“Got a minute to talk?”
“Call you back later today.”
“Got a minute?
“Call you right back.”
The interview with Michael Migliore, the agent for up-and-coming jockey Dylan Davis, finally starts only to stop. Another call he must take.
Davis will be among the rising stars showcased when the Breeders’ Cup World Championships are held this coming weekend at Del Mar. The incessant ringing and beeping of Davis’ jockey agent’s phone reflects ever-increasing demand from some of the world’s leading trainers.
Davis will have two Breeders’ Cup mounts on Friday, Quickick in the NetJets Juvenile Fillies and Abientot in the John Deere Juvenile Fillies Turf, as he seeks his first Breeders’ Cup triumph to add to the considerable ground he already has broken so far in his career.
“It’s a dream just to even ride in these races let alone win one,” said Davis, 29, the son of former New York jockey Robbie Davis.
In a sign of how far he has come, the native of Manhasset, N.Y., headed into the final weekend before the Breeders’ Cup with a commanding lead over runner-up Kendrick Carmouche, 33-25, in the jockey standings at the Belmont at the Big A fall meet.
In other signs of the progress Davis has made since his first full season in 2013:
- Davis captured his first riding title at the 2021-2022 Aqueduct winter meet and followed that with his 1,000th career victory in May, 2022 at Belmont Park.
- Davis secured his first Grade 1 victory in 2021 when he guided home Mutamakina in the 2021 E.P. Taylor Stakes at Toronto’s Woodbine Racetrack. He added a second Grade 1 there last year with Carson’s Run in the Summer Stakes. Carson’s Run provided his first Grade 1 in the United States this past summer in the Saratoga Derby Invitational at Saratoga.
- Davis enjoyed a banner Saratoga meet in 2024. He stood toe to toe with some of the world’s best jockeys and matched Tyler Gaffalione for third overall with 36 victories for the 39-day stand, trailing only Irad Ortiz Jr., who racked up 52 wins, and Flavien Prat, who had 45. Davis obliterated his previous Saratoga high of 19 wins, set the year before.
“Every year I’ve been trying to build myself as a rider and work together with my agent, Mike, to keep pushing forward to a better year,” Davis said. “It’s paying off and there is still more to come. We just keep pushing forward and try to go to the top.”
Davis’s recent accomplishments reflect how much of riding is a mind game. Self-doubt can be incredibly damaging.
In an interview earlier this year, he told Horse Racing Nation, “I guess the first few years in New York could be intimidating because you are riding with the best riders in the country. When you’re not riding the best horses, you could always second-guess or take the negative side of it. You are just not riding your best because you are thinking about the other riders or making premature moves.”
The stage for afternoon success is set in the morning when jockeys visit barns to convince owners and trainers they can be great fits for desirable mounts. Davis used to dread that part of the game.
“He was kind of shy about walking into a barn and talking to people,” Migliore said. “Now, he’s confident in himself.”
Davis is proud of his transformation. “People like to see confidence,” he said. “This summer at Saratoga, part of the reason why I was so successful was that I came in with a strong mind. Horses feel that energy. Horses feel that they can do it and will do it.”
Quickick and Abientot have surely picked up on his good vibe. Davis has been aboard for all three of Quickick’s starts for owner Gregory Tramontin and trainer Tom Amoss. He hopes the young filly can put it all together after she lacked some focus when she finished second in the Grade 1 Darley Alcibiades Stakes Oct. 4 at Keeneland.
“I really like her chances if she can ship well and get accustomed to the track. She just does everything well,” he said. “I think she is going in with a good chance.”
Davis also has been aboard for each of Abientot’s five starts for owner Tracy Farmer and trainer Mark Casse. She comes off a valiant neck victory in the Grade 3 Matron Stakes on Oct. 6 at Belmont at the Big A.
“She’s a keen contender,” the jockey said. “If she gives me that last quarter-of-a-mile kick, she’s going to be very tough. She’s going to be right there.”
Davis is set to make the third and fourth Breeders’ Cup starts of his young career. “Big dreams are winning Breeders’ Cups, the Kentucky Derby, the Belmont Stakes, all those bigger races,” he said. “But the main goal is to ride in Grade 1 races regularly and be in that elite group of riders.”
For Davis, it appears to be just a matter of time.