Patterson turning heads at the Downs

If there’s one way to make money at the track, it’s spotting a hot, talented jockey before anyone else does. We just found one.

Javaniel Patterson returned from a shoulder injury on Aug. 5 and promptly won with his first mount back, Captive Kitten, who paid $32.60 for trainer Victoria Morse on the final race on the card. The $1 Pick 4 paid $22,913.95. Why? Partially because most bettors don’t play jockeys they don’t know or see in the standings.

The 32-year-old Patterson arrived here from Jamaica last year and won 13 races, not quite enough to crack the top 10 in the jockey standings. He returned early this year but suffered a broken shoulder in a training injury and couldn’t get cleared to ride again until Aug. 5, which just happened to be the same day leading rider Prayven Badrie was knocked out for the season with a hip injury.

Before Patterson rode Captive Kitten through a free-square hole on the rail to win, there were already whispers in the backstretch to the effect that “this kid can ride.” Those whispers gained more traction when Patterson won with three of his next 12 mounts, but his performance on one particular winner caused expert race watchers to pay attention.

Patterson was aboard Designated Hitter ($11.40) for trainer Carl Anderson on Girls Night Out this Wednesday and showcased a few skills seen only in the best jockeys. He stalked an early duel from the inside, moved smoothly off the rail in early turn to make sure he didn’t get stuck behind a tiring speed horse, waited patiently until late turn, and then made the right choice when one of two holes opened up.

He didn’t just guide Designated Hitter through the hole, he did it with style. No steadying, no checking, just plain silky. He then took the lead nearing the sixteenth pole and saved just enough horse to hold off the hard-charging Totalizer to his outside in a rousing finish to screams and cheers. It was a perfect ride, the best we’ve seen this year.

Patterson’s journey to Assiniboia Downs reads like something out of a movie script. Born and raised in Spanish Town, Jamaica, a place he described as “more like a ghetto,” the well-spoken high school dropout discovered horse racing at 19 and never looked back.

“I’m a fast learner,” said Patterson. “I just fell in love with horses as soon as I was around them. I’m just happy that I’m able to get back on horses and things are working out pretty well.”

Patterson’s introduction to racing was typical of Jamaica’s sink-or-swim approach to developing riders. After a friend told him he had the right build for racing, Patterson found himself at Caymanas Park with no riding experience whatsoever.

“That’s how it is in Jamaica,” said Patterson. “On my first day, I was getting to know the horses and learn about them, and the trainer just said, ‘You need to start getting on them.’”

Within a week Patterson was in the saddle, and in 2015 he scored his first victory aboard a longshot that left him confused about what had happened.

“I didn’t know I won,” he said. “But as soon as I came to a stop after the wire, top jockey Wesley Henry rode by on the horse that ran second and said, ‘Good job.’ And I’m like, what? And he said, ‘You won.’”

Patterson went on to win more than 200 races in Jamaica and never finished out of the top 10 in the standings. His biggest victory came in 2018 when he captured the prestigious 2000 Guineas aboard Commander Two.

Commander Two “used terrifying speed to nullify his rivals and hung on by a neck from 14-1 outsider Western Legend, scoring a thrilling 2000 Guineas victory at odds of 8-1,” wrote Ainsley Walters in Jamaican newspaper The Gleaner on April 15, 2018.

Seven years later Patterson looks like he has now fully adjusted to the Canadian style of racing, minus the morning incident earlier in the season that sent him flying through the air and landing with a thud.

“I don’t know what spooked the horse, but he just hit the rail and I went high up in the air and landed in the infield,” said Patterson. “I broke my shoulder. I have a screw in it right now.” The injury required a week in hospital, surgery and months of rehabilitation. The horse later went on to win.

Now living in a trailer provided by trainer Tom Gardipy, Jr. and riding primarily for trainers Victoria Morse, Lisa Pruitt, and Carl Anderson, Patterson has his sights set high despite the late start to his season. Veteran jockey Renaldo Cumberbatch has been helping him. “He’s been nice to me, showing me things, and that’s good when you’re on a new circuit,” said Patterson.

“My goal for the year was to try and make it into the top five,” said Patterson. “Now it’s going to take some time. But I’m still aiming high.”

His talent is undeniable, his story compelling, and the odds on his horses still reflect his relative anonymity in the standings. Watch closely. This ghetto kid from Spanish Town might just be your ticket…

To the winner’s circle.