Tip of the Week: Flipping the Switch

Del Mar photo by Eclipse Sportswire
Jockey switches are common in horse racing.
Sometimes they can even help to explain away a poor performance.
Just look at Fritz Johansen in the fifth race at Del Mar on July 30. Only two starts earlier, the 3-year-old gelding had captured an open maiden race on the turf at Santa Anita – an impressive achievement for a California-bred.
Rafael Bejarano was aboard Fritz Johansen on that June 28 afternoon when they had their picture taken in the winner’s circle.
Nearly three weeks later, when Fritz Johansen returned to the races on July 16 at Del Mar and tackled winners for the first time, he was ridden by Joe Talamo in a first-level allowance race for state-breds. Bejarano, the leading rider at the track where the turf meets the surf for the last three years, opted to ride Unusually Green, the 2.70-to-1 favorite in the race.
Fritz Johansen was sent off as the 4.40-to-1 second choice.
Bejarano made the right choice as Unusually Green finished second while Fritz Johansen set the early pace before abruptly stopping and finishing 11th in the field of 12.
It was a disappointing try that did not bode well for Fritz Johansen’s next start, until trainer Mark Glatt brought him back quickly in the same type of race, usually a sign of confidence on a trainer’s part that a weak effort was just a glitch. Aside from the two-week turnaround, Glatt also convinced Bejarano to ride Fritz Johansen once again.
When an accomplished jockey like Bejarano, who can pick and choose from top mounts, decides to ride a horse that was 11th in its last race, that can often be viewed as a sign that a much better effort may be on the horizon.
Fritz Johansen also drew the rail for the July 30 race, which would enhance his early speed.
Though he was listed at 5-to-1 on the morning line, with all of those signs in play that Fritz Johansen was very likely to turn in a bounce-back effort, handicappers knocked Fritz Johansen down to the 2.90-to-1 second choice.
He didn’t disappoint.
After pressing the early pace from third, Bejarano guided Fritz Johansen to the lead in the stretch and the gelding held on for a half-length victory, paying $7.80 to win.
THE LESSON: After a surprisingly poor performance, the addition of a leading jockey can often indicate an improved effort is on the horizon.