At this stage of his career, Cipriano Gil takes pride in being the fourth-leading Venezuelan jockey at Tampa Bay Downs. The riders he is trailing – defending meet champion and runaway leader Samuel Marin, five-time track kingpin Samy Camacho and Sonny Leon, who won the 2022 Kentucky Derby on Rich Strike – are the “go-to” choices for a substantial percentage of trainers on the Oldsmar backside, but Gil is gaining ground.
Talking to the outgoing, energetic 26-year-old Ciudad Bolivar product, one gets the sense he possesses a calm assuredness his time will come – if not here, at another racetrack. For now, though, Gil is excited to take on all the Oldsmar oval has to offer, including recognition as the Martin’s Italian Jockey of the Month with 17 winners.
“When you want to grow as a professional, you have to keep learning new things,” Gil said while making good use of his agent Steve Worsley’s “Google Translate” feature on his smart phone. “Every day, I try to learn more from the great jockeys and trainers.”
Gil put in several years of thorough preparation before coming to the United States in 2023, having won more than 500 races in Venezuela with four meet titles at the renowned La Rinconada racetrack. He had prepped for those triumphs as a youngster by competing in pony races on and around his family’s farm, embracing the challenge of striving to be first to the wire.
Gil could always picture himself riding Thoroughbreds, and his education was put on a fast track by enrolling in a jockeys’ school at 13 and making his debut against men in 2014 when he was 15.
Worsley, who has previously represented such star jockeys as Tampa Bay Downs riders Jesus Castanon and Jose Ferrer, with more than 7,400 victories combined, has helped Gil land in an ideal spot on their daily travels on the backside – his other Tampa Bay Downs client being Leon, who in addition to being a Kentucky Derby winner retains the humility and hard-earned patience he possessed (but few took note of) when entering the starting gate at Churchill Downs four springs ago atop that 80-1 shot.
As Gil seeks to replicate the standing he enjoyed while getting started in his homeland, a veteran perspective on the ups and downs of the job helps. “When you look at guys like Jose (Ferrer) and Jesus (Castanon), the longevity of their careers for me is what’s most impressive,” Worsley said.
“It’s easy to get in a good spot for a year or two and win a lot of races if you get lucky. But you can’t be lucky for 30 years. You’re going to have good luck and bad luck, so you have to have the drive and dedication those guys do to win the amount of races they’ve won. Cipriano is moving in that direction.”
When he began riding at Gulfstream Park in the summer of 2023, Gil’s success in Venezuela didn’t count for much. But after a rocky 2025 at Gulfstream, where he won 14 times from 167 mounts, Gil took major advantage of a change in scenery to begin reversing his fortunes.
Gil finished seventh here last season with 33 winners, and his improvement continued during the Gulfstream spring-summer meet, winning 27 races to finish ninth. And Gil and his wife – racing commentator, analyst and model Nathali Solorzano – had more to celebrate last summer: the Aug. 6 birth of their son Rodolfo.
Now Gil is getting a chance to see acclaim can result as much from handling basic duties like feeding and diapering as from winning a three-horse photo finish.
Makes perfect sense, since Leon is helping to shepherd him through the typical assortment of growing pains a younger rider must endure at the track.
“Sonny is a humble person, and I think a lot of jockeys can learn from him,” Worsley said. “He’s a guy who was riding mostly at smaller tracks and made it to the top of the mountain, but he didn’t rest on his laurels. He went back to work and kept doing the things that had helped him get to that point.”
Sometimes the most learning can occur through observation, but Leon has let Gil know he can pick his mind whenever.
“We have a strong friendship and support each other on and off the track,” Gil said. “After a race, we talk about what happened and what we could have done differently. That just makes me want to learn more in all aspects of the sport.”
With each victory comes growing recognition among the training community. Among Gil’s victories are five for leading Tampa Bay Downs trainer Juan Carlos Avila, three for Tim Hamm and two for Gregg Sacco.
And in recent months, career milestones have been realized, such as a victory aboard (then)-3-year-old gelding Souper Forces, an 18-1 shot, in the Showing Up Stakes on Nov. 1 at Gulfstream for trainer Michael Trombetta and North American victory No. 100 on Dec. 14 at Gulfstream on Heir to the Roar for trainer Victor Barboza, Jr.
Keeping a steady path, surrounded by those who have been there before, is likely to ensure more milestones will be attained.
“Everyone in this sport has good and bad moments, but Cipriano takes it all in stride and keeps moving forward,” Worsley said. “He’s getting a lot of good opportunities here, and it gives me confidence that those trainers are using him on their horses.”
Around the ovals. Three horses with Tampa Bay Downs connections were honored as Eclipse Award recipients Thursday at The Breakers Palm Beach.
Book’em Danno was voted 2025’s Champion Male Sprinter after a season in which he won three graded stakes at Saratoga, including the Grade I Forego Stakes. The 5-year-old gelding has raced only once at Tampa Bay Downs, but his 12 ½-length victory in the 2024 Pasco Stakes left an indelible mark on the memories of area racing fans.
Book’em Danno is owned by Atlantic Six Racing and trained by Derek Ryan. Paco Lopez rode the champion in his major 4-year-old victories.
Nitrogen, who won last season’s Grade III Florida Oaks on the turf, was honored as the Eclipse Champion 3-Year-Old Filly. The (now)-4-year-old is a homebred for D. J. Stable and trained by Mark Casse. Jose Ortiz was aboard for her major victories and her second-place finish in the Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff.
Also earning an Eclipse was Shisospicy, Oldsmar trainer Jose Francisco D’Angelo’s (then)-3-year-old filly, as the Champion Female Sprinter. She won the Prevagen Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint against males under Irad Ortiz, Jr., to become the first turf filly to win in her category since it was established in 2007.
After appearing to be reluctant to load before today’s eighth race, 4-year-old Godolphin homebred filly Kapoor was all business when the gate opened. The daughter of Uncle Mo rolled to a 5-length victory from Tennesseehoneybee in 1:10.22 for the 6-furlong distance. Apprentice jockey Taylor Kingsley was aboard for trainer Bill Mott.
Leading jockey Samuel Marin rode two winners today. He captured the first race on Katie King, a 4-year-old filly owned by Michael Fazio and Monmouth Stud and trained by Gregg Sacco. Katie King was claimed from the race for $10,000 by trainer Victor Carrasco, Jr., for new owner M J M Stable (Kehoe). Marin added the third on Coqueta Blue, a 3-year-old filly owned by Cairoli Racing Stable and trained by Antonio Sano.
Thoroughbred racing continues Saturday with a nine-race card beginning at 12:20 p.m. Saturday is the track’s annual “Cap Giveaway Day,” with all patrons receiving the centennial black cap with gold lettering against the Tampa Bay Downs 100 logo with their paid admissions, while supplies last. Encircling the logo are the words “100 Years of Thoroughbred Racing,” and directly below, the years “1926-2026.”
Tampa Bay Downs jockeys will be on hand to sign the caps for fans wanting autographs. The gates will open at 10:30 a.m.
