New York handler Jerkens takes ‘big jump” to Saudi

RIYADH: Jimmy Jerkens will take charge of his first runners as a trainer in Saudi Arabia as early as next week. The New Yorker has agreed to train for 2022’s leading owner, Prince Faisal bin Khaled bin Abdulaziz. Jerkens will be responsible for some of the jurisdiction’s top horses at the prince’s Red Stable.

Jerkens has two Breeders’ Cup successes on his resume, winning the 2005 Breeders’ Cup Mile with Artie Schiller and the 2007 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile with Corinthian. He also trained the 2009 Florida Derby winner Quality Road, who coincidently is the sire of 2022 Saudi Cup winner Emblem Road, and multiple Grade 1 winner Shaman Ghost. Over the past couple of years, Jerkens has been struggling for winners, but speaking on the emergence of the opportunity, he said: “Joel Rosario’s agent, Ron Anderson, called me and told me that the Red Stable were looking for a trainer for the upcoming season.

“He said: ‘I know you’ve been struggling for the last couple of years, and I don’t know what your prospects are here, but I put your name out there and they looked up your resume and they’re extremely interested.’ “I didn’t think much about it, and he called me again. The more I thought about it, the better it looked compared with the prospects I had coming back to New York. “It’s expensive to operate back home in New York, especially if you don’t have the volume and the quality.

It had just turned into a never-ending expense. “A few years ago, you could afford to be a bit more patient and sit around and wait for things to happen, but you can only charge so much, and I couldn’t really afford to wait anymore. “If you’ve not had any running and winning, you’re dead.