| (cont....)
FERNADO JARA
Besides Jazil, other top mounts this year have included
Invasor (G1 Whitney H, G1 Suburban H), Angara (G1 Diana H),
Go Deputy (G2 Bowling Green H), Bel Air Beauty (G2
Alcibiades), Like Now (G3 Gotham, Fred "Cappy" Capossela), Chief
Officer (New York Breeders' Futurity), Classic Pack (Cab
Calloway) and Win With a Wink (Joseph A. Gimma).
Growing up, "I did
everything," around the racetrack, walking horses, etc. "When I
was a kid, I was crazy with the races. I loved them," he says.
"I think it comes in the blood. At 14 and in the ninth grade, he
left public school and attended jockey school. He won his first
race when he was 15 on Soy Soberano Papa at Hippodromo
Presidente Remon. He earned the nickname "Ice Boy" because of
the fearless way he rode.
Came to the United
States on Dec. 26, 2003, with family friend Samuel Jimenez, a
lawyer who trains as a hobby, and started his career at
Aqueduct.
His final day as
an apprentice jockey was July 18, 2004.
His purse earnings in 2005 totaled $2,152,818, nearly all of
which was earned in New York.
First graded
stakes victory came aboard Like Now in the Gotham and his first
grade 1 came in the Belmont.
His first agent as
well as his roommate was fellow Panamanian Jose Rivera, a cousin
of New York Yankees relief pitcher Mariano Rivera. Retired
jockey Randy Romero took over Jara's book in February. |