Apprentice Jessica Pyfer is in position for an Eclipse Award

Jessica Pyfer believes in setting goals.

For a long time, her aim was to become a lawyer and she set out on that journey. She graduated from Azusa-Pacific College with a degree in political science. She performed well enough on the demanding LSAT to produce a score that would have qualified her to enter some of the law schools she was considering.

She never applied.

Pyfer’s father, Roger, was a jockey. Her mother, Cherri Alexander, is a veteran exercise rider who gallops horses for accomplished trainer Phil D’Amato. Her heart and mind were telling her that life in an office and courtroom was not the best fit. She had grown up at the racetrack -- and it was calling her name.

“The bloodlines are there, for sure,” Pyfer said.

With the parental blessing she longed for and a confidence boost from Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella, she set a new goal as she began life as a jockey. She became intent on winning the Eclipse Award as the outstanding apprentice jockey in North America.

It all seemed rather far-fetched since Pyfer is based on the West Coast, where the competition is stiff and opportunities can be particularly hard to create due to a reduced racing calendar. Only two female apprentices have won the Eclipse since it was first presented in 1971. Rosemary Homeister became the first in 1992, followed by Emma-Jayne Wilson in 2005.

Pyfer was undaunted. “I think you always have to have something in the back of your mind that pushes you,” she said.

She has been on horseback for as long as she can remember. She cherishes photos of her participation in a jumping competition when she was four years old. Now still only 23, she nonetheless falls back on years of experience as she strives to understand the personalities of her mounts and how to get the most out of them.

“A lot of people see me petting horses in the post parade, just getting to know them a bit more,” she said. “I think maybe that is a positive I bring.”

Whatever the outcome, Pyfer is able to provide trainers with invaluable insight. That feedback is part of what Brandon O’Bryan, her third-generation agent, sells. “If you ever noticed her on the track, all of the horses are very calm with her,” O’Bryan said. “She always grew up around horses and has that natural ability that cannot be taught.”

The more Pyfer rode, the more her natural ability showed. She enjoyed a four-win afternoon on May 16 at Santa Anita, thought to be a record for a female apprentice at that track. As the wins kept coming, the possibility of emerging as the leading apprentice no longer seemed so outlandish.

“When it started to become a little bit like real, it’s just been crazy for me,” she said. “It’s been really cool.”

Undoubtedly, she merits serious consideration. According to statistics provided to voters by Daily Racing Form, she paces all apprentices with $2,738,363 in earnings. Although John Hiraldo ranks second in that category with $2,002,707, he has won 76 of 611 starts to 56 victories from 534 starts for Pyfer. Hiraldo is the latest in a long line of promising apprentices who learned their trade in Maryland. He currently is competing at Oaklawn Park.

O’Bryan hopes voters will consider the circuits. He said of the West Coast, “It’s a tough jockey colony. There are three or four guys who dominate the standings as far as (Flavien) Prat, (Juan) Hernandez, (Umberto) Rispoli and (Abel) Cedillo,” he noted. “For an apprentice three or four days a week to have that much earnings and that many wins, in my opinion it’s a huge accomplishment.”

Some of Pyfer’s rivals have been most helpful. They often critique her after races.

“They do it out of love. If they didn’t care about you, they would say anything,” she noted. “I have a lot of those kinds of mentors in the room.”

Pyfer is not sure what to expect when all of the Eclipse Awards are announced on Feb. 10 at Santa Anita. “I do think what I have done in the last year is kind of ground-breaking just because I am a female apprentice at Santa Anita,” she said. “But I know the other apprentices also worked hard to be where they’re at. Just being nominated for an Eclipse Award is a big honor.”