1 in an Arlington Million

If Mother Goose visited her solitary quarters in the women's jocks room at Arlington Park this summer, Karlsson's first instincts probably would be to brush the newfound feathers, then gallop her a mile or so for further assessment.  All effort would be pointed toward one goal: beating the boys in the afternoon.

 

"The best moments are the moments when you know you have accomplished something or are aworking toward something," Karlsson said.  "I care about horses.  I like horses.  I enjoy waking up before dawn, looking at the clock and knowing I am headed out to work through all of the possibilites of a new day at a racetrack."

 

She is 23, blond and sinewy.  She was born in Sweden, and arrived in Canada three years ago with a six-month permit.  A nordic lass with the same sort of people skills but a less rigorous sense of adventure might be greeting frequent flyers for SAS or working in a Swedish consulate somewhere.

 

Instead, since last September, Karlsson has been going whip-'n'-chill with the encrusted orbsmen of Chicago racing.  And her early returns are encouraging.

 

In less than 12 full months of riding, the determined apprentice has won 59 races and close to $1.2 million in purses.  Eleven of those victories have come during the opening segment of the uber-competitive Arlington meeting with agent Penny Fitch-Hayes and trainer Roger Brueggeman as critical allies.  This past Spring at Hawthorne -- a scant eight months after her first win -- Karlsson rocketed onto parimutuel vouchers in Chicago when she finished second in the jockey standings with 27 tallies.  Only Tim Thornton was better.

 

"And Inez is getting better," longtime Chicago horseman Jimmy DiVito said.  "She's getting stronger and certainly more confident as she gains experience and learns how to ride winners."

 

"Her determination is truly notable because, don't forget, she's trying to overcome two things around here:  No. 1, Chicago has not been a great town for (start-up) apprentices, unless you go all the way back to guys like Craig Perret and Carlos Marquez, Sr.  Even Steve Cauthen started someplace else.  And No. 2, what woman has ever sustained success as a rider here?"

 

The sustained standard in that meager compartment reamins Zoe Cadman.  The South African native burst onto the paths in 2000.  One year later, she won a riding championship at Hawthorne -- still the only female jockey to craft that feat in Chicago.  Shortly after, she married jockey Larry Sterling, Jr., retired and turned her attention to assorted TV assignments.

 

Last summer, while Cadman was still in the TV department at Arlington and Karlsson was galloping horses awaiting her afternoon debut, their paths crossed frequently.  Said Karlsson: "Zoe was unbelievably kind with her time and thoughts.  She told me she'd do anything she could to help and she did."

 

Help is not necessarily a commodity Karlsson is accustomed to asking for.  She grew up comfortably in a port city in southwest Sweden, along with her twin sister Karin, the middle children of four.  Father Leif was a former model and amateur boxer and a merchant seaman; mother Annika played basketball in programs associated with the Swedish national team.

 

"I was a tomboy and so was Karin, but that's the way a lot og girls in Sweden are," Karlsson said.  "You are brought up to be independent.  Karin and I started out making our own horses out of socks and grooming them and everything.  We never had dolls.

 

"We had a summer place we would stay at, and there was horse farm nearby.  Every afternoon, we know what time the horses would be out, and we'd plan it so we'd be there.  Once in a while, they let us get up and have a short ride on one."

 

Karlsson emigrated to Canada and after brief turns around harness tracks, she hooked up with Justin Nixon, a key trainer for the monied, multinational thoroughbred interests of Frand Stronach.  Karlsson's path to Arlington Park had begun.

 

After working for Bruce Levine at Monmouth and Dickie Small in Maryland, Karlsson went to the Fair Grounds in New Orleans eventually winding up at Keeneland where she met ex-jockey Randy Romero.  He knew she wanted to be a jockey and suggested Karlsson go to Arlington.

 

Karlsson's first mount didn't happend until late summer.  In her second try, aboard Chris Block's Death Valley in September, she won.

 

"Everything about me right now is focused on becoming the best jockey I can be," said Karlsson.

 

And the future?

 

"I guess the one I keep thinking about is Julie Krone," Karlsson said.  "... to think of what she accomplished and what it must have taken, when I am done, my deepest wish would be that people speak of me as a rider the way they speak of her.  Maybe I'm dreaming, but why can't I?"

 

Why not indeed, when in a world of whips and snails and insider tales, a lone Nordic lass has begun to beat the boys in the afternoon. by Jim O'Donnell/suntimes.com