Katie Davis looks to build on her strong Saratoga meet

Agent Joe Migliore wanted to be sure jockey Katie Davis understood how difficult it would be for her during Saratoga’s summer meet. He warned that it would be hard for him to land live mounts for her. Victories would probably be harder still to come by.

Davis was undaunted.

“If I can win one, then I can check it off my bucket list,” she told Migliore.

“We can be a little more ambitious than that,” the agent responded. He set three wins as a goal.

They both sold Davis short. She checked off the bucket list item when she guided River Tay to a neck victory for trainer Bruce Brown in a July 28 maiden claiming race at Saratoga despite dropping her riding crop. She went on a roll in which she produced a victory each of the next two afternoons. She closed the 40-day stand with a record of 86: 7-5-9 with earnings of $544,078 – and an immense feeling of satisfaction.

“I love a challenge. I do,” said Davis, 31. “I love making people believers.”

In this case, unexpectedly strong results bolstered her confidence as she looks forward to Belmont at the Big A, a 28-day fall meet at Aqueduct that begins Thursday.

“She’s brimming with confidence and really put together a strong book of work with the opportunities she gets,” Migliore said. “She had a tremendous meet. It was thrilling for both of us.”

The celebration hardly stopped there. Davis is part of a large racing family as the daughter of former New York rider Robbie Davis and his wife, Marguerite. Davis is married to fellow jockey Trevor McCarthy.

No wonder she has a tattoo on one of her arms that reads, “I’m not afraid. I was born to do this.”

Even for those who believe they were born into life at the track, success can be elusive. When motherhood is added to the mix, building a career can be even more problematic. Davis took off from May 2021 until last September because of the birth of her daughter, Riley.

Although trainers understood the circumstances, they had developed ties with other jockeys while she was away. She had become something of an afterthought.

“She was coming back from having a child and it was a tough sell. It was tough to get her on horses that actually had a chance,” Migliore said. “I noticed pretty quickly when I put her on a live horse, she would get the best run out of them.”

What Davis hopes will be a breakthrough Saratoga meet included her first Grade 1 race. Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott gave her a leg up on High Oak in the Aug. 26 Forego. Although High Oak went off at 18-1, he did well to finish third, an example of her tendency to work well with horses who were troublesome for others.

“Her greatest strength as a rider is she doesn’t get in a horse’s way. She lets them run the way they want to run,” Migliore said. “She’s adaptable to different horses you put her on.”

Migliore added, “The thing that was a pleasant surprise for me is that she’s a strong finisher as well, not just for a woman. I would stack her up against male riders.”

The agent called it “essential” that Davis carry the momentum she created at Saratoga to Aqueduct, to the fall meet and beyond as elite New York-based riders head elsewhere for the winter.

“You need to show people the meet we had there wasn’t a fluke, and I’m very confident that we’re going to,” said Migliore. “As time goes on, she’s only going to rise, and I’m excited to be part of her team.”

According to Equibase, Davis owns a record of 2,416: 278-289-299 since she began riding in 2013. She has $8,915,692 in purse earnings. When asked about career goals, she emphasized her constant focus is on self-improvement.

“It’s always been one step at a time with me,” she said, understanding she took one huge step at Saratoga.