“JERSEY JOE BRAVO MORPHS INTO BIG RACE JOCKEY”

OCEANPORT – What can you say about a jockey who won 13 riding titles at Monmouth Park and more races than anyone ever has in 71 years of racing there, other than that Joe Bravo was a Jersey Shore phenomenon.

But at age 44, Bravo, who burst onto the scene with a retina-shredding brightness in 1991, has morphed into something completely different at this stage of his career, emerging as one of the country’s top big-race riders.

“That was a dream last summer. A rider’s dream,’’ he said. “Ninety percent of the time I would be sitting on the plane and questioning myself, `Did that just happen?’ ”

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Bravo won a career-best 17 graded stakes races in 2015, including a run of six Grade 1 victories that began with the United Nations on July 5 at Monmouth Park aboard Big Blue Kitten, and ended with his ride on Greenpointcrusader in the Champagne Stakes at Belmont Park on Oct. 2. He had never won more than 10 graded stakes in any previous year.

Bravo ranked 17th nationally with his mounts earning $8.4 million, while only Victor Espinoza and Mike Smith finished with fewer mounts than Bravo’s 509.

So is Bravo a better rider now than he was, say, 22 years ago, when he won a record 145 races at Monmouth Park one summer?

“I definitely am a better rider,’’ he said. “I’ve seen a lot of things happen since then, and you learn something every day out here. I’m just thankful I’m still able to be out here doing it and have had some really good horses to ride.’’

By any measurable, Chad Brown is one of the top trainers in the country. And his decision to put Bravo in the saddle on Big Blue Kitten last year paid huge dividends.

In addition to the United Nations, the Calumet Farm runner won the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic and the Grade 3 Fort Marcy, while finishing second in the Grade 1 Manhattan Handicap and third in the Breeders’ Cup Turf.

“What you find with Joe Bravo now is that he’s got a lot of experience and he’s very patient,’’ said Brown. “And after the race he gives you great feedback that helps you move the horse forward, and that’s important.

“Basically, Joe has been a really solid rider for us and a really good fit for us last year.’’

Not much has changed this year.

Bravo already has four graded stakes wins, including a Grade 1 victory aboard Sheer Drama in the Madison Stakes at Keeneland. Last summer he won the Delaware Handicap and the Personal Ensign Stakes, both Grade 1’s, with Sheer Drama.

He got his Monmouth Park meet started by guiding Bradester home first in the $75,000 Majestic Light Stakes on Saturday.

“The thing about it hasn’t been the same thing over and over,’’ Bravo said. “The races were all different. On the turf, sprints, races going a distance.

“In a way, it’s the same every year for every rider, just wanting to hold onto it. I’m just thankful for the Hall of Fame people around me. I’m blessed to be working with some of the top guys in the business.’’

He’s doing a lot more than just holding on. In fact, trainers seem to covet Bravo’s skill set nowadays when it comes to their top runners, far more than they did when he was winning four and five races a day.

And don’t we all wish we could transition into middle age that smoothly.