Controversial rides cast shadow over Super Saturday

Last week was Super Saturday, as more than a score of horses stamped their ticket to the Breeders’ Cup on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 at Santa Anita Park.

However, what overshadowed some great stakes races and wins by horses such as Shared Belief and Tonalist were two controversial rides by jockeys Junior Alvarado and Victor Espinoza.

To briefly recap, Alvarado, nearing the top of the stretch in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, veered left with his mount, Moreno, into the path of Wicked Strong. Wicked Strong and his jockey, Rajiv Maragh, clipped heels and fell.

It was a terrifying spill, as most of the field was still behind Wicked Strong. Fortunately there was no further damage. Wicked Strong will miss the Breeders’ Cup Classic because of his bumps and bruises. Maragh broke his right arm and is doubtful for the Breeders’ Cup.

Alvarado was given a 15-day suspension by the New York Racing Association stewards. I think he got off light. His ride was reckless. Now I hear he is going to appeal, which is galling. The NYRA stewards should listen to his appeal, then double his suspension.

Espinosa was given a seven-day suspension by Santa Anita stewards for “careless” riding in the Awesome Again.

What Espinoza did was allow his mount, Sky Kingdom, to drift out from the start, forcing Shared Belief into a wide trip.

Was it intentional? Mike Smith, the jockey on Shared Belief, said afterward that when he tried to speed up, or slow down, to get around Sky Kingdom, Espinoza would move with him.

Shared Belief overcame this wide trip to beat Fed Biz by a neck. Trakkus data showed that Shared Belief ran 66 feet farther than Fed Biz, which is about 7 lengths.

There are multiple layers to this incident.

First, Bob Baffert trains Fed Biz and Sky Kingdom. So, was Espinoza riding to instructions to bother the favorite and help his stablemate? Baffert claims he did not tell Espinoza to do that.

In major stakes, it is not unusual to see a trainer enter multiple horses to race tag team on a favorite. A common strategy is to enter a speed horse, called a “rabbit,” to try to duel the favorite into defeat.

Another scenario is for jockeys, riding for different connections, to gang up on a horse to make his trip difficult. Think Smarty Jones and California Chrome in their Belmont Stakes tries.

Espinoza rode California Chrome in two races — the Belmont and Pennsylvania Derby — during which the other riders did gang up on him. My theory is that Espinoza had seen enough. Now he had a chance to bother California Chrome’s division rival, Shared Belief.

It didn’t work. But I think Espinoza did an accepted form of race-riding. Did he put Mike Smith in danger? I don’t think so. But he sure did make his life miserable.

I question if a suspension was even warranted.

Does this mean that the next time another jockey race-rides another horse that he also should get days? I suspect the late Eddie Arcaro and Manny Ycaza are rolling over in their graves over that idea.

FALL CLASSIC — The Fall Classic will take place Oct. 9 to 11 at The Orleans. The entry fee is $500.

Richard Eng’s horse racing column is published Friday in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. He can be reached at rich_eng@hotmail.com. Follow him on Twitter: @richeng4propick.