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Borel will be aboard Infrattini
By Bill Mooney
CHESTER, W. VA.
Among the jockeys venturing in for Saturday’s West Virginia Derby is Calvin Borel. His presence alone will provide a boost to attendance. Racing fans in the state’s northern panhandle love the guy.
The 44-year Borel will be the pilot aboard Infrattini, who is 8-1 in the morning line. It will be Borel’s second career attempt for a victory at Mountaineer Racetrack’s signature race. His only other try was with Fantasticat, who finished fifth in 2004.
Borel has never before ridden Infrattini, a lightly raced colt.
“Yes, but Calvin’s a proven rider with three-year-olds,” said Infrattini’s trainer, Paul McGee.
In 2007, Borel guided Street Sense to 21/4-length victory in the Kentucky Derby. In 2009, he won the Kentucky Derby a second time, guiding the 50-1 shot Mine That Bird to a 63/4-length win. And the following year, Borel triumphed again at Churchill Downs, piloting Super Saver to a 21/2-length win.
Borel, of course, is also the jockey who guided the three-year-old filly Rachel Alexandra through her undefeated, Horse of the Year campaign in 2009 – during which she defeated male opponents in the Preakness Stakes and older male runners at the Woodward Stakes at Saratoga.
McGee and Borel are both based on the Kentucky circuit, and they’ve teamed up for success before. In 2001, they were victorious in the Grade Aristides Handicap at Churchill and the Phoenix Breeders’ Cup Stakes at Keeneland with Bet On Sunshine.
In 2006, McGee and Borel teamed to win the Washington Park Handicap at Arlington Park with Suave. And in 2010 they won the Ben Ali Stakes at Keeneland with Dubious Miss.
Borel hasn’t ridden frequently at Mountaineer over the years. He’s had 17 mounts, from which he’s gained four wins. One of them was aboard Go Now for trainer Ron Moquett in the 2006 Fall Handicap.
Another was aboard Awsugahnow for trainer Ian Wilkes in the 2008 West Virginia Secretary of State Stakes.
Besides Infrattini, Borel has five other mounts on Saturday. He’s been named to ride Bonaparte in the Mountaineer Juvenile Stakes, Rattlin Gypsy in the West Virginia Secretary of State Stakes, Queen Teuta in the Mountaineer Juvenile Fillies Stakes, Shameless in the West Virginia Senate President’s Cup and Strike Impact in the West Virginia House of Delegates Speaker’s Cup.
Five-time Eclipse Award winning trainer Todd Pletcher, who finished second in the 2010 West Virginia Derby with Exhi, will run Modern Cowboy in Saturday’s West Virginia Governor’s Stakes. Earlier this year, the four-year-old colt won the Bald Eagle and finished second in the Excelsior Stakes, both at Aqueduct.