Cardenas to resume riding on Saturday

After more than three months out of the saddle, Panamanian jockey Dick Cardenas is set to resume riding at Caymanas Park on Saturday.

Cardenas is coming off a series of injuries after he fell from his mount DE INEVITABLE on December 18 last year. He suffered three broken ribs and a punctured lung after the fall.

Lerone ‘Bredda’ Lee, who has taken over as Cardenas’ agent from Donovan Wilson, said the jockey is in excellent condition ahead of Saturday’s race day.

“He is in good shape, and as a matter of fact, he has lost some weight because he says he was working out and he was dieting,” said Lee.

“He weighs 103 pounds, but I have been encouraging him to get it up to about 108 pounds,” he said.

“He was offered rides last Saturday, but he says that he was going to work in himself at exercise before he decides to ride, and so he will be riding this Saturday,” Lee said.

Cardenas, who has won more than 700 races in Jamaica, captured the jockeys’ championship in 2011.

He pointed out that Cardenas is a top jockey who enjoys winning races and, therefore, he is hoping to return with a bang on Saturday.

STEP BY STEP

“We are expecting him to win a lot of races, but we are going to do it step by step because he is coming off an injury, and so we are not going to put him on a lot of rides,” Lee said.

“We are targeting four rides over the holiday racing carnival, and after that, we will take it from there,” he said.

“Dick enjoys winning races because he comes from a family of riders who have won a lot of races,” Lee stated.

Lee is also the agent of top jockey Dane Nelson, who is scheduled to leave the island on Wednesday for North America, where he is scheduled to resume riding in Canada. Nelson is the leading rider at Caymanas Park for 2022 with 27 wins.