Geroux Keeps Level Head Amid Rising Stardom

A lot of riders would love to be in jockey Florent Geroux's riding boots right now. The native of the Normandy region of France has been on an enviable run over the last 18 months, including victories in six seven-figure races–highlighted by three Breeders' Cup victories and a

GI Arlington Million. After a romping win in the jockeys' race at Fair Grounds this winter and flying periodically to different parts of the country to ride for increasingly higher-profile outfits, it is evident that the 29-year-old father of two's ascension has yet to hit its ceiling.

Geroux–unfazed by the pressure–now focuses his attention on the most prestigious racing prize on this side of the world, as he is set to pilot one of the favorites, Winchell Thoroughbreds and Three Chimneys Farm's Steve Asmussen-trained Gun Runner (Candy Ride), in the GI Kentucky Derby May 7.

“I feel really good about the race. It is tough to get into the Derby with the point system, but he has more points than any horse and I believe he can win,” Geroux said. “He's a good ride. He's very professional and manageable, with good tactical speed. You can place him where you want to and he's not a super-big horse so you can squeeze through horses easily and he can even stop and start a bit. He has gears.

“I think the mile and a quarter should be fine with him,” Geroux continued. “He won going away at a mile and an eighth and I think we're all in the same boat as far as going more distance than ever before. I don't see a reason why he can't get the trip.”

Gun Runner, who was victorious in both of his races under Geroux–Fair Grounds's $400,000 GII Risen Star S. and $1-million GII Louisiana Derby–has been nothing short of flawless in said pair of sophomore efforts. After breaking his maiden over the Churchill Downs surface and proving his mettle in Keeneland allowance ranks, he was a solid fourth in the GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. to cap his juvenile season in the slop, proving to be his lone loss. Like many of Asmussen's top pupils this season, Gun Runner's reins were then turned over to Geroux and success quickly followed.

“I rode a little for Asmussen last year around this time, but when he called [agent Doug Bredar] and me about riding a nice sprint filly, Street Story (Street Cry {Ire}), that was our break,” Geroux recollected. “We won the GIII Winning Colors S. at Churchill with her. In the fall, he put us on a couple more horses at Churchill and we won on Regally Ready (More Than Ready) and a few others. Then when we came to the Fair Grounds in November he gave us some of the better horses. It is great working with him. He's a great trainer.”

The son of successful French jockey and trainer Dominique Geroux, the younger Geroux has shown impressive poise in the last year and a half. In tandem with Bredar, Flo (as he is known to many of his friends and colleagues) works diligently to strategize for mounts and optimize opportunities, while remaining admirably humble–a constitution that a few desperately lean years when first arriving stateside in 2007 undoubtedly strengthened. For example, between 2007 and 2010 the graduate of the renowned French riding academy AFASEC garnered only 71 victories. In 2016 alone, he has 78 victories and nearly $4 million in purses earned.

“I don't feel any pressure,” he explained. “You just have to be happy and feel fortunate. A lot of people would love to be in this position and you need to make the most out of it. I'm not hard on myself when things go poorly because if you get too stressed, you can't ride good races afterward. To win the big races, you have to stay calm.

“I'm excited for the Derby,” he continued. “I'm not nervous. I got a good taste of something similar last year when I rode one of the favorites (Fletcher and Carolyn Gray's Larry Jones-trained) I'm a Chatterbox (Munnings) in the [Kentucky] Oaks. I thought I had the best filly that day, but we had a rough trip and didn't get too lucky, but that's okay. Everyone is going to be watching the Derby, not just regular racing fans, so it's very exciting to be part of a [national] event.”

Aside from Gun Runner and I'm a Chatterbox, Geroux is also the regular rider of champions Untapable (Tapit) and Leigh Court (Grand Slam), multiple graded stakes winners Cinco Charlie (Indian Charlie) and Chocolate Ride (Candy Ride), as well as Breeders' Cup winners Mongolian Saturday (Any Given Saturday) and Catch a Glimpse (City Zip).

“I try to ride for everyone,” he explained. “Not just Pletcher, Jones, Asmussen and Casse, but also the guys who have been loyal to me since the beginning like Doug Matthews, Mike Stidham and Wayne Catalano. Good horses will come from everywhere, so you just ride your best.

“A funny story about Catch A Glimpse is that I actually went to Woodbine to ride a different horse in another stakes that day–The Zip Zip Man (City Zip) for Stidham–and Doug tried to get me another mount,” he continued. “It was either Catch a Glimpse or a horse from New York. I wanted to ride Catch a Glimpse and two or three jockeys turned her down before I got the call. That's just how it happens sometimes.”

Geroux, who won his first stakes in 2010 at Presque Isle Downs in restricted company with hard-knocking Pennsylvania-bred gelding Zoeling (Favorite Trick), has come a long way thus far in his American career. Still, he remains acutely focuses on the future, which may include returning to international riding.

“If someone asks me to ride outside the U.S., that is definitely something I look forward to possibly doing,” he said. “A lot of American jockeys don't get the opportunity to ride overseas because our horses rarely travel globally, but I would love to ride Royal Ascot or return to Hong Kong like I did with Mongolian Saturday in December.

“After riding through Keeneland, I will likely do Churchill Downs again and possibly Saratoga this summer,” Geroux concluded. “I don't set any specific goal, really, I just try to win as many races as I can and that hopefully includes the Kentucky Derby. I just work hard and hope for better opportunities and better horses. Doug has been a big part of that and is very good at his job and I like riding in tough colonies like Keeneland and Fair Grounds. You have to ride smarter races and be a better jockey and hopefully this will be an even bigger year for me.”