Former exercise rider of John Henry dies at 66
January 10, 2012ARCADIA, Calif. (AP) - Trainer Lewis Cenicola, who served as exercise rider for Hall of Fame gelding John Henry in the late 1970s and early `80s, has died at 66.
He died Sunday after a long battle with cancer, Santa Anita Park said Tuesday.
Cenicola won 279 races as a trainer, including a pair of Grade 3 stakes - the 1988 San Simeon Handicap with Caballo de Oro and the 1992 Silver Screen Handicap with Natural Nine. Before that, he was a jockey for more than a decade.
But he was best known for his association with John Henry during the gelding's run of success under Hall of Fame trainer Ron McAnally.
A funeral mass will be Thursday in Sierra Madre.