Amanda Gomez, the 19-year-old daughter of late Hall of Fame jockey Garrett Gomez, piloted her family's homebred off-track Thoroughbred to victory in a 1.30-meter, $10,000 Grand Prix on Aug. 14 at the Huntington Beach Summer Classic (California), reports The Chronicle Of The Horse.
Competing under the name All Star, the 10-year-old's Jockey Club name is Been in Denile. A son of Pioneerof the Nile, “Ben” is one of the last horses bred by Garrett Gomez. The jockey piloted his sire to a second-place finish in the Kentucky Derby in 2009, but Ben showed no such inclination to be a racehorse.
After finishing last in each of his two starts on the track, Ben began preparing for his second career with Amanda Gomez at the family's Rising Star Equestrian in Norco, Calif. The gelding has been rising up the levels since 2018, and Gomez hopes to begin competing him at the 1.35-meter height in FEI classes at the Las Vegas National in November.
“He's so talented, so scopey, so powerful and athletic. If you ask him to do something, he's all heart. He really gives it 110 percent every time, which is super hard to find,” Gomez told The Chronicle. “He's everything that you could possibly want in a top horse. He's so careful, and I think as long as I can just continue to take my time with him and develop him the right way, he's going to be one that I hope one day can jump the 1.50-meter classes.”
Read more at The Chronicle Of The Horse.
The post Garrett Gomez’ Daughter Wins Grand Prix Aboard Homebred OTTB appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.