Benzel to Handle de Sousa's Book in NY

Former trainer Seth Benzel and jockey Silvestre de Sousa will step into uncharted waters this October when de Sousa arrives to ride at Belmont Park.

Benzel, 40, will handle de Sousa's book while the 34-year-old Brazilian hopes to put down roots in the U.S. De Sousa is atop the standings to collect his first title as Great Britain's champion rider when the season begun there May 2 concludes Oct. 17. Through Sept. 3, he led Paul Hanagan 103-74 with a 29-win advantage. 

"He's going to hopefully be the champ Oct. 17, come here on the 19th, and start riding," Benzel said. "He wants to hit the ground running."

A past Todd Pletcher assistant, Benzel dissolved his stable last September and is launching a new career as the agent for de Sousa, a star on the rise who last year won the Dubai World Cup (UAE-I) aboard Godolphin's African Story.

SHINAR: African Story Dominates Dubai World Cup

"I've spent the last three winters in Dubai and developed a relationship with Silvestre," Benzel said. "When he expressed a desire to come to the U.S., knowing the type of competitor he is, that's something I wanted to get involved with."

De Sousa has remarkably climbed to the top of the standings in Britain without being retained by a major yard, an anomaly on that circuit. Being accustomed to riding for various horsemen should come in handy when he rides in the U.S. Although many top riders have their customary partnerships with trainers here—John Velazquez and Todd Pletcher on the East Coast, Martin Garcia and Bob Baffert on the West—it is vital for North American jockeys to retain other clients in order to achieve success.

"We're going to develop relationships from day one," Benzel said. "There hasn't be anybody who said 'I'll jump on board 100%,' but I don't think anybody would really do that without knowing him and watching him ride. There are people who are definitely familiar with his name, but we're going to approach this market like anything else - it's going to be a challenge to come in at the end of the year but hopefully we can establish some footing."

Along with African Story, de Sousa has made headlines this year aboard horses like the filly Arabian Queen, who stunned at 50-1 over previously undefeated Investec Derby (Eng-I) winner Golden Horn by a neck in the Aug. 19 Juddmonte International Stakes (Eng-I) at York.

ANGST: Filly Arabian Queen Stuns Golden Horn at York

Donald McRae of The Guardian wrote a detailed profile of de Sousa Aug. 31, sharing the story of the jockey who learned to ride when he used horses to round up cattle as a child. The piece details the ups and downs of his career, including the disappointment of having his contract not renewed with Godolphin, despite their World Cup victory.

THE GUARDIAN: Silvestre de Sousa On Top of The Pile 

Both de Sousa and Benzel learned to remain steady through the highs and lows of the racing game. A New York native, Benzel went out on his own as a trainer in 2008, sending out 745 starters for a 117-104-92 record and earnings of $4,324,948. His biggest victory came in 2010 with multiple graded stakes winner Dynaslew in the $200,000 Ballston Spa (gr. IIT) at Saratoga Race Course.

"It's been all good," Benzel said of the transition from training to preparing to become an agent. "We moved out our last horse last September, and while we were hoping to have horses last winter in Dubai, it didn't pan out. At that point I was able to take a step away; I've done a lot of traveling, I got married last September, so there were a lot of positive things on the personal side.

"This is my full-time job as of October first; this is where 100% of my focus will go. As I told Silvestre when we sat down to talk in Dubai, obviously I've worked with many of the jocks' agents in New York, I know what they did and who did it well just from the personal experience of dealing with them. Using my own experience as a trainer, I feel like in the over 15 years that I've been here in New York, I know the ins and outs of the circuit quite well. We've been taking  care of the technical aspects, the visa and all of that, and now he has everything he needs and we have a plan in front of us."

Benzel said de Sousa will likely appear at Keeneland as well when the Breeders' Cup World Championships are run there Oct. 30-31, either with a mount in one of the Breeders' Cup races or on the undercard.

"We were in the Saratoga condition book and considered him coming in for that meet, but he gained the lead in the title over there and he's been runner-up twice, so he always wanted that notch in his belt," the new agent explained. "With him in line to become champ there, he wants to ensure he's accomplished that first goal before he comes over here."