Never Mind Win or Place, Pincay Happy to Show

Jockey Laffit Pincay Jr. has been around for a lot of openers at Hollywood Park, but he is especially looking forward to the start of this year’s spring-summer meeting Friday night.

A month after suffering a hairline fracture of his pelvis and three cracked ribs in a spill at Santa Anita, Pincay, 50, plans to ride Friday night at a track where 13 times he has been the leading rider.

Pincay was injured in the second race March 26 when Strawberry Patch, the gelding he was aboard, broke the cannon bone in his left foreleg. Pincay was thrown, then was stepped on by a trailing horse, Fourstarattraction.

Second to Bill Shoemaker’s 8,833 victories on the all-time list with 8,522, Pincay started galloping horses last weekend at Santa Anita and is eager to get back.

“It’s been very difficult,” he said. “Every time I’ve had a broken bone--ribs, collarbone--it hasn’t stopped me from walking and going places. This time was difficult because I couldn’t walk for a long time and when I could walk, I had to walk with a cane and I had a lot of difficulty.”

Accountsreceivable, a 4-year-old gelding and low-level claimer trained by Bill Spawr, was the first horse Pincay got on when he returned to work over the weekend. “[Accountsreceivable] got tough with me a little bit and he started pulling hard on me and I just took ahold of him,” Pincay said.

“I thought it was going to hurt because my injury really isn’t 100% healed, but it didn’t bother me at all, so I should be OK. I could move all right. The fracture in my [pelvis], well, I didn’t even feel like I have a fracture there. So, I’m feeling really good.”

A winner with 28 of 224 mounts at Santa Anita before he was hurt, Pincay said he knew the second he went down that he would be back. He has said before that he’s not ready for retirement and hopes to catch Shoemaker in victories.

“What happened was an accident,” Pincay said. “[Strawberry Patch] broke his leg, so it wasn’t anything I did. I just thought it was bad luck. If [Fourstarattraction] hadn’t stepped on me, I would have been fine. I’ve always healed pretty quick. I’ve only been out four weeks and I’m ready. [The accident] assured me that I’m still pretty healthy.”