Jockey Carmouche 'a lot fitter,' plenty motivated since injury
Kendrick Carmouche continues to rocket up the Belmont spring/summer meet leaderboard having entered the weekend tied in wins.
The 35-year-old native of Vinton, La., is building off a strong Aqueduct spring meet in which he went 9-8-6 in 54 mounts, tying Eric Cancel for the fourth-most wins.
"Since I've been back, it's been very good," said Carmouche, who required six months off from riding to recover from a broken right leg suffered in a spill at Kentucky Downs on Sept. 9.
Riding Chattel in the $500,000 Kentucky Downs Juvenile Turf Sprint, Carmouche's horse clipped heels with Impact after the horse ducked out in front of him, unseating Carmouche.
Since returning, "I've just been putting my head down and riding hard and making good decisions out there," he said. "The trainers and owners are putting me on decent horses where I can perform to my abilities, and I'm very thankful. My agent, Kevin [Bubser] and I are trying really hard. To be tied for leading jockey, I'm just thrilled."
"After six months being out, all the love that everyone gave me for six months and all the support from the doctors, my mom, my kids, my wife, my in-laws -- all the people who stuck with me during that time, all the hard work they put in -- I just want to get out there and keep working hard," he said. "I'm just loving the sport. It's the sport of kings, I was born into it, and I want to keep it going."
Carmouche is a 2015 inductee into the Parx Hall of Fame. He won seven riding titles at the Pennsylvania track, including four straight from 2008-2011.
"A lot of owners, trainers, and a lot of jocks around the country kept calling me over this six months to see how I was doing. It makes me speechless," Carmouche said. "They didn't have to do that. But I guess the love that I've spread throughout my life and my career on the path to where I want to be today in New York, it goes to show you that if you treat everyone the same, there's a lot of respect."
"I would say three weeks, four weeks tops," Carmouche said about the timeline to feel like he did pre-injury. "It finally felt to the point where now I was leveling off and back to myself. I'm a different type of fit now. From being out for six months, I run more now to keep my leg strong, it's only going to get better from here.
"I'm a lot fitter and my weight is better. My mind is totally different from being off for six months. I realized I was riding with some of the top jocks in the country, and that's what motivated me more than anything. When you have God with you, you can overcome anything."