Desormeaux's Career Resurrected

Twenty years after Kent Desormeaux was winning races in bunches in Southern California, the 44-year-old Hall of Fame rider is back among the leaders after leaving the barren desert that was the East Coast five months ago and joining up with agent Mike Ciani.

Desormeaux, a three-time Kentucky Derby winner and a three-time Santa Anita riding king in the 1990’s, was battling for the Del Mar crown until perennial Southern California champion Rafael Bejarano jettisoned away in the final days, outdistancing Desormeaux, 42-32, winning with 10 of 16 mounts on the final weekend to capture his 19th title in Southern California.

Desormeaux also won seven races from 21 starts at the Los Alamitos meet that concluded Sunday, a stylish 33 percent average, but perhaps more significantly, he led all riders in purse earnings with $356,887.

“I’m not really surprised,” Ciani said of the team’s success, “because I know what type of rider Kent is. I always think to myself before he goes into a race, ‘He’s not a Hall of Famer for nothing.’ And there are only, what, maybe eight of them riding right now in the United States?

“I’m not surprised. I’m happy, I’m thrilled at how the Del Mar meet went. Kent worked unbelievably hard. Our relationship was perfect. Not discounting my other riders, but I love how straightforward Kent is. I don’t like beating around the bush.

“He knows what he’s doing. He worked really hard in the mornings, and I was taken aback a bit by that, because I’ve had jockeys of lesser stature complain about working in the mornings, but Kent was right on it, and his feedback is unbelievable, whether it’s in the afternoon or the morning.

“You have to take things day by day, but so far, it’s been all good.”

Added Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, who has given Desormeaux a leg up on several winners since he returned to Southern California, including a stirring win on Vegas Strip at Los Alamitos: “Kent has always been a great rider. When he was young, he was an instant sensation.

“He came out here and was one of the best in what probably was one of the toughest jockey colonies ever. But any of these older riders like Smith, Stevens, Solis and Desormeaux, when they maintain their fitness and have their mind right, they’re like Game On Dude: they bring it. That’s the whole key.”

Source: Santa Anita Park