Veteran rider hungry for more success

Veteran jockey Charlton Riley is hungry for more success after he recently won his first race at Caymanas Park in more than 18 years.

The 61-year-old Riley, one of the oldest active jockeys at Caymanas Park, created a huge upset in the first race on Monday, May 17, when he rode 29-1 shot BLOOD SONG to a seven-and-a-half -length victory. The win, aboard the Patrick Fong-trained seven-year-old gelding, was the first for the journeyman since he rode IDITAROD to victory in 2003.

"I am feeling very happy about this victory," Riley said after his win. "I was confident that this horse was going to run well because I know him, but I didn't expect him to win so easily."

"I went out there with the intention that I wanted to win this race, because it has really been a long time since I have been in the winners' enclosure, and so it was a joy for me to go past the winning the post in front," said Riley.

The veteran jockey noted that this victory has given him a lot of confidence and once he gets good rides, he will win a lot more races this year. "I hope this victory will open a lot more doors for me so that I can win more races, because I have a lot of confidence in myself," he said.

"I have never doubted myself, because I am in excellent physical condition. For a man who will turn 62 in September, my body weight is very good because I have trained and I eat right, and so age is just a number for me," he added.

Riley, who has won more than 100 races in his career, began riding at Caymanas Park in 1978. He has had stints in Canada, where he rode as an exercise rider in the early 2000s. He noted that he has no plan to retire from the sport any time soon because once he is healthy, he will be riding as long as possible.

"I have told myself that this year I can win up to ten races once I am getting the rides. I was born for this because this is the only job that I know, so I am not going to stop until the Father says so," Riley said.