Sunday, February 15, 2009

Mike Smith Named Jockey of the Week

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Feb 12th, 09
Jockey Mike Smith, who rode champion Stardom Bound to victory in the Las Virgenes Stakes (GI), led all North American riders with $403,820 in purse earnings for the week ended February 10.

Smith has ridden Stardom Bound in each of her six career starts, including a 1-1/4-length victory in the Las Virgenes Stakes on February 7 at Santa Anita Park. The win was the fourth consecutive Grade I victory for the Tapit filly..
Stardom Bound was voted 2008 champion two-year-old filly after concluding her juvenile season with a win in the Bessemer Trust Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (GI) on October 24 at the Oak Tree meet at Santa Anita.
Smith, 43, was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2003. He won the Eclipse Award as outstanding jockey in 1993 and '94 after leading all North American riders by purse earnings both years.
A Roswell, New Mexico, native who lives in Pasadena, California, Smith was based in New York from 1989 to 2000, when he moved his tack to California. He rode in his first race at age 11 in New Mexico.
Smith launched his career as a licensed jockey in 1982, and has compiled 4,753 wins through Tuesday, February 10. Thoroughbred Times TODAY
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