Apprentice Sullivan Took Roundabout Route

Apprentice jockey Carson Sullivan, 25, has been riding since May of last year. The victory he scored on Mon Petite on Thursday, July 24, triggering a $108.80 return was the 12th of his career. His background triggers two questions: Where has he been, and what took him so long?

“It’s in my blood,” Sullivan said.  “I’m a fourth-generation rider. My great grandfather (Carson Kirk), grandfather (James Kirk) and father (S.J. Sullivan) rode.  My step-dad (Matt Vigliottti) also rode.” His mother, Christine Kirk, was a backstretch worker who galloped horses for major stables like Jack Van Berg, D.Wayne Lukas and Nick Zito.

Such a pedigree often leads to riding at the earliest possible opportunity, age 16. But Sullivan opted to go a different way.

He went to college at Ohio University, majoring in psychology. He gave up academic pursuits to play guitar in a band that travelled and wound up in New York. “I’ve played rock, experimental, jazz, a little bit of everything,” he said. But eventually,  he returned to his roots.

“It was calling to me even though I avoided it,” Sullivan said. “I dreamed about riding races and one day I just packed up and headed down south to my grandfather’s to learn.”

He rode at Gulfstream Park in Florida for a year, then came to California. Del Mar is his first West Coast meeting. He is represented by agent Mike Ciani.