Columnist Ralph Siraco: Young Castro making strides toward joining Baze

Ralph Siraco

Monday, June 6, 2005 | 9:36 a.m.

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

While we wait for the tale of the two horses -- Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo and Preakness Stakes victor Afleet Alex -- in their Triple Crown rubber match on Saturday in the Belmont Stakes, this is a tale of two jockeys, both with record performances last week.

One, Russell Baze, is in the autumn of his career, while the other, Eddie Castro, in the spring of a promising future.

Neither will ride in the Belmont Stakes on Saturday, although Baze is set as a passenger on the fast and talented Lost in the Fog for an undercard sprint stakes race on the Belmont Stakes card. Neither rode in the Derby or Preakness Stakes But the oversight was only circumstantial and not intentional.

Baze, who started his riding career in 1974, reached the 9,000 career victory plateau in the final race at Golden Gate on Thursday aboard Queen of the Hunt. A 46-year-old father of three, he is enjoying rarefied air with only retired jockey Laffit Pincay Jr. having more victories.

Pincay, who had his career cut short by a riding accident several years ago, is currently the world's winningest rider with 9,530 career victories.

Now Baze is the only other to ride 9,000 winners, having pushed passed previous world record-holder Bill Shoemaker at 8,833 earlier this year, also at Golden Gate Fields.

And the perennial kingpin of the Northern California racing circuit is on course to break Pincay's record in just a little under two years. Voted into the sport's Hall Of Fame in 1999, Baze has won at least 400 races per year 11 of the past 13 years and is on target to gather his 12th 400-plus production this year.

As a result of his record win rate, Baze has won nine Isaac Murphy Awards, which is given to the jockey with the highest win percentage in the nation each year. He has also collected the 2002 George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award, given annually to a jockey who reflects credit to the sport and himself -- a trophy that is voted by fellow riders -- and a special Eclipse Award in 1995.

Baze said about the record, "I'm blessed to be in an occupation I love," and was quick to add that riding good horses helps, too.

If Eddie Castro can put together days like his Saturday at Calder race course, Baze may have to look over his shoulder in the near future.

Castro, a 20-year-old Panamanian native, set a new North American record when he won nine races on the 13-race card at the Florida track. Although the late Chris Antley rode nine winners in a single day on Oct. 31, 1987, he did it at two tracks. Antley combined victories from a day card at New York's Aqueduct and the night card in New Jersey at The Meadowlands, while Castro did it all in one place on one daytime program.

The American Racing Manual shows six jockeys who have won eight races on a single track card, including Hall Of Fame rider Pat Day's eight-bagger at Arlington Park on Sept. 13, 1989.

The talented young rider won his first career race just 2 1/2 years ago in his homeland. He moved to America in 2003 to ride at Gulfstream Park and quickly made his mark in the Sunshine State. He is currently defending champion at the Calder and Tropical at Calder meetings.

The 2003 Eclipse Award-winning apprentice has a habit of winning them in bunches. He rode five winners on each of three cards at Calder in 2003. Off his record-setting Saturday, which also included the $100,000 Office Queen Stakes on Snug Harbour, Castro has won 45 races in the first 29 days of the current Calder meeting.

Castro started his record day by finishing second on Southphilly Barry in the first race, then won the second with Bill's No Trouble at $4.00. The third race was his stakes win on Snug Harbour at $8.20, followed by a fourth race win on Dakota Max at $13.00. He did not ride the fifth race and returned to win the sixth with Five Star Susan at $7.00. After skipping the seventh with no mount, he finished fourth on Broadway Buck in the eighth race. Then Castro finished off the rest of the card with a five bagger. He won the 9th with Kin's Hurrah at $6.00, the 10th on Sebastian Light at $12.20, the 11th race aboard Carey's Gold at $5.40, the 12th with Agent Won (by a nose) at $7.20 and the 13th race on Ben's Advantage at $3.80. Six of his nine winners were the betting favorites.

Like Baze, Castro credits good horses for his record. "I knew I was on some good mounts today, but it's hard to believe I could win nine in one day," he said.

It could be said that the good horses might credit their record-breaking partners for some of those victories as well.