Zayas Edges Ahead of Gaffalione at Gulfstream

Edgard Zayas has moved ahead of Tyler Gaffalione by one victory in the jockey standings at the Gulfstream Park summer meet.

And the outcome could be determined not solely by how well each rider does at Gulfstream, but also by the number of days that each spends riding at other tracks.

Zayas has 18 summer meet wins and Gaffalione has 17 through Sunday.  Zayas has ridden in 81 races and Gaffalione has ridden in 64.

Emisael Jaramillo is third with 12 wins in 59 starts, and Miguel Vasquez is fourth with ten in 77 starts.

Seven of Gaffalione’s wins were on July 4. That tied Jerry Bailey’s record, set March 12. 2015, for most wins in a day by a jockey at Gulfstream.

Sunday was the eleventh day of the 57-day meet that will end on Sept. 30.

Gulfstream will resume racing on Thursday with ten races and first post of 1:15 p.m.

Gaffalione has five mounts at Gulfstream on the Thursday card.

On Thursday, Zayas will be at Indiana Grand Race Corse in Shelbyville, Ind., to ride one race—on the Florida-stabled Queen Del Valle.

The race is the $100,000 TaWee Stakes at one mile on turf for three-year-old fillies. It is the ninth race with scheduled post of 5:49 p.m. Eastern.

Queen Del Valle has won ten of her eleven career starts, mostly optional claimers. Zayas rode her in eight races. 

Reid Nagle trains the Kentucky-bred Queen Del Valle and his Big Lick Farm in Morriston, Fla., owns her.

On Thursday morning, we will have more about Queen Del Valle in a “horses to watch” story.

Weekend Travelers

 Last weekend Gaffalione was on the road, and Zayas took advantage of it at Gulfstream.

Zayas, a 25-year-old native of Puerto Rico, rode two winners on Saturday and three winners on Sunday.

Gaffalione was winless in four mounts at Gulfstream on Sunday.

That followed a successful Saturday at Delaware Park.

The 22-year-old native of Davie, Fla., rode in seven races at Delaware.  He had one win, four second place finishes, one third place and one fourth place.

One of his second-place finishes was on Master Plan in the Kent Stakes (Grade 3) at one mile on turf for 3-year-olds.

Master Plan is trained by Todd Pletcher.

The Saratoga Race Course meet will open this Friday and run through Sept. 4.  It is likely that on many Saturdays and Sunday, Gaffalione will ride at the Saratoga Springs, N.Y., track.

Pletcher and Nick Zito are among trainers who put 

Gaffalione on horses during Gulfstream’s 2016-2017 championship meet and can be expected to do so at Saratoga.

At the 2016-2017 Gulfstream championship meet, Luis Saez led jockeys with 102 wins. Paco Lopez was second with 90 wins and Gaffalione was third with 62.

Gaffalione finished first with 93 wins and Zayas finished second with 58 in the Gulfstream 2016 summer meet. At the recent Gulfstream 2017 spring meet Gaffalione led in wins with 98 and Zayas was second with 72, followed by Jaramillo with 46.

Gaffalione and Zayas are both scheduled to ride at Gulfstream this Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Gaffalione is listed on seven mounts on Friday, eight on Saturday and eleven on Sunday.

Zayas is listed on five mounts on Friday, eight on Saturday and nine on Sunday.

--Jim Freer