Two family members represented the late Garrett Gomez at the jockey's posthumous induction to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame on Friday.
Gomez, who died late last year at age 44, entered the Saratoga Springs, N.Y., shrine with fellow jockeys Javier Castellano and Victor Espinoza along with equine honoree Goldikova, three-time Breeders' Cup Mile winner.
Louie Gomez, his father, and daughter Amanda represented Gomez, who began riding at 16 and counted 13 Breeders' Cup victories among his 3,769 career wins. Included were back-to-back Arkansas Derby winners Concern in 1994 and Dazzling Falls in 1995. His biggest victory came in the 2010 Breeders' Cup Classic at Churchill Downs when Blame handed supermare Zenyatta her only defeat in 20 career starts.
"This is a little hard. Thanks all of you for bringing this moment to life," said Louie Gomez. "It was one thing that he wanted to achieve. He was born to be a racetracker. He was quite a little handful. He didn't know much except for horses. Thank you all, his peers. There's nothing greater that he wanted."
Despite recurring problems with substance abuse, Gomez twice received the Eclipse Award as North America's leading jockey and four times led the jockey earnings' list. Riding his last winner in 2013, Gomez was found dead last December in a casino hotel near Tucson, Ariz. Survivors included four children, two each from two marriages.
* A winless Saratoga meeting for Steve Asmussen could change complexion when the Hall of Fame trainer today sends out a multiple Grade 1 winner in the 90th running of the Whitney.
Gun Runner is the 4-5 program favorite in the Grade 1, $1.2 million mile and an eighth for older horses, anchoring a card that includes the Grade 1 Test for 3-year-old fillies and three other stakes.
Opponents include 2015 Travers winner Keen Ice and last-out Brooklyn Handicap winner War Story. Breaking Lucky takes another shot at Gun Runner after finishing second in the Clark Handicap last fall and third in the Stephen Foster Handicap last time out, both Grade 1 races at Churchill Downs.
Owned by Winchell Thoroughbreds and Three Chimneys Farm, Gun Runner launched his 4-year-old season in February with an impressive victory in Oaklawn's Grade 3 Razorback Handicap. A strong second to champion Arrogate in March's Dubai World Cup, the Candy Ride colt won the Grade 1 Stephen Foster by a front-running seven lengths June 17.
"He's always improving," said his regular jockey, Florent Geroux. "I tell the owners every time I ride him, he always comes back a better horse after each start."
Third in last year's Kentucky Derby, Gun Runner is 8-3-2 from 15 starts with $4.6 million in career earnings. He moves to the rail after finishing third from outside post 14 in Saratoga's Grade 1 Travers last August.
"He's done us proud," said Asmussen. "He's a horse who has had success from the one-hole in multiple occasions. I thought he ran a pretty good race last year in the Travers from the 14 ... so the post should not hinder him one way or the other."
Keen Ice, trained by Todd Pletcher, scored his first victory in 22 months in Belmont's Grade 2 Suburban July 8. When trained by Dale Romans, the son of Curlin upset American Pharoah in the 2015 Travers and finished fourth to the Triple Crown winner in the Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland. Keen Ice regained his winning form this year after finishing third and fourth to Arrogate in the 2016 Classic and 2017 inaugural Pegasus World Cup Invitational, respectively.
"I think it was important for him to win another race," said Pletcher, seeking his fourth Whitney win. "It had been a little while since he had won and he had run competitively in some races that were probably less than ideal for him. ... The only thing I'd like to change is make the Whitney a mile and a quarter. I think he's best at a mile and a quarter, but it's a mile and an eighth, so hopefully we can get an honest pace to run at and he can overcome it."
Jose Ortiz keeps the mount on Keen Ice, breaking from post five.
Sports on 08/05/2017