Black Shows ‘Passion for Longshot Victories

Corey Black hasn’t been winning many races at the meet and he also has been having trouble with his car, but Super Bowl Sunday turned into a super day for the 29-year-old jockey at Santa Anita.

Starting the day with only three wins in 57 races, Black rode Ilion, a 14-1 shot, to victory in the fifth race, then came back in the feature, the $108,300 Santa Ynez Stakes, with another longshot winner in Nijinsky’s Passion.

Trained by Tim Pinfield, who worked under Charlie Whittingham and Darrell Vienna before forming his own stable last summer, Nijinsky’s Passion, the longest price on the board, paid $38.80 after beating Well Chosen by a head in the seven-furlong race.

Well Chosen, winless in four tries since breaking her maiden in October, finished two lengths ahead of Vivid Angel, who ran better than her last two races but still hasn’t regained the form that brought a win in the Oak Leaf at Santa Anita last fall.

Superlative, the 4-5 favorite, led the seven-horse field at the head of the stretch before she was swallowed up. Winner of stakes on both dirt and grass, Superlative finished fourth, beaten by about four lengths.

“I don’t know why she ran so poorly,� jockey Chris McCarron said. “The only thing I can put my finger on is this was the first time she was ever upset in the post parade. She washed out [sweated]. She’s never done that before. She had the spot and was going comfortably, but never picked it up when I asked her to run after she straightened out.�

Nijinsky’s Passion, who was bought by Barry Henley, a Paramount Studios special-effects man, after she won the California Breeders’ Champion Stakes on New Year’s Eve, finished in 1:23 and earned $64,980 while posting her third win in seven starts.

Next to last after half a mile, Black believed he might have moved too soon with his filly.

“She exploded, and then she had enough left,� he said. “We planned on sitting back and making one run. This was a pleasant surprise.�

Pinfield, 31, is a former English steeplechase rider. Nijinsky’s Passion is his first stakes-winning horse.

“This filly lacks confidence, so you’ve got to train her carefully and not change anything all the way down the line,� he said. “Same groom, same hot-walker and my wife, Debbie, gets on her in the mornings. The filly’s grown up a lot since she ran second in that Hollywood Park race [in November].�

The first time she ran, at Calder Race Course near Miami last June, Nijinsky’s Passion won and could have been claimed for $30,000. Now she has earned $184,535.