Pincay Hits 9,000 and Keeps Going

With Laffit Pincay Jr. approaching another milestone, his wife Jeanine had a question for him Saturday morning.

She asked if she should come to the races, wondering if he could win three times and reach 9,000 career victories.

To paraphrase, the world’s winningest rider told her he had some good mounts and that she had best be in Arcadia.

To say the least, Pincay didn’t disappoint. On California Cup Day XI at Santa Anita, the 53-year-old legend won three of the first six races before 24,526, reaching the magic number on 2-1 favorite Chichim in the $150,000 Distaff.

He was far from finished, however. Pincay began the march to 10,000 wins with favored Road To Slew in the $175,000 Mile, then led every step of the way with 11-1 longshot Sky Jack to win the day’s richest race, the $250,000 Classic.

More than 10 1/2 months after surpassing Bill Shoemaker’s record of 8,833 victories, Pincay began his memorable day with wins on horses trained by Bill Spawr, his biggest supporter on the backstretch now and through some lean times a few years back. Shivareen Sky won the $50,000 Distaff Starter Handicap, then two races later, Heightenedawarenes won the $50,000 Starter Sprint Handicap.

When Pincay overtook Shoemaker last Dec. 10 at Hollywood Park aboard Irish Nip, the win came on turf and so did the victory on Chichim. Benefiting from a quick early pace, the 5-year-old mare got the lead in deep stretch, then outbattled Dusty Heather to win by a neck in 1:13 2/5 for about 6 1/2 furlongs.

Trained by Juan Garcia and owned by Marianne Millard, Chichim made some history of her own. She became only the third repeat winner in Cal Cup history, joining Bel’s Starlet and His Legacy. Chichim had won the 1999 Distaff at 9-1 when ridden by Garrett Gomez.

Even though he may have been confident about his chances of reaching 9,000 Saturday, Pincay’s history in the Cal Cup suggested a long afternoon was possible. He had won only four times with 47 mounts in an event that began in 1990. Before Saturday, his last win in the ‘Cup had come with longshot Sunday Stroll in the 1998 Juvenile.

After being honored in a winner’s circle ceremony by Oak Tree, Santa Anita and his fellow riders immediately after Chichim’s score, Pincay dedicated win No. 9,000 to his granddaughter, Madlyn Bernstein, who celebrated her first birthday Saturday. Madlyn’s mother is Pincay’s daughter, Lisa.

“It’s a lot of fun when you set a milestone like this,” said Pincay, who became the first rider to win five stakes in one day at Santa Anita. “I’m enjoying this. I didn’t have any pressure because I know I’ve been riding some nice horses and eventually it would happen.”

Pincay’s only loss Saturday came with his sixth and final mount. Centerofattention, a 9-1 shot, was second behind runaway winner Euro Empire, the prohibitive 1-2 choice, in the $125,000 Juvenile Fillies.

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The best race of the day--and one of the best in Cal Cup history--came when Queenie Belle, the 2-1 second choice, edged defending champion Feverish in the $150,000 Matron.

The race had only five starters after Smooth Player, who would have raced coupled with Feverish, and Aristosa were scratched. Feverish set a slow pace under jockey Frank Alvarado, was challenged by Queenie Belle and Brice Blanc at the top of the stretch and they battled as a team through the stretch.

At the finish, Queenie Belle, a 3-year-old daughter of Bertrando trained by Ben Cecil for owner Gary Seidler, prevailed by the slimmest of margins. There was a stewards’ inquiry, but no change was made because the contact between the two horses was initiated by Feverish.

Gary Stevens, who came into the afternoon leading all riders with 12 Cal Cup wins, picked up his 13th when Full Moon Madness upset heavily-favored Love That Red in the $150,000 Sprint.

Notes

The win by Sky Jack in the Cal Cup Classic was the fifth in nine starts for the 4-year-old gelded son of Jaklin Klugman. Owned by Rene and Margie Lambert’s Ren-Mar Thoroughbreds and trained by Doug O’Neill, Sky Jack completed the 1 1/8 miles in 1:49 while winning by 4 1/2 lengths. Literal Prowler was second and First Journey third. Spacelink, the 11-10 favorite who raced coupled with defending champion Bagshot, was fourth. Bagshot wound up seventh and Cliquot, the 5-2 second choice, was ninth in the field of 10. . . . In the other ‘Cup races, Proud Tower, a 7-1 shot, rolled to an eight-length win in the $125,000 Juvenile under jockey Victor Espinoza and White Cloud, the 6-5 favorite, set a very slow pace en route to a win in the $50,000 Starter Handicap.