Kyle Frey © Benoit Photo

Jockey Kyle Frey is coming up on the one year anniversary of the biggest day in his life…professionally. Frey is happily married with two beautiful children so one would assume there have been bigger days for the 33-year-old. But this particular day last year at Del Mar was one for the books.

Frey rode Gold Phoenix to the horse’s third straight G2 Del Mar Handicap victory, something that’s never been done. Then before Frey could come down from winning a prestigious graded stakes race, he won his first Pacific Classic with 23-1 longshot Mixto.

“Oh, by far,” Frey says when asked if it was his best day racing. “I won on Gold Phoenix and I was ecstatic. Then I realized we had one more left, one more big race. Then to get that. On the gallop-out I remember thinking ‘Wow, that’s amazing that just happened.’”

Most of those watching the race thought the same thing. What just happened here? Where did this horse come from?

“He trains really good here,” Frey says of Mixto. “Loves this track. Doug (O’Neill) and Leandro (Mora) when they got him here worked him out of the gate in company. Edwin (Maldonado) was on Mixto and I was on the other horse. Mixto worked like a rocket, just pulled away from me like I was tied to a fence post.”

But Maldonado had a prior commitment to go out of town on Classic Day and couldn’t ride Mixto in the marquee race. He told Frey who remembered the workout and jumped at the chance to replace Maldonado. 

“I was confident and happy with him (Mixto),” Frey says. “Then, unfortunately for Baffert, the mare (Adare Manor) had to be scratched. She was a really nice one and when that happened it had me thinking: ‘This is anybody’s race at this point.’ 

“Me and Sadler’s (Full Serrano) were the only two speed horses,” Frey continues. “The others were really good runners but the speed had been holding up at that point and I knew I just had to stay on top of him.”

And that’s what Frey did. He followed Full Serrano until they got in the lane.

“That horse ran huge,” Frey remembers. “He kicked away from me but my horse was just steady in there and ran him down. Those fractions got to that horse (Full Serrano) the last sixteenth. You could see him soften up bit. That’s when I thought ‘It’s over. This horse is not re-breaking and I’m getting into my best stride right now.’”

Frey was the toast of Del Mar but he didn’t see much of change in his business both immediately after the race and in the long term.

“A little bit,” Frey concedes. “But I didn’t notice a huge difference in business if I’m being honest. I was already riding for the guys I continued to ride for. It’s not bad but I’m not getting first call on the best horses in the race.” 

One of Frey’s goals moving forward is to get in with more outfits on the backside. 

“Kind of spread the net a little bit,” Frey states. “While also staying true to those who have taken care of me. Jack’s great about that, too.”

Jack Carava is Frey’s agent and guiding light for the past few years. Carava is a former trainer who knows his way around the horse racing industry. He’s taken Frey under his wing and helped him avoid the pitfalls of the business while also helping him find the highlights. Frey is currently 11th in the jockey standings at Del Mar with five wins.

“Luck and a little bit of chance,” is how Frey assesses his meet at Del Mar so far. “The right horse but the wrong post. Those little tiny things that make all the difference when you’re not on simply the best horse in the race.”

On one sunny afternoon in 2024 Frey was on two of the best horses.

“I had a good day,” Frey understates with a laugh.