Thoroughbred Jockeys Offer a Twist at Los Al

Tonight’s featured race at Los Alamitos Race Course offers a twist with some of the nation’s top thoroughbred jockeys competing aboard quarter horses in a 400-yard contest.

Although thoroughbred and quarter horse riders compete in entirely different sports, tonight’s $12,000 Thoroughbred Jockey Invitational is being touted as a show of unity among jockeys. Bill Shoemaker, who presides over The Jockey’s Guild, the national union representing all jockeys, will be riding tonight’s favorite, a 7-year-old gelding named Higheasterjet.

Higheasterjet is the third-richest quarter horse in history with more than $1.6 million in earnings. Mike Robbins, who also trains the 1982 World Champion Sgt Pepper Feature and this year’s probable World Champion Dashs Dream, appears confident tonight.

“Shoemaker and Higheasterjet. That’ll be quite a team,” Robbins said. “Higheasterjet is kind of the John Henry of quarter horse racing anyway and Shoe did pretty well with him.”

Earlier this week, Los Alamitos announced it also had commitments from the nation’s two leading money winning jockeys, Chris McCarron and Laffit Pincay. However, Los Alamitos said Thursday that neither McCarron nor Pincay will be in tonight’s race.

A spokesman for Los Alamitos said McCarron, who is in a race for the money title with Pincay, would be vacationing this week and would not be available to race anywhere. The reason behind Pincay’s decision to withdraw from the race is not clear.

Because of the last-minute cancellations by McCarron and Pincay and the heavy stakes schedule next week, there will only be six entrants in tonight’s Invitational. Many trainers wanted to rest their horses before next weekend’s El Primero Del Ano Derby, La Primera Del Ano Derby and the HQHRA Invitational which will be the final stakes races of the winter meeting.

Among Shoemaker’s competition will be Eddie Delahoussaye , who has back-to-back Kentucky Derby wins with Gato Del Sol in 1982 and Sunny’s Halo in 1983. He will ride Dashing Toro tonight.

“I rode some quarter horses back in Louisiana when I was young, but it’s been quite a while since then,” Delahoussaye said. “It looks like I’m on a good one in this race.”

Indeed, Dashing Toro ran the fastest 350 yards of the winter meet, with a time of 17.61 seconds. Dashing Toro, trained by Blane Schvaneveldt, is a 4-year-old gelding sired by Dash For Cash.

Terry Lipham, who rode quarter horses until four years ago, will be riding the only mare in the race, a 4-year-old named Mazatlan. In 11 starts, Mazatlan has won 4 races, including her last 2. She won the Huntington Beach Handicap last month and earned more than $39,000 last year.

But Shoemaker’s and Delahoussaye’s competition will most likely come from Gary Stevens and Bunny Bidajett. For Stevens, who rode quarter horses while a jockey in Washington, tonight will be a reunion of sorts with Bunny Bidajett, a 4-year-old who has won 11 of 13 starts. Stevens rode Bunny Bidajett when the horse scored his very first win. In a sport where luck often plays a dominant role, Stevens drew Bunny Bidajett as a mount in this race.

Rounding out the field are Real Easy Jet Two with Ray Sibille aboard and Dashing Dan Devil with jockey Sandy Hawley. Real Easy Jet Two, a 6-year-old gelding trained by Schvaneveldt, is a consistent in-the-money horse with more than $64,000 in earnings over the last two years. Dashing Dan Devil, a 4-year-old trained by Bruce Jackson, has more than $45,000 in earnings.