Jockey Leslie Ahrens is a perfect example of the saying: if arace horse doesn't run fast enough, nothing will help the jockey win.Ahrens has had more ups and downs than the elevators at MarshallField's. Right now he's doing well at Balmoral with 16 winners inonly 105 mounts.
He wasn't knocking 'em dead with winners at Hawthorne untiltrainer J.R. Smith gave him some live mounts.
Ahrens started to win more races because Smith runs what thehorsemen and fans call live horses. They have good form, arewell-placed and usually are ready.
Then one day Ahrens won three races for Smith. Everybody seemedsurprised. Not me. First of all, Ahrens isn't known as a jockey whofalls off horses, and secondly he had some of the fastest horses toride that day. If I didn't weigh so much and was tied to the fastesthorse in a race, even I could win.
Ahrens, 29, is a local boy who made good. He was born on theSouthwest Side, went to Tinley Park High School and went to the racesoften when he was in his early teens. When he was 17, he met trainerKenny Hoffman, who gave him his first big chance.
Hoffman had Ahrens walking horses to cool 'em out, grooming 'em,loading hay, driving the truck and after a year had him exercisinghorses.
Ahrens has won at least 1,000 races since starting to ride in1968. He could have won more, but in 1980 he decided to become atrainer. He resumed riding a bit in '81, then trained horses in1982.
When Ahrens trained, he was permitted to ride only the horses heconditioned. "That was fun," said Ahrens. "I loved to train and rideso I had the best of two worlds until my horses stopped winning. I did win 12 races on my horses."
Ahrens has come a long way. He won the Illinois Derby withChuck Schmidt and Phil Teinowitz' Flag Officer in 1977 and finished10th with him to Seattle Slew in the Kentucky Derby. "Did it chillyou going postward in the Derby when they played `My Old KentuckyHome'?" I asked Ahrens.
"No," he said. "I didn't feel a thing."
That's the way he figured to answer. He's cool. I get a thrilljust hearing the band play that number.
Ahrens rode other good horses in stakes races: Blue Chip Dan,Gene's L. Troy, Senor Cotton, Continental Fare, Don Grissom, Evelyn'sTime, Crafty B., Lansing Cutoff. He even tried to beat Secretariatin a race at Arlington Park, but he could only get Continental Fareto finish fourth, but beaten plenty of lengths.
He even went to Greece to ride in 1972. A friend had somehorses there, so Ahrens went to Europe and rode a dozen winners inGreece.
Ahrens is probably the most underrated jockey at Balmoral oreven at our other betting enclosures. Nobody bets horses becauseAhrens is riding, but he does as well as anybody because nobody hasever seen a jockey ride faster than a horse can run.
He has had a broken ankle, shoulder, finger and toe in histravels on a horse. "That goes with the game," said Ahrens. "Ifyou're a jockey, you've had a spill sometime or another. I've hadmany.
"I try to be somewhat careful, though, and try to give yourBroken Down Horseplayers a run for their money. Some spills comeabout from bad-legged horses. I've ridden a thousand of them."
"If they warm up sound, that's OK with me; but if I feelthey're nodding and sore, I figure I can't give them my all, so Itell the veterinarian to convey the message to the stewards that Idon't care to ride that horse. Sometimes, if the vet thinks they'resound enough to run he'll inform the stewards and if they can getanother rider they do, but more often than not the horse isscratched."
Another jockey usually will refuse to ride a horse that a jockeyalready has refused to ride.
I've seen a horse win now and then when a jockey refuses toride one. There are probably 25 losers for every winner.
Bill Hartack had a habit of refusing to ride horses afterentering the post parade. Some of those with substitute riders won.
Some ran up the alley with other jockeys.
Ahrens spends most of his time in his Elmhurst home with hisson, Mike, 6, and wife Marilyn. Would you believe I went to theirwedding? I went there to get some tips for the next day's racing.Ahrens didn't ride that next day.
People usually forget great deeds. Back in 1977 Ahrens wonfive straight races at Sportsman's Park where he led the jockeys thatyear and in '76. "All horses won in photos, all came from almost lastand not one was a favorite," said Ahrens.
He was saying he doesn't often get those odds-on favorites toride. He was trying to say anybody can win on those standoutfavorites.
No comments:
Post a Comment