Columnist Ralph Siraco: P. Val to celebrate anniversary on Friday

Ralph Siraco

Monday, Dec. 22, 2003 | 9:50 a.m.

Ralph Siraco's horse racing column appears Monday and his Southern California selections run Tuesday-Sunday.

To say jockey Patrick Valenzuela is talented would be obvious to any race fan and horse player. To say Valenzuela is gifted would be obvious by just watching how he rides against the Southern California riding colony. But he will be the first to say that he is as fortunate as gifted and talented to be doing what he is meant to do at all.

P. Val, as he is known in racing circles, has had a spotted career. Not on the racetrack, but rather off the oval. His career in the saddle has been interrupted eight times by suspensions and license revocations stemming from recurring substance abuse problems.

A native of Montrose, Colo., Valenzuela, 41, comes from a racing family, that includes famous jockey uncles Angel, Santiago, Ismael and Mario along with Fernando, who is riding the Southern California circuit against his more famous cousin.

To say that both talent and substance problems run in the family may be an understatement, but Valenzuela is like the proverbial cat with nine lives. He has come back from career death several times and each time has quickly regained top status.

But even with that consideration, Valenzuela has made the most of his current -- and, he hopes, last -- run off a 22-month suspension as the result of a positive drug test that saw his current reinstatement to racing on Dec. 26, 2001.

It will be his two-year anniversary of sobriety when Santa Anita opens its winter/spring meeting on Friday. And the Southern California racing fraternity breathed a collective sigh of relief after Valenzuela took most of last week sitting on the sidelines with the flu. This scenario was the first sign of falling off the wagon for Patrick in the past, but not this time. He came back strong in the closing days of the just completed Hollywood Park autumn meeting to win the riding title. That accomplished a sweep of the Southern California circuit as leading jockey at all five major race meets this year.

As a testament to his talent, Valenzuela swept the circuit while missing chunks of days due to multiple suspensions for riding infractions on the track. In fact, P. Val will be sitting out the first 15 days of the Santa Anita meet cleaning up leftover suspension days.

Valenzuela started amassing his latest title trophy raid when he captured his first riding title in 11 years at the 2002 Hollywood Park spring/summer meet, then followed that up with the Del Mar riding title the same year.

However, his complete sweep of the five major Southern California meetings this year has him flying in the purple haze of records. Not since Hall of Fame jockey Chris McCarron turned the trick 20 years ago has a rider duplicated such dominance on the Golden State's prime circuit. McCarron, who is now general manager of Santa Anita Park, was at the top of his game in 1983. And, maybe Valenzuela is, too.

P. Val began his sweep by riding 94 winners at the 2002-03 winter/spring Santa Anita meet. He then returned to the Hollywood Park spring/summer meeting in defense of his 2002 title and won his second consecutive Inglewood trophy with 81 victories. Valenzuela faced his sternest test at the seaside during the Del Mar session. The leading rider title was not decided until the final day of the Del Mar stand when Valenzuela edged out Hall of Fame jockey Julie Krone by three victories with 52 winners from 294 rides. His most satisfying victory of the summer meeting was the "battle of the sexes" match race against Krone. Valenzuela's incredible ride to re-rally his mount to win by a nose was one of the highlights of the season.

After a short break sitting out the Pomona Fair meet, Valenzuela returned rejuvenated for the Oak Tree meeting at Santa Anita. Valenzuela won his first Oak Tree riding title with 34 winners. The most lucrative victory of the meet was his masterful ride aboard Adoration to win the Breeders' Cup Distaff opening the day of champions at the host track in Arcadia.

Finally, P. Val capped off the Southern California sweep with two wins on closing day Sunday at Hollywood Park. Valenzuela won the Starlet Stakes aboard Hollywood Story for his 27th win of the autumn meeting to beat jockey Victor Espinoza by two victories.