Apprentice jockey Pierre Tomas won his first race in North
America on Friday when he rode Victorious Leader to a 41-1 upset in the
seventh race at
Aqueduct Racetrack.
Tomas, 20, is from
Deauville in France and has been competing in
New York since the 2012 Belmont
Park fall meet.
“I love
New York. I love the life,” said Tomas. “I’ve been here for one year and I love to ride here.”
Tomas had previously won six races in
France,
his first victory coming aboard Annee Du Tango on June 6, 2010 at Les
Sables-d'Olonne racecourse. The apprentice’s agent, Jean-Luc Samyn, won
2,613 races as a jockey
before retiring from the saddle in November 2011.
Victorious Leader’s upset helped set up a $28,709 Pick 6
carryover into Saturday’s card, which features the Grade 3, $200,000
Withers, Grade 3, $150,000 Toboggan, $100,000
Busher, and $100,000 Correction.