New York may soon be home
to a young apprentice rider hailing from Peru
as 16-year-old Martin Chuan prepares to emigrate to the United States. Agent Roger Sutton
expects to take Chuan’s book when he arrives in this country, which
Sutton hopes will be ahead of opening day at Saratoga Race Course on July 20,
though no firm arrangements have been made.
Chuan graduated from La Escuela de Jinetes Jorge Bernardini Yori and
rode his first race on January 24, 2012 at Hipódromo de
Monterrico in the Santiago de Surco district of Lima, Peru. The rider finished second
aboard Taj Mahal, but also caught the eye of some U.S. based riders who were in town
that day for the Robalca International Jockeys Championship. Hall of Fame rider
Edgar Prado, born in Lima and the leading jockey
in Peru before coming to Florida in 1986, was
impressed with Chuan.
“The day that he first rode, we had the jockey championship in Peru,”
said Prado. “It was me, Alex Solis, Alan Garcia, Rafael Bejarano, Jesus
Castanon, Javier Castellano, some others. And, we saw the race where the kid
started riding. He finished second, but he rode a really good race. Everybody
agreed that the way he looked, and the way he rode the horse, he was going to
develop into a good rider. I thought that he rode a smart race and finished
really strong for being his first time riding in a public race.”
Since that day, through June 18, Chuan has ridden 43 winners, good for
sixth in the jockey standings according to statistics provided on the Hipódromo de
Monterrico website. Sutton, who recognizes the difficulty of starting an
apprentice at a meet like Saratoga,
is anxious for Chuan to arrive.
“I’m ready to go to work whenever he shows up,”
Sutton said. “I’ve watched some of the races he won in Peru
and he looked like he could be the real McCoy. I don’t know when
he’ll get here, but if he came before the end of Belmont, that would be like Christmas. Going
into Saratoga is
a lion’s den. But up there, at least with those pots, if a jockey wins
one race a week, they’re going to cover their expenses.”
Sutton said he was especially impressed with the way Chuan looks on a
horse.
“He sits a horse very good,” Sutton said. “I’ve
been doing this awhile, and not that I’m an expert, but when he hits the
horse, he’s not off balance and falling off. He always has his horse,
always has the reins gathered up. Unlike a lot apprentices, he doesn’t
overuse the whip. That’s a big plus, too.”