Jockey Martin Garcia, a 27-year-old native of Veracruz, Mexico, reached milestone victory 1,000 Aug. 30 as part of a three-win day at Del Mar.
Garcia booted home Bubba Fizz in the second race to reach 1,000 (VIDEO).
Bubba Fizz, a 2-year-old gelded son of Sunriver owned by JR Riley Stables and trained by Mike Mitchell, responded gamely to Garcia’s handling in the stretch to defeat Disarm by a head in the six-furlong race over Del Mar’s main track. Third choice in the wagering, Bubba Fizz paid $12.40 to win.
Garcia is the fourth in the Del Mar jockey standings with 20 wins through Aug. 30. He had two additional victories on the Aug. 30 card, clicking with a pair of 7-1 shots, Royal Encounter ($17.60) for Mitchell again, and aboard Racing Aptitude ($17) for Bob Baffert in the day's featured event.
He earned his first career triumph Aug. 17, 2005 at the Bay Meadows Fair, and enjoyed considerable success in the San Francisco area before coming to Southern California. In 2006, his first season at Del Mar, he finished second in the standings to champion Victor Espinoza.
Donald R. Dizney's Racing Aptitude won the featured allowance optional claimer at 1 1/16 miles on the grass in 1:40.18, defeating Red Sun by a half-length.
Garcia had a breakout year in 2010 when he won the Preakness Stakes (gr. I) and Haskell Invitational (gr. I) aboard Lookin At Lucky . He amassed purse earnings of more than $10.1 million, ranking him ninth in the country, despite missing the last several months of the year due to visa issues in Mexico. Other grade I victories in 2010 included Gabby's Golden Gal in the Santa Monica Stakes and Misremembered in the Santa Anita Handicap.
In 2011, Garcia had seven grade I wins, including First Dude in the Hollywood God Cup, Coil in the Haskell, Drill in the Del Mar Futurity, and The Factor in the Malibu and Pat O'Brien. All of those wins were for Baffert.
In March, Garcia guided Eden's Moon to victory in the Las Virgenes Stakes (gr. I).
