BULLRING LESSON GIVEN AT FAIRPLEX.

Byline: Kevin Modesti Staff Writer

Garrett Gomez is not one of the big-track jockeys who stay away from little Fairplex Park for fear of the sharp turns. He wasn't spooked by the fatal accident on opening day.

Gomez stayed away this season so he and wife Pam - they were married in June - could honeymoon in Hawaii.

``I like bullrings,'' said Gomez, who used to make the hard lefts at Maryland's Timonium racetrack, Nebraska's Fonner Park and Chicago's Sportsmens Park. ``Bullrings teach young riders a lot. You learn when to get in and when to get out. And if you don't (get out of tight quarters), you get up brushing yourself off, hopefully.''

Sunday, on closing day of the L.A. County Fair season, Gomez teamed with a Fairplex-loving gelding to stage a clinic on bullring racing, he and 6-year-old Native Desert hugging the rail for 1-1/8 miles to win the $100,000 Ralph M. Hinds Pomona Invitational Handicap.

Bold Words and leading Fairplex rider Martin Pedroza finished 1-1/4 lengths back in second. Mel Stute-trained Kona Wind came in fifth in the six-horse field, leaving Stute and Paul Aguirre tied for the training title with nine victories apiece.

Native Desert, a California-bred 6-year-old claimed by trainer Juan Garcia for $32,000 in 1996, ran his Fairplex record to 3 for 4, including a pair of sprint stakes victories in 1997. Lately he'd been testing his cornering ability on the local turf courses.

``It sure helps when you've got a horse like Native Desert who does everything right,'' Gomez said.

Gomez recorded his lone victory in only three rides at the 18-day fair. His scheduled races on Sept. 9 were canceled after jockey J.C. Gonzalez was killed in an accident caused by a horse's breakdown.

``It could have happened anywhere,'' Gomez said.

Pedroza, who rode 29 winners (to Iggy Puglisi's 23) to win his second Fairplex title, received the first J.C. Gonzalez Memorial Jockey Trophy in a winner's circle ceremony attended by some of Gonzalez's family.

Fairplex vice president for racing Neil O'Dwyer reported a decline of about 4 percent from last year's track-record $108 million wagered at the meet. The seven canceled races accounted for the approximately $3 million difference.

``After (the) tragic start, I truly believe 48 hours later everybody had rallied and focused on the future,'' O'Dwyer said at the top of the grandstand.

Notes: The Oak Tree association opens its 31st season at Santa Anita Wednesday at 1 p.m. Pat Valenzuela, returning from suspension after nearly two years, has four mounts on the nine-race card. . . . Contributions are being accepted for a trust fund for the 4- and 7-year-old children of David Hale, the Santa Anita, Hollywood Park and Del Mar photo-finish equipment operator who was killed in a highway accident Tuesday near Bishop. The address: Cameron and Megan Hale Trust, c/o Julie Hale, 310 Fargo Road, San Dimas, 91773.