Jaime went to see "Ceasar" the first week he was at Gainesway, and this, along with a few photos, is what he wrote on his timeline:
"To the horse that taught me more than words can, the horse that showed me what a true connection feels like, that brought my career to new heights, that brought me to new places. To the horse that allowed my family and myself to experience so much joy. The horse that brought myself and so many others on a ride of a lifetime. The horse that showed me what perseverance and the biggest heart feels like. Seize the Grey will always have the biggest place in my heart. I will always get goosebumps when I hear the announcer say “Seize the grey, Seize the day” I will be forever thankful for this horse and the team behind him for everything they have given me. HAPPY RETIREMENT BUDDY <3 "
If you haven't heard the whole story on Jaime, it's pretty amazing. He wasn't even riding four years ago. He was still living in Puerto Rico when he saw Authentic win the Kentucky Derby and he got inspired and decided that's what he wanted to do. He learned to ride in Puerto Rico, then went to Florida where Angel Cordero helped give him a hand up, but it was a rough start for him and he ended up sleeping in his car or on Cordero's couch a lot.
After a year or two he was making some money, and decided to go north and see if he could pick up some mounts at Saratoga. I believe through Angel's connections, he was able to contact D. Wayne Lukas about riding some of his horses. I believe the first mount "The Coach" decided to let him ride was Seize The Grey who was entered in his second race. (Our boy had finished 8th in his first race after a sightseeing trip down the stretch at Ellis with Luis Saez aboard.) Jaime was ecstatic to be riding for the legend, but when Jaime opened his locker and saw the same silks that Authentic had been wearing when he won the Kentucky Derby, he admitted he got a little emotional. (I can imagine!)
It was a super sloppy track that day, and Jaime took "Ceasar" right to the front and never gave up the lead. Another horse moved up to challenge him in the stretch and they had a brief duel, but STG drew off to win. It turned out the second place finisher was Dornoch, and these two would turn out to be the future Preakness and Belmont winners. (That was SOME allowance race! :D )
Jaime rode Ceasar in a few more races up until October--including a place in the Skidmore and a run in the Iroquois where he finished 4th and earned his first Derby points. Then Mr. Lukas sent Ceasar to Highlander Training Center in Texas for freshening over the winter. Jaime Torres was nominated for an Eclipse Award as apprentice jockey that year, partly for his win and stakes place on STG.
The next spring Mr. Lukas brought Seize The Grey back to Oaklawn Park, and he picked up Nick Juarez as his rider, and although they won his first start back and then started down the Derby Trail, he missed qualifying for the Derby by a head in the Jeff Ruby when he ran a very close 3rd and picked up 25 points, then had a dismal run in the Bluegrass at Keeneland and didn't earn any points. (He only had two starts over the Keeneland track and both were pretty dismal.)
We went into the final stretch to the Derby with Ceasar in spot #27 with 27 points (he needed to be #24 or higher to be entered as an also eligible) but he was on the list, so was at Churchill in the time leading up to the Derby exercising in his 150th Kentucky Derby saddlecloth and Jaime Torres was back in the irons. (The partners were absolutely ecstatic about that.) But D. Wayne Lukas started getting calls from jockey agents wanting to know if Mr. Lukas wouldn't prefer their more seasoned jockeys. Wayne told them all "no way."
When the Derby entries were taken, "Ceasar" was sitting at #22 (2nd AE), and the Coach made the very tough call not to enter the Derby because he opted to put him in the G2 Pat Day Mile on the undercard, instead. He couldn't be entered in both. We (the partnership) were pretty dismayed because Seize The Grey would have been the first--and last--Arrogate to get into the Kentucky Derby if there were just two more scratches, and we were thissss close to being there. After the deadline passed, another horse dropped out, so STG would have been sitting as the first alternate on race day, but he wouldn't have made it into the gate for the Derby. The Coach knew exactly what he was doing and made the right call.
Jaime and Ceasar won the Pat Day Mile on the Derby undercard (and Pat Day himself is in our win photo) and then went on win the Preakness two weeks later. Jaime flew his whole family in from Puerto Rico to share that day with him. :) Jaime was also aboard for all his other races including his second Grade 1 win in the Pennsylvania Derby. No other jockey rode Seize The Grey until he retired.
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