8/18/2022
The Power Rankings are meant to be fun and to focus on the human competition between these awesome athletes. Moreover it’s a chance to focus more on each rider and their accomplishments each week. We stress there is nothing “official” about these rankings and we know there will be varying opinions which is also great and we hope it does create more conversations about our sport and our athletes.
Last week was Championship Sunday and this will shuffle the top 10 once again with a familiar name back in control. A few skyrocketed up, another dropped off last and more than made amends on Championship Sunday. Here’s our latest and 14th edition of the Emerald Jockey Power Rankings:
#1 Alex Cruz (last ranking #2)
Alex Cruz looks to have finally fought off the food poisoning episode he suffered a few weeks ago that led to a sudden weight loss and for the last 2 weeks under his own admission lack of energy and sometimes focus. He looked like the Cruz laser focused on winning his 3rd riding Championship and won one of the big races on Championship Sunday with 23-1 Zippin Sevenz in the Distaff. He led all riders in wins with 7 and had 3 places, 4 shows and 3 4ths from his 24 mounts. He led in win percent at 29%, top 3 was 58% and superfecta finish was 71%. He also had some solid ROI with an average win pay of 9-2 and his average overall odds were 6-1. Cruz has thrown down ready for the stretch drive of the 2022 season.
#2 Jose Zunino (last ranking #8)
Just 2 weeks ago Jose Zunino wasn’t even in the top 10 of the PR’s but has skyrocketed to near the top after his superb ride and win in the biggest race of the year the Longacres Mile on Slew’s Tiz Whiz. Perfectly positioned and well timed Zunino knows this guy and picked up his 3rd Stakes win of the season. But that’s not all Zunino did he continues to be that journeyman who grinds away. He did pick up another win on Championship Sunday in what really was the Mile consolation with a 40k purse on Complicate combined with the Mile purse it was a total of $190,000 in pure money and the winner’s share of that total was $104,500. But Zunino never forgets about his bread and butter and that is simply hitting the board on horses that aren’t supposed too. Zunino rode 12 races last week and the average odds of his starts was 17-1. He had a 17% win rate finished with a 2-1-3-2 record. The average odds of his winners was 9-2 but the average odds including his 2 winners of his top 3 finishes was 17-1! Zunino is having his best year ever at Emerald and still brings in the bombs that push those big exacta, trifecta and superfecta pay-outs.
#3 Kevin Radke (last ranking #3)
Kevin Radke held onto his #3 spot and was within 2 lengths of moving up to #2 for sure and maybe a run at #1 but fell just yards short of wiring the Longacres Mile on 11-1 Papa’s Golden Boy. Radke meantime had his regular workman like week of 5 wins, 5 places, 2 shows and a 4th. Radke fired at a 22% win rate and 54% top 4 finish. Radke also took 2nd in the Oaks with Slack Tide.
#4 Eddie Martinez (last ranking #1)
Eddie Martinez had a huge week the week before with a Stakes win in the Shinpoch Stakes and nearly got his 2nd Stakes in the Muckleshoot Derby with Midnight Mojo but fell short by 3/4 length to massive longshot You’re the Cause. Martinez did get 2 wins though including an impressive win in a 2-year-old MSW with Lloyds Logic on Sunday. He had 2 2nds a 3rd and a 4th from just 10 mounts. Martinez had a 20% win rate at average odds of 5-2 and a top 4 finish rate of 60% with his average odds at 14-1.
#5 Jake Samuels (last ranking #7)
If you are only going to win 1 race why not in the $75,000 Washington Oaks on a horse at 21-1. Samuels not only won it, he destroyed the field with Tiz a Macho Girl in virtually a wire to wire effort. Samuels added 2 places, 2 shows and 2 4ths from just 12 chances. His win percent was just 8% but top 4 finish at a 58% clip. Samuels also did it with an average of 22-1 on all his rides.
#6 Javier Matias (last ranking unranked)
Javier Matias had dropped off the PR’s last week but we predicted he would bounce back quickly and boy he sure did. Of course we weren’t thinking about coming from dead last 15 lengths behind, circling the field and running past them all and at 55-1 odds. That’s exactly what Matias did on You’re the Cause in the Muckleshoot Derby. Matias only had 13 mounts and they averaged 22-1. With the win he added 1 2nd 3 3rds and 2 4ths for a 54% top 4 finish. Matias answered is worst week with one of his best.
#7 Juan Gutierrez (last ranking #6)
Juan Gutierrez had 17 rides and posted a 2-3-1-2 record. He did not have a win or really come close to any of the Stakes races on Sunday and his 2 wins average out at 3-5 shots. It was an ok week for Gutierrez but far short of his best, we expect a bounce backquickly.
#8 Leslie Mawing (last ranking #5)
Mawing struggled getting into the Winner’s Circle with just 1 win from 16 starts but did have 4 seconds and 5 shows with 2 4ths. One of his 3rds was on Five Star General in the Longacres Mile. Mawing’s top 4 finish rate was a hearty 75% and he did with his rides averaging 13-1. He will shoot up the PR’s if he can turn a couple of those close finishes into wins.
#9 Kevin Orozco (last ranking #9)
Kevin Orozco remains in the dog days of summer but grinding through the slump and continues to get a few wins and hitting the board. This week he only had 1 win but it was a 1-2 shot. Orozco finished with a 1-2-1-2 record from 9 starts and had a respectable 67% top 4 finish rate.
#10 Alex Anaya (last ranking #4)
Alex Anaya was able to salvage the week with a win but his normal production in the 2nd thru 4th places dropped off with just 3 4th place finishes with his 1 win. We expect to see Alex bounce back and he also has more than his share of longshot.
Power Rankings Notes:
Clayan Millwood dropped off but did have a win this week He was 1-1 until Sunday when he had 4 rides and finished well back in all of them so no under placings pushed him out of the top 10 just a smidge. 3 visiting Jockey’s came to town with visions of taking a bunch of our money back to California. They did leave with some but not much. The best of the was Evin Roman who did get a win but not in a stakes and finished with 2 3rds and 2 4ths from his 6 starts. Roman ran 3rd in the Distaff on Buyback, 3rd in the Derby on Smiling Goodbye and 4th in the Mile on Top Executive. He then won a claiming race in the 9th.
Geovanni Franco came to replace the injured Rocco Bowen and he took 2nd in the Distaff on Princess of Cairo and 4th on Big Java in the Oaks and then 5th in the Mile with Background the defending Longacres Mile Champ.
Declan Cannon had just 1 ride in the Mile aboard Majestic Eagle where he finished 6th.
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