Finding his niche

Desormeaux fought adversity, cockiness to reach racing's pinnacle

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Posted: Saturday June 06, 1998 09:30 AM

Jockey Kent Desormeaux: "We're gonna be a 100 percent ready." ()

ELMONT, New York (CNN/SI) -- He's a little man on top of the horse racing world. Jockey Kent Desormeaux is on the verge of immortality as the rider on Real Quiet -- a team that could win the Triple Crown Saturday at Belmont Park.

"You know we've won the Kentucky Derby. We've won the Preakness. We've already lived the dream. We're gonna be a 100 percent ready."

Desormeux grew up in the Cajun country of Louisiana where he vividly remembers what hooked him on racing. It was the first time he climbed on a quarter-horse and felt the speed and power.

"And boy what a rush. This sucker just left there, you know, those doors open and the lunging forward for about three strides. I mean zero to 55 in two jumps. That's pretty exciting."

But the thrills were only beginning. Desormeaux was a natural, with great hands to get a thoroughbred to respond plus strength to carry a tiring horse across the finish line.

Desormeaux made his riding debut in 1986 in Louisiana and by the end of the year graduated to the tougher Maryland circuit where he proceeded to become phenominal.

In 1989 Desormeux set the world record for wins in a year with 598 and believed he was now the greatest show on earth.

"I was winning tons of races and I thought it was me. And I thought it was all me me me me! I think it was the fall of my career," Desormeaux said. "You know people would try to tell me how to ride the horse. I would not pay attention. You know I didn't hear what they had to say. I knew better."

Trainers began to shy away. Desormeaux was fined and suspended in 1992 for not riding his mounts hard to the finish.

Then, in December of that year, Desormeaux was thrown by a horse and trampled by another at Hollywood Park. He suffered 16 skull fractures and is still deaf in one ear.

"The fear of losing some normality whether it's paralysis or speech, or in my case deafness, you realize how lucky you are and I think I became a better family man through the accident."

Five days after the accident, Desormeaux's son Joshua was born. When the baby's heart stopped, both he and his mother were rushed to intensive care. Today you'd never know all three had been through a brush with death.

"It was a major, major lesson in life," Desormeaux said.

Dealing with that adversity changed Desormeaux. He's learned to listen in that one good ear to the advice of people such as trainer Bob Baffert, who had a heart to heart talk with him about a year ago and who gave him the mount on Real Quiet.

Desormeaux mellowed, but his confidence bordering on cockiness is unmistakably still around! But cockiness notwithstanding, what's important is that when Desormeaux climbs on a horse he is at home and in his element.

"Bang! the doors open the horse lunges forward and throws you in the back of the saddle," he said. "I can close my eyes and feel the air and know exactly how fast I'm going usually."

"As you're going around the race you're always trying to decide if your horse is comfortable. You don't want to go too fast, yet you don't want to go too slow so that you can't catch them," Desormeaux said. "All this is going through your head. Then when you get to the quarter poll, it's asking them for their life. Throwing crosses, spanking 'em, kissing at 'em, screaming at 'em. As you heard in the preakness, yah, yah, yah, yah. You do all of that in hopes to get a victory." "Real Quiet was hardly thought to be the best horse of his generation when Kent Desormeaux got the mount. And based on the rider's reputation, he took what he could get.

Now, Saturday at Belmont Park he will attempt to leave them all in the dust and do what hasn't been done in 20 years.

Win the Triple Crown.  

Related information
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Chasing history: Can Real Quiet win the Belmont and take the Triple Crown? Belmont post position and odds The Belmont Curse Real Quiet's history Video of Triple Crown winners
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Watch the ups and downs of Kent Desormeaux's career   • Start(2.2M .MOV) See how the accident changed Desormeaux's life (2.9M) Kent Desormeaux on his emotions facing the Belmont Stakes and the Triple Crown (158K) Desormeaux describes what racing feels like (759K) Desormeaux says the accident made him change his attitude (318K) Click here for the latest audio and video
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