Leparoux hitting his stride at Spa

That, the agent said, is what they came to upstate New York to accomplish.  Their goal for the season (a different one is set by Bass at each meet) has been nearly completed.  The meet is only halfway over.  It feels good to overachieve.

 

Leparoux, 25, always has been comfortable at the Spa.  It is where he scored his first win (in 2005) and the August 18 anniversary of that occasion is rapidly approaching.  The French jockey parlayed his initial score into an ambitious career that took him to tracks across the country.  He earned an Eclipse Award as the nation's leading apprentice in 2006, led all jockeys in wins, and took home riding titles at every major track in Kentucky.  In 2006, he also set a record for races won by an apprentice at Saratoga (28).

 

That year, Leparoux was riding first call for Patrick Biancone, whose support helped him get his phenomenal start.  But this season the jockey is on his own, keeping his career alive while Biancone serves a one-year suspension away from the track for possession of cobra venom, an illegal nerve-blocking agent.

 

Leparoux originally worked horses all morning, every morning for Biancone at Saratoga.  Now it's usual to see him traveling from barn-to-barn on the backside, breezing a horse for a trainers like Nick Zito before hopping on one for someone like David Carroll.

 

"I miss Patrick's horses," Leparoux said, "but he's not here and we have to keep going and do the best we can."

 

The break from Biancone's stable, while a clean one, was not easy.  Leparoux struggled to find his niche over the winter, making less-than-profitable stops in California, Florida and Louisiana.  But a return to the Kentucky riding colony this spring silenced his doubters, as trainers who had been waiting for the chance finally got to use him.  This summer, that business is spreading across the country -- providing wins like an August 2 West Virginia Derby score on Ready Set or a July 5 American Oaks score on Pure Clan.

 

"Patrick obviously was good for us to get started, but from a rider's standpoint, Julien has adjusted fine, Bass said.  "He's a great young rider who handles himself very professionally. I never have to worry about going behind him and putting out fires."

 

Trainers here have picked up on that professionalism, especially the old pros themselves -- like D. Wayne Lukas, who takes Leparoux whenever he's available to ride a race.  Lukas said he's seen infinite growth in the jockey since he broke away from Biancone's stable.  He believes the split was a fortuitous one, at least where Leparoux is concerned.

 

"Riding first call limits your growth pattern as a rider," Lukas said.  "You want to be able to adjust to various horses, and when you're riding mostly for one trainer, you're limited to the types of horses you're able to ride.  The fact that Patrick is not training right now is probably a good thing for this phase of Julien's career."

 

And there's nowhere better than Saratoga to take that next career step.

 

"It's the best place to be in the summer," Leparoux said simply.  "It's always good to come back."  Clare Novak/Albany Times-Union