Conner makes good first impression at Santa Anita

Several firsts went by the boards Friday when jockey Tyler Conner won the Grade III Eddie D. Stakes on Mr. Roary at odds of nearly 23-1 for trainer George Papaprodromou.

It was the first win at Santa Anita for Conner, his first graded stakes win, and the first time both he and the horse had ever raced over the unique downhill turf course at about 6 ½ furlongs.

“It was my first win at Santa Anita and the first win for both me and the horse going down the hill,” said Conner, whose father, John, currently trains out of Penn National in Grantville, Pa., and whose mother, Sandra (Lisa) was a steward at Delaware Park and rode in the late 1980’s and early 90s.

Tyler, who will be 24 on Oct. 9, was born in Lancaster, Pa., not far from Penn National.

“George just told me to let the horse settle in and do his thing,” said Conner, represented by agent Jim Pegram, whose family has more members in racing than the Wallendas have on the high wire.

“The horse has been running two turns and George just said to let him settle and when it’s time to go, try to get him in the clear to make his run. He won by a neck and just got up in the last jump or two.”

Said Papaprodromou, who trains Mr. Roary for owner Rustin Kratz: “I liked this jock (Conner) from the first time he stopped by my barn. He listens and he’s very professional.”

Added Pegram: “Tyler started riding four years ago. He’s been leading rider at Penn National this past year and has won 135 races at a 20 percent rate. He’s had three really strong years, especially riding with the ‘bug’ at DelawarePark, and wanted to make the move here.

“Winning a race yesterday was huge. People were congratulating me, trainers took notice, and winning your first race at Santa Anita with a new face is the hardest one to win.

“Winning a stakes just magnifies it.”

Mick Ruis never ran three horses in one day on the same card, let alone win three in one day on the same card.

That void came to a resounding fill for the 56-year-old trainer on opening day of Santa Anita’s Autumn Meet Friday when he sent out four horses and won three races. With only 18 days remaining in the Autumn Meet, Ruis, born and raised in San Diego, is Santa Anita’s leading trainer.

He won the first race with 5-1 shot Bacoli ridden by Israel Ocampo; the second with 3-1 Image of Joplin under apprentice Austin Solis; and the fifth with Warrior’s Lullaby under Edwin Maldonado at a $13.80 win payoff.

Only Heir of Storm failed to land in the winner’s circle, finishing fourth as the second choice at 8-5 in the third race.

“We’re lucky if we run one a day,” Ruis said Saturday morning, “but we saved all the horses for this meet. I’m a believer that if someone helps you out, you try to help them, so we wanted to save our horses for this short meet since we’re stabled at Santa Anita (with 27 head).

“It just happened we’ve got a lot of fresh horses right now and got to run four in a day.”

Ruis has been back training for two years and did so for five years prior to that before he took a 10-year leave of absence. “I had to make some money to do this again,” he said.