Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Julien Leparoux - The next elite jockey ???
Gary West wrote an article in the Star-Telegram proclaiming that Julien Leparoux is going to be the next elite jockey. I think this is a nice article, however I think it is about 10 months too late. This would be like me stating that the Steelers are a good football team. It is easy to call a person or team great when they are on top. On the other hand, I give West credit for the quick mention of the queen of Pimlico, Rosie Napravnik.
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3 comments:
I think Julien is a hell of a Jockey. Jenney Rees from Louisville wrote an article about his being great earlier this month too, but she mentions something that Gary West doesn't: the weight allowance he gets for being a rookie.
I'm not saying that Julien won't be able to win once he looses his rookie status this fall, but a guy who's getting a 5 to 7 allowance for his bug (at least in KY), you've got to take that into account, right?
I rode John McKee's bug to a lot of wins when he was a rookie, but there was a noticable (however, maybe not imperical) drop-off soon after he was no longer an apprentice...
Julien recently graced Lone Star Park for our big stakes day ... had six mounts (all Biancone horses). There were no weight allowances regarding his status in any of the stakes. Out of the six mounts, he had one win, two seconds, and 3 fourth-place; never out of the superfecta. Bug or not, he's a good jockey (and good jockeys generally get good mounts).
Bottom Line, Julien Leparoux is one of the toughest riders in the sport right now, 5 pounds or not. Look at what he has done in stakes races against some of the best jockeys in the country without his 5 pound allowance. Take a look at the Belmont Stakes undercard, when he and Gorella teamed up for a perfectly timed ride on the grass. Mark my words, this kid is the real deal!
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