in Victor, Ida., then went to Jackson Hole, Wyo., for river rafting, a day in Yellowstone Park and three days in the foothills of the Grand Teton Mountains.
“That was the most fun,” McCarron said. “We rented horses and a guide took us packing up into the mountains. We camped out for three days and we probably went up to about 8,500 feet.
“It was the most beautiful country I’ve ever seen in my life. We didn’t see anybody else for three days. There were no phones, no fax machines, no television and no radio, just us.
“[The vacation] was even better than I expected. It was really nice because my daughters [16, 15 and 13] not only got along with each other, but enjoyed each other’s company.”
McCarron will be on the road again this weekend, at Arlington International Race Course to ride Alpride in the $500,000 Beverly D. Stakes on Saturday, then Northern Spur in the Arlington Million the next day.
Trained by Ron McAnally for owners Sid and Jenny Craig, Alpride will again be trying to upset Possibly Perfect on Saturday. Each has won in two meetings. Alpride won the Beverly Hills Handicap when Possibly Perfect was less than 100%, then Possibly Perfect turned the tables in the Ramona Handicap when Alpride bled.
Northern Spur, who is also trained by McAnally for owner Charles Cella, ran third in his American debut in the Eddie Read Handicap here earlier this month, finishing behind Fastness and Romarin.
“They’re both coming up to the races in great shape,” said McCarron. “[Northern Spur] got farther back than I wanted him to be because he didn’t break well, and then he got pinched back, but I thought he finished well.
“[Alpride] ran super in her [California] debut. Then she bled in the Ramona.”
Horse Racing Notes
The Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Assn. will have a seminar for new and prospective owners here on Sept. 2. The daylong program will allow participants to learn about acquiring a horse, what to look for when selecting one, the roles and selection of agents, trainers and veterinarians, the tax and legal issues surrounding ownership, the costs involved and some of the issues facing owners in California. The cost is $95 and preregistration is required. Details: (606) 276-2291.
Making her first start for trainer Ron Ellis, Denim Yenem won the CERF by 6 1/2 lengths as the 3-1 second choice Thursday, covering the 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:14 3/5. . . . Donna Barton, who has been riding for trainer Wayne Lukas at Eastern tracks, will be here Sunday to ride recent maiden winner Proper Dance in the $250,000 Del Mar Debutante.