Remember Those High Flying Great Jockeys - Page 2© Greg Melikov
Page 2
Dec 24, 2003
The Chesapeake Trial at Havre de Grace six weeks before the big race came up muddy. Citation broke on top, but Arcaro took him back to third because Jones had told him: "Remember, this is the stepping stone to the Derby. I'd rather get beat if you have to knock him out of the Derby to win."
Citation lost by a length to Saggy when forced wide going six furlongs. He didn't lose another race in 16 outings, including his Derby victory in the slop, and is tied with Cigar for the most consecutive victories in North America.
In '70, the pride of Calumet Farm died. "Citation was the greatest," Arcaro said at the time. "The things he did would kill another horse. I consider Citation the champ of all champs. It was an honor to jump astride him."
Jimmy Jones, Arcaro and Citation were charter members of the Hialeah Wall of Fame. Jones, who also accepted the plaque for Citation during a special ceremony at the track, said: "He was such a pleasure to train. Citation was the greatest."
Robert Arcaro, accepting the plaque for his late father, echoed the same sentiments for his dad: "He had the highest regard for Citation."
When Arcaro retired on April 4, 1962, after riding for the last time in November 1961, his 4,779 victories accounted for $30 million. He won 20 percent of his 24,092 mounts, not bad for a jockey who lost his initial 250 races.
I first met Arcaro in the '90s several years before he passed away at 81. It was at Hialeah during a special day for The Master when he was autographing copies of a picture with him aboard Citation.
He smiled and wrote, "To Greg, Good luck." The picture hangs on one of my Sports Hall of Fame walls featuring Secretariat, Cigar and other racing greats.
The Master was aboard five Derby champions as well as six Preakness and Belmont winners. He's the only jockey to win the Triple Crown twice, the first time on Whirlaway in '41.
Arcaro also had a way with words. "There's no sense in whipping a tired horse," he once said, "because he'll quit on you. More horses are whipped out of the money than into it."
He had a distinctive riding style, sitting nearly motionless on his mounts, and made famous the practice of switching the whip when needed from one side to the other in the stretch.
Go To Page:
1
2
3
The copyright of the article Remember Those High Flying Great Jockeys - Page 2 in Horse Racing is owned by . Permission to republish Remember Those High Flying Great Jockeys - Page 2 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
|
