Week In Review: That Was Paco Lopez at His Best

Because he doesn't ride regularly in Kentucky, New York or California, Paco Lopez will never get the acclaim that flows so easily when it comes to the likes of the Ortiz brothers, John Velazquez, Flavien Prat. Nor does it help that he has made far too many headlines for the suspensions he has received because he has a problem with overuse of the whip. He can be his own worst enemy.

That's why few would rate him a Top Five rider. That's too bad because he's, well, really good.

That was on display in the GI Preakness Stakes as he gave a perfect ride to winner Napoleon Solo (Liam's Map). He stalked a quick-but-not-too quick- pace set by Taj Mahal (Nyquist) and waited to pounce. He attacked on the far turn and opened up by 1 1/2 lengths, but saved enough for the win and to hold off a determined late run from Iron Honor (Nyquist).

“Paco was awesome,” winning owner Al Gold said Saturday. “What else can you say? Perfect ride. He waited for the right time to move. And he slowed it up from the half to the three-quarters perfectly, and just saved a lot of horse.”

Gold should know. He's a Jersey guy and a horseplayer and has no doubt watched intently as Lopez has piled up 12 Monmouth riding titles, including the last seven in a row.

Lopez doesn't necessarily look pretty on a horse. He sits high in the saddle and rides with a loose rein. But it works. Horses relax for him and you'll rarely see him fighting his mount. They just run for him.

At this point, people may not remember that he was in a close race with Irad Ortiz Jr. for leading rider in the country when he was suspended six months by HISA for multiple violations on Sept. 23. He had 325 winners on the year at the time. Having already wrapped up riding titles at Monmouth Park and Colonial Downs, he was having by far his best year.

Lopez eventually resurfaced in Louisiana, a state that is not governed by HISA. Just as he was starting to get his momentum back, he broke his ankle in a Feb. 7 spill at the Fair Grounds. He returned on April 3, one day before he rode Napoleon Solo to a fifth-place finish in the GII Wood Memorial Stakes.

The book on Napoleon Solo after the Wood was that me might not be a two-turn horse. Lopez disagreed.

“Paco was the one who told (trainer) Chad (Summers) after the Wood that we should come here (for the Preakness),” Gold said. “I didn't think this horse could go this far. It was all Paco's decision and how well this horse was training.”

Summers doesn't start many horses at tracks where Lopez rides, so he doesn't get to see him on a day-to-day basis, but he knows what he brings to the table.

“He might not be the sexy rider or the finesse rider or look the prettiest on a horse sometimes, but I've never seen somebody who is as passionate as he is and who works as hard as he does,” Summers said. “He's the first one at the track in the morning time to breeze horses. When he was coming back, when we were going to put him on in the Wood and he was coming off the injury at the Fair Grounds, we didn't know what he was going to look like. He was out there just as a regular exercise rider for Kelly Breen at Palm Meadows. And he looked like the old Paco the second he was on a horse. He hadn't missed a beat.

“He's a remarkable rider that gets horses to really relax and listen to him. The thing with our horse is he can be a little bit headstrong in the morning and in the post parade. So the pony's just kind of a placeholder rather than actually helping him too much. And as you saw in the post parade, Paco just kind of hung out and was just kind of talking to him and everything was good.”

Focusing on the tracks that he does, Lopez is never going to get a lot of mounts in the major races. This was his first win in a Triple Crown race and he's had only two mounts in the GI Kentucky Derby. His lone Breeders' Cup win came with Roy H (More Than Ready) in the 2018 GI Breeders; Cup Sprint.

This is already been a good year for him and if he stays healthy and stays out of trouble, it figures to get better. Through Saturday, he had 4,436 wins for his career.

“I like to work. I always have,” Lopez told the Monmouth media department Sunday. “I always say `Yesterday's win was yesterday. Today is today.' I have to find a way to win with different horses now.

Now 40, he should easily pass the 6,000 mark before he's done. He might even get to 7,000. He will make for an interesting debate come Hall of Fame time. For now, he'll have to settle for being one of the best in the business.

The Melbourne Cup for Burnham Square? Not Yet

Burnham Square (Liam's Map) did it again Saturday night at Churchill, winning the GIII Louisville Stakes by 4 3/4-lengths. He has blossomed from a good dirt 3-year-old into, arguably, the best turf horse in the training.

Burnham Square romps in the Lousiville in Louisville under the lights | Coady Media

The 4-year-old gelding  also loves to go long, prospering once trainer Ian Wilkes put him on a schedule that included 12-furlong races like the Louisville. Which raises an interesting question: What about the G1 Melbourne Cup? The race is run at about two miles, has a purse of $6.5 million U.S. and, perhaps most importantly, Wilkes is Australian.

But he's not ready to go.

“I get that asked quite a bit about the Melbourne Cup,” Wilkes said. “Not this year. He's too young and he's just learning how to ship correctly. So it's a long way to go to screw up if he doesn't ship well. ”

Wilkes does believe there could be a Melbourne Cup in Burnham Square's future.

“It would mean a lot to win that race, to win the Melbourne Cup,” He said. “Being an Australian, that's the ultimate goal. That's the race that stops the nation. Yeah. So that would mean a lot. I know that I probably have a horse that's good enough because it's not easy to do. It takes a very good horse. I just don't think he's mature enough yet and  I think he's going to get better. Probably in a couple years, he'll be a more mature horse. He'll be a better horse then.”

Wilkes said the June 13 Chorleywood Stakes at Churchill would be next and the major goal for the year is the GI Breeders' Cup Turf.