7/14/2023
This is our 9th Power Rankings of the year and just when it looked like maybe leading rider Luis Negron might begin to open up an unsurmountable lead and deny Alex Cruz his 4th straight and State record 4th riding Championship. Instead Cruz says hold the phone on that idea while Negron had his worst week of the season and after trailing by 10 before last week Cruz is now down 5 after winning 6 to Negron’s 1 making Cruz RED HOT. Plus Neptali Ortiz continues to BLAZE, Silvio Amador gets his 1st ever Stakes win at Emerald Downs and Kevin Radke got his 2nd Stakes win of the season for the Stakes lead.
Just remember the biggest factor in determining our rankings is the week prior with a little consideration for the season. But it’s mostly about whose hot right now. Let’s get to the PR’s!
The Red Hot Mover of the Week!
#1 Alex Cruz
Alex Cruz made up a ton of ground on standings leader Luis Negron but could have done even further damage as he won his 6th race of the week in the 1st race on Saturday but could not get another win but still made up 5 of the 10 wins on leader Luis Negron. Cruz had a record of 6-4-3-3 from 23 starts for a 26% win clip and top 4 finish rate of 70%. This makes Cruz our RED HOT MOVER of the week!
The Blazer of the Week!
#2 Neptali Ortiz
Neptali Ortiz was our Red Hot Mover last week and with a 38% win rate and 86% in the top 4 and riding only 2 days gives Ortiz our BLAZER of the week. Ortiz had the 2nd most wins of the week with 3 and finished 3-0-1-3 from 8 rides. Can Ortiz continue this insane run he’s been on for the past 3-4 weeks that saw him rise from obscurity to #8 in the rider standings?
#3 Carlos Montalvo
Carlos Montalvo has done 2 things since arriving at Emerald Downs, he has been consistently finding at least 1 win a week including a Stakes win and he has been improving his under finishes each week. This week he was 2-2-2-1 from 8 mounts for a 25% win rate and whopping 86% top 4 finish tying him with Neptali Ortiz for best superfecta percent this week. His season top 4 rate has also risen from the low 40% area now up to 58%. Montalvo cannot be overlooked!
#4 Silvio Amador
Silvio had just 5 rides combined for Friday and Saturday and then had 7 on Sunday and Amador made the most of his Sunday winning both of his races including the Angie C Stakes for his 1st Stakes win at Emerald Downs. If his ride Appeal Factor remains healthy it looks like Amador will be adding to that Stakes win total. Silvio was 2-3-3-1 for a 17% win pace and solid 75% superfecta finish.
#5 Javier Matias
Javier Matias does not get a big number of rides in fact his 60 mounts for the season is 3rd lowest out of the top 11, but just when you think Matias is slipping and will be lucky to get a few rides a week he comes roaring back reminding everyone he knows how to ride and especially watch him wait patiently for the rail to open. Javier was 2-1-3-1 this week from 10 rides for a 20% win rate and 70% top 4.
#6 Alexis Valdes
Alexis Valdes held steady at #6 by winning twice and could have moved up a bit had his under placings been stronger as Alexis was 2-0-2-2 from 12 starts for a solid 17% win rate but probably a slight below average of 50% top 4 placing.
#7 Kevin Radke
Kevin Radke is a long time veteran and knows there are plenty of ups and downs and he is in a little bit of a down turn right now as far as wins but he still continues to grind and wouldn’t you know it he pulled out 1 win this week and it was a big one winning the King County Express Stakes on Whiskey Harbor for his 2nd Stakes win to lead the Stakes the race.
#8 Luis Negron
Luis Negron was just a few breaks away from having a very solid week, first he got hosed on a poor DQ call that cost him 1 win and demoted to 2nd just 1 of 7 total 7 2nds. Negron will turn many of these around and we believe simply just had “one” of those weeks.
#9 Rocco Bowen
Rocco Bowen is trying work his way back into top riding form while he splits time on both coasts got a pair of win from 15 mounts and had a solid week. When he’s here he will continue to be a threat for sure.
Tie #10 Alex Anaya
Alex Anaya broke through 2 weeks ago and was rewarded with just 5 rides this past weekend and made the most of them with a win and 2 shows for a 20% win rate and 60% top 4 placing. Deserves to remain in the top 10.
Tie #10 Jennifer Whitaker
We had to include Jennifer Whitaker this week, she was on of 2 riders with a win last week we left off the list and with just 4 rides this past week got another win and a place. The Queen of Emerald Downs deserve to be on the list for her success on very limited number of rides.
This means we again had to leave 2 riders off the top 10 and this week 11 who had a win. Isaias Enriquez and Kevin Orozco both had a win but struggled with the underneath placings. Enriquez dropped off the list with a 1-2-0-1 mark from 9 starts and did not ride on Friday. Most weeks Enriquez would have been on this list but maybe because he has been so hot lately this little drop makes it feel worse than it is, regardless he will be back and will continue to make an impact.
Orozco did grind out a hard earned win but also did not hit the board much overall with a 1-1-0-2 record from 13 rides. But getting that win could be a big momentum shift for him and we expect him to keep turning this season around.
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