Landry feels this might be his year
By ROB LONGLEY -- Toronto Sun
He has ridden rabbits and long shots, leftovers and losers, the kind who rarely win races such as the Queen's Plate.
For 12 years running, jockey Rob Landry has had a mount in Canada's most important stakes race. Tickled as he was to be riding in the big show, however, Landry acknowledges he never really had a bet-with-confidence contender.
Instead, he was left to hope the racing gods would toss him a bone.
It hasn't happened yet, but this Sunday at Woodbine when he hops on the back of Niigon for the 145th edition of the opening jewel of the Canadian Triple Crown, Landry has a different feeling.
This time, the 41-year-old believes he has the ticket, a mixture of talent, endurance, breeding and speed to replace the dreamers he has taken to the post in the past.
"Look at all those horses I've ridden and look at the odds and you'll see what I'm talking about," Landry said yesterday of what will be his 14th-career Plate mount.
Excluding horses that were part of a betting entry, in his streak of consecutive rides, Landry's also-rans had average post-time odds of 41-1. For an accomplished jockey who has had his share of major wins, it has added up to a streak of futility and frustration.
Then there were the ones that got away. Landry rode Archers Bay in the 1998 Plate Trial with the understanding that he would surrender the mount to American Kent Desormeaux for the Plate itself. To add insult, Landry saw Archers Bay win from some 10 lengths back on fifth-place finisher Pinafore Park.
Or how about the would-be back-to-back Plate wins. In the spring of 1994, Landry was offered the ride on eventual champ Basqueian but opted instead for a well-regarded colt named Housebound, who broke down in a Plate prep race.
The next year, trainer Roger Attfield came calling with Regal Discovery, who was co-owned by former NHLer Kirk McLean. But Landry's loyalty was to another goalie -- Curtis Joseph -- and he rode Ice Agent to a 13th-place finish.
In 1998, trainer Mike Keogh tried to get Landry to ride a precocious two-year-old named Woodcarver. Landry had other commitments and the next spring Mickey Walls and Keogh were in the Plate winner's circle, while Landry and Catahoula Parish lumbered home seventh.
SEES END TO IT ALL
The always-present potential for rotten racing luck aside, Landry sees an end to it all this weekend. In Niigon, an impressively bred son of Unbridled, he will likely have the second betting choice behind favourite A Bit O' Gold.
"To me, this year I finally have a horse that there's no doubt will get the distance, a horse that has lots of seasoning and a horse that's running well," Landry said.
"Everything is kind of coming together. I think I'm sitting on a talented horse and if I had the option to ride anyone in the race this one I would choose."
Before you plunge the summer vacation fund on Niigon, who may get you 4-1, Landry is making no guarantees. He is impressed with the work trainer Eric Coatrieux has done and the commitment owner Robert Krembil has shown to breeding a winner.
The colt has a solid foundation with five starts this year. And Landry is convinced that being locked in during his runner-up showing in the Plate Trial hurt his chances.
"I'm very confident my horse has the ability to get it done," Landry said. "I'm not saying he's going to win, but I have the confidence he has the ability to win. I couldn't always say that with other horses I've ridden in this race."
Landry is Toronto-born and raised and in 23 years competing has ridden horses to purse earnings of more than $50 million. He has been wise with his share of that booty and now yearns to make his life in racing complete.
"A lot of great things have happened to me in this business, but this would mean everything," Landry said. "If I happened not to do anything else in my career, this would define what I've done.
"They remember Queen's Plate winner's forever. It's a part of history."
