In one of the great days of his life, New York’s jockey Richard Migliore smashed all the jinxes and roared to a tote-busting triumph in the Turf Sprint on Desert Code, a 36-1 seemingly forlorn pretender, to seize his first Breeders’ Cup win.
It was a long time coming – he had had 13 losers – but it was worth the wait for a jockey who has had more than his share of ups-and-downs and bad luck.
“I believe everything happens for a reason in life,” Migliore said after the race, recalling how he had lost the winning ride on Artie Schiller in the Mile Turf in 2005 through injury. “My opportunities have been limited, some of it the breaks of the game, some of it the breaks of my body.”
But everything came together when his good friend and client, trainer David Hofmans, called him in New York and asked him to come to California to ride Desert Code in the Turf Sprint. It was an inspired choice because Migliore let the horse settle down near the rear of the 14-horse field, seemingly in a hopeless position.
He waited and waited until the stretch, then set him down, and Desert Code rolled past everything to snatch a half-length victory over Diabolical, with Storm Treausre a length back in third. The winner ran the 6½-furlong downhill turf course in 1.11.6, paid $75 for a $2 win and topped a $393 exacta.
“This is so overwhelming; I can’t express myself on how I feel,” Migliore said.