HALLANDALE BEACH - Edgard Zayas, who entered today’s program at Gulfstream Park on a streak of three four-win days, added another two wins to his Royal Palm Meet-leading total.

    The 31-year-old rider, who has been riding first call for leading trainer Saffie Joseph Jr., has accumulated 86 victories at Gulfstream since April 1 to open up a lead of 31 wins in the jockey standings over Emisael Jaramillo.

    Zayas started with a winning ride aboard Eddie Plesa Jr.-trained Zio Lorenzo ($4.40) in Race 2 and came right back to score aboard Pablo Torres-trained I’m Still Brave ($3.20) in Race 3.

    “I’m getting the right lineup of horses and all the support from the owners and trainers and my agent,” said Zayas, who has ridden more than 2300 winners during his career while based in South Florida. “Saffie has been a big help. I’ve been winning for a lot of people, but mostly for him. I’m blessed to have that barn, for sure.”

    Zayas has been riding in a zone, making the right decisions at the right time on the right horses. “Once you get the momentum, you ride with that confidence, and I definitely think the horses feel that confidence,’ Zayas said.

    Taking advantage of his burgeoning success, Zayas has 10 mounts on Saturday’s 11-race program, including six morning-line favorites, most notably R Harper Rose in the $95,000 Azalea in the Race 10 feature.

    The Rio Grande, Puerto Rico native, who began his riding career at Calder Race Course in 2012, was taken under Hall of Famer rider Angel Cordero’s wing during Gulfstream’s 2012-2013 Championship Meet. Cordero imparted his knowledge on Zayas during the morning hours, and his student went on to become an Eclipse Award finalist in 2013.

 

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