Deauville race course in the coastal town of Normandy, France. Photo from france-galop.com
My 2009 feature on Leandro Goncalves when he first started making an impact.
Kentucky-based Leandro Goncalves will ride in France for the first time in Sunday’s Prix Morny at Deauville, which I think of as being the Del Mar of Europe.
Goncalves left Friday evening to ride Hootenanny for trainer Wesley Ward in the Group 1, six-furlong race. The jockey was aboard when the son of Quality Road won his debut at Keeneland in the spring and when he then was third in a $75,000 2-year-old stakes on the Preakness undercard at Pimlico.
Hootenanny then traveled to Ascot to win the $100,000 Windsor Castle.
If you read about Goncalves’ background — and you can, on the links provided! — you see that he’s a jockey very much to root for, given a background that included pretty much being abandoned at the racetrack in Brazil when he was young.
Goncalves’ three jobs (feature from 2012)
A Louisvillian from Brazil comments on Goncalves (from 2012).
Goncalves, who is from Brazil, might not have ridden in France before, but he did ride a bit in England earlier in his career before coming to the United States. He’s currently third in the Ellis Park standings with 18 wins.
Apprentice jockey Juan Saez leads with 38 wins to 22 for Miguel Mena. Saez will ride in Kentucky at least through the September racing at Churchill Downs and Kentucky Downs, with his ultimate objective being to relocate to New York, where his brother Luis rides. Agent Julio Espinoza, who like Saez is from Panama, will accompany the 17-year-old when he does go to New York.
