Velazquez happy to be back riding races

When John Velazquez rode the three-year-old Monopolize onto the track for the

4TH race at Gulfstream Park, he was greeted by resounding cheers.

The shouts of well wishes rang out in honor of the Hall of Fame jockey's

first race in almost three months while recovering from injuries he sustained in

a spill back in November. In the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) at Santa

Anita Park, Velazquez's mount Secret Compass tragically broke down. The filly

was euthanized, while Velazquez underwent emergency surgery to remove his spleen

and was hospitalized for several days.

A long recovery process followed, and doctors didn't clear the 42-year-old to

ride again until January 10. The following day he began exercise riding, and he

used the time to regain his strength and rhythm in the saddle.

But it's hard to simulate anything like an actual race. Following a

fifth-place finish with Monopolize, well adrift of the impressive Top Billing,

Velazquez had but one adjective to describe how it felt to be racing again.

"Tiring," he said, laughing. "Other than that, it felt good, felt really

good. I'm just looking for a horse now fast enough to carry me around.

"It's great to be here," he added.

Velazquez also had mounts in both of the day's stakes. He rode James F.

Miller's Aurelia's Belle to a second-place finish in the Grade 2 Forward Gal,

finishing behind only the heavily favored Onlyforyou. He finished the day with a

10th-place finish in the Grade 2 Holy Bull aboard Coup de Grace.

Velazquez has been riding for more than 20 years and is racing's all-time

leader in earnings. But despite having a long list of accolades, the Puerto

Rican native remains as passionate as ever about his craft.

"It's the good horses," Velazquez replied when asked what keeps him coming

back. "The hunger for good horses. Something that's going to carry you there and

get you excited about it."

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