LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A second-place finish never felt so good to jockey Patti Cooksey. The 44-year-old jockey returned to racing Wednesday at Churchill Downs after she was diagnosed with breast cancer 10 months ago.

Patty Cooksey raises her whip after finishing second in her first race since September. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        Her mount, Gold Empress, a 4-year-old filly, led for much of the one-mile fourth race but faltered in the stretch and gave way to Winner Within, who won by 4 1/2 lengths.

        “This is the best. Even if I'd run second in the Derby, this means a whole lot to me,” Cooksey said after the race, her right arm around her 10-year-old daughter, Chelsea.

        Sporting flourescent green silks and a matching helmet, Cooksey waved to applauding fans and flashed a beaming smile as she trotted Gold Empress back to the homestretch after the race.

        “That was fun!” she said seconds after dismounting.

        Cooksey hadn't raced since last September. She had a mastectomy at a Louisville hospital six days after her last win — aboard Richter's Emblem in a claiming race at Turfway Park on Sept. 7.

        She spent much of the fall recovering from chemotherapy and had reconstructive surgery in March.

        Cooksey was back at Churchill Downs galloping horses by mid-April.

        “I never thought I wouldn't be here today, riding another race. Cancer's not going to get me. I'm convinced of that,” she said.

        She was ready to ride again after Wednesday's race, jokingly dancing like a boxer as she walked back to the jockeys' room.

        “My legs feel good, I feel good. I felt great out there. It was wonderful,” she said.

        Gold Empress is co-owned by Elaine Klein, also a breast cancer survivor. Cooksey wandered by the barn of trainer Steve Flint about a month ago in search of a future mount, and she and Klein formed an instant friendship.

        “She's a wonderful person and a very gutsy lady,” said Klein, who's been cancer-free for 6 1/2 years. “She gives hope to other athletes and other people who've had cancer and who want to go on.”

        Cooksey is Churchill's all-time winningest female jockey with 212 victories and is one of only two women with more than 2,000 career wins. Julie Krone, now retired, rode 3,545 winners, well ahead of Cooksey's 2,120.

        In 1984, Cooksey became the second woman — following Diane Crump in 1970 — to race in the Kentucky Derby. A year later, she became the first woman to ride in the Preakness.

        “This is it, buddy,” Cooksey said to herself as she plucked a whip off a rack adjacent to the paddock stalls before Wednesday's race.

        She got hugs from Klein and Churchill Downs president Thomas Meeker before trainer Steve Flint hoisted her aboard his horse.

        About 100 fans gathered around the paddock clapped as Cooksey and Gold Empress filed past. The bugler played the Gene Autry tune “Back in the Saddle Again” before the call to the post.

        Cooksey's time away from racing gave her a brief moment of panic.

        “I got out there and kind of felt a little bit lost,” she said. “And then I kind of was focusing on the filly.”

        Gold Empress broke cleanly and built an early one-length lead. She still led around the turn, but Winner Within, with Mark Guidry riding, came up next to her in the stretch, then accelerated past them in the final furlong.

        The result didn't seem to bother Klein, who embraced Cooksey after the race.

        “You did super, girl,” Klein said.

        Cooksey hopes her performance Wednesday earns her more mounts.

        “I think a lot of people were kind of waiting to see how I was going to do,” she said. “But I tell you what, I felt great out there. I feel very strong.”

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