Horseracing

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Jockey Garrett Gomez flew across country between Saturday's races at Saratoga and Sunday's card at Del Mar -- and came away with a $1 million win on each coast.

Gomez' success breeds a problem: Should both Travers Stakes winner Colonel John and Pacific Classic winner Go Between move along to the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic in October, which would he choose to ride?

Colonel John put his nose on the wire a hair in front of Mambo in Seattle to win Saturday's $1 million Travers Stakes at Saratoga and put his name on the short list of favorites for the Classic.

Pyro, starting from an outside post position and compromised by a rodeo-like traffic jam on the turn for home, finished third in the "Midsummer Derby."

Colonel John, a Kentucky-bred colt by Tiznow, burst through a wall of horses to take over the lead from tiring pace-setter Da Tara at mid-stretch. Mambo in Seattle, coming from outside, ranged up alongside and the two hit the wire together. The official photo showed a winning margin of no more than an inch. The time was 2:03.2.

"The kind of trip and what he did today, it takes a special horse to do what he did," said Gomez. "He was inside and then I got bounced around a little on the turn and then I had to jump over heels. To do that after going a mile, he still jumped up on his feet and started to quicken it and lengthen his stride. It shows that he is right up there with the top of them."

Added trainer Eoin Harty: "When you've been around horses for a long time, the really good ones do things very differently than the usual ones. This one, from Day 1, had shown that. He never did anything ever to disappoint me."

Colonel John won the Sham Stakes and the Santa Anita Derby on an artificial surface this spring but had been overlooked since finishing sixth in the Kentucky Derby on Churchill Downs dirt. He came back with a third-place finish in the Swaps a month ago in California.

In the $1 million Pacific Classic, Gomez found a clean trip for Go Between, a 5-year-old son of Point Given, while some of his chief rivals had traffic issues. In the final furlong, Go Between simply outran Well Armed for the victory, with Mast Track finishing third.

"That was our plan going into it," said Kenny McCarthy, assistant to winning trainer Bill Mott. "He has a running style that is good for this distance and Garrett fits him so well. They're a great team."

Go Between finished the 1 1/4-mile event for older horses in 2:01.18. Earlier this year, he had finished second in both the Santa Anita Handicap and the Hollywood Gold Cup.

Gomez was savoring his victory, rather than pondering decisions down the road.

"It sure helps when you have a horse like him," Gomez said. "It makes me look good. Bill Mott and his crew do a heck of a job. They make my job easy."

In the other weekend race with potential implications for the Classic, Matt's Broken Vow trailed most of the field early in Saturday's $300,000 (Canadian) Canadian Derby at Northlands Park, gained ground around the home turn and got home first by 2 1/4 lengths over favorite Texas Wildcatter. Cool Ventura was third. Matt's Broken Vow, a Kentucky-bred colt by Broken Vow, ran the 1 3/8 miles on a fast track in 2:19.4. Emile Ramsammy rode for trainer Josie Carroll.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International

This news arrived on: 08/25/2008

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