GONZALEZ WAS FINE JOCKEY, AND BETTER MAN.Byline: Kevin Modesti Horse Racing horse racing, trials of speed involving two or more horses. It includes races among harnessed horses with one of two particular gaits, among saddled Thoroughbreds (or, less frequently, quarterhorses) on a flat track, or among saddled horses over a turf course with Frank Garza could teach J.C. Gonzalez how to ride. And how to fall. What he couldn't teach him was luck. ``If you're going down,'' said the operator of the Frank Garza Jockey School in Newbury Park, ``you curl up and roll, and hope nobody runs over you from behind. ``It's easy to say, but it's hard to do, because it happens in a split second. Sometimes you don't see it coming.'' Gonzalez didn't see it coming last Thursday at Fairplex Park. And Garza didn't see it coming an hour later when the phone rang at his Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. home. Garza was holding a new grandchild at the time. The call was from a racehorse-owner friend wondering if Garza had heard the news. Two jockeys had gone down in the fifth race. One would be all right. Jose Carlos ``J.C.'' Gonzalez - the ultrapolite 23-year-old Garza knew as Carlitos - was dead. ``My son saw the look on my face and grabbed the baby. I couldn't believe what I was hearing,'' Garza said a week later at a table holding pictures of him and Carlitos. ``It was devastating dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. .'' Gonzalez had been Garza's first pupil when the 52-year-old former quarterhorse and thoroughbred rider opened his school for jockeys at Two Winds Ranch a few years ago. Gonzalez's modest success - top apprentice at Hollywood Park Hollywood Park may be several places:
``He didn't even know how to ride in a (racing) saddle when he came to me,'' Garza could boast. The young man had gotten on horses in his native Mexico, and had heard about Garza from a family friend, who suggested that with Gonzalez's size (5-foot-1) and athletic build, he could be a jockey. Garza started him out on a docile, ``push-button'' horse. As Gonzalez improved, he worked his way up to the meanest beast on the ranch. ``When he showed he could handle that horse, I said, `That's it - you're ready for the racetrack,' '' Garza recalled. The one-on-one schooling lasted a few months. Gonzalez would work with Garza Monday through Friday. Five o'clock Monday morning he'd be back for more. ``He had a lot of guts,'' Garza said. ``And he was a gentleman.'' Garza, who takes a handful of students at a time, knows that most won't last more than a month. They lack the guts, the talent or the commitment. One would-be jockey quit the school a few months ago after watching a horse kick Garza in the leg, breaking it. ``I tell them the truth up front. This is a very dangerous sport. You never know when you're going to fall,'' Garza said. ``It's not an easy thing to do. You learn the basics here (at the school). Then you go to the track and the trainers tell you something else.'' A young rider must expect to exercise horses for a few months before a trainer is convinced he can be trusted in a race. Then he must prove himself by performing well with the 30-1 longshots just to earn a chance at the 2-1 contenders. At that, it's easier than in Garza's day, when there were no jockey schools. Garza, who grew up near fabled Kings Ranch in Texas, learned to ride on that state's bush tracks, places with names like Viva Downs, Life Downs, Dutchman Downs and Lost Valley (now Bandera) Downs. He rode his first quarterhorse winner the day after his 10th birthday. The purse was $150. When Hurricane Beulah Hurricane Beulah tracked through the Caribbean, struck the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico as a major hurricane, and moved west-northwest into the Gulf of Mexico, briefly gaining Category 5 intensity. It was the strongest hurricane during the 1967 Atlantic hurricane season. shut down racing for months in the late '60s, Garza moved to California, where he rode at Los Alamitos Los Alamitos (lôs ăləmē`təs, lŏs), city (1990 pop. 11,676), Orange co., NE of Long Beach, S Calif., in a suburban area; inc. 1960. Los Alamitos Racetrack and U.S. military installations are nearby. and the major Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, tracks, earning a reputation as a jockey horses liked to run for. Injuries curtailed his career. A horse flipped in the Los Al starting gate starting gate n. Sports 1. A series of stalls with interconnected doors that open simultaneously at the beginning of a race. 2. and crushed his ankle. Another wrapped him around a rail in Texas. ``I didn't have one bone broke,'' Garza said of the Texas accident. ``I should have been dead. . . I had a lot of falls that could have killed me.'' Garza said he always liked the danger. Now he's not so sure. ``I took it pretty hard,'' Garza said of Gonzalez's death, attributed to massive head injuries caused by the hooves of the horses behind him when his mount broke down. ``It hasn't really got into my brain yet. ``This was not only one of my students. He was like a member of my family. It's hard, because I say, `Maybe I'm at fault. Why did I teach him to ride?' But I know it was a freak accident.'' When Gonzalez was at Del Mar Del Mar is the name of several places in the United States of America:
Garza would decline the offer. Tuesdays, he knew, were Gonzalez's only days off. But Garza couldn't say no last summer when Gonzalez called to invite him to the trophy ceremony following the Fairplex riding title. Garza has the photo. ``I may have another J.C. one of these days,'' Garza said. ``Probably not.'' The aftermath: Gonzalez was buried Thursday in his hometown, Yahualica, Jalisco, Mexico. He was dressed in the silks of trainer Rafael Becerra, a family friend. A whip and helmet were placed in the coffin. Local services were held Saturday, Sunday and Monday near Gonzalez's home in Reseda. Fairplex established the J.C. Gonzalez Memorial Jockey Award, to go to each year's leading thoroughbred rider. The track is accepting donations to the J.C. Gonzalez Memorial Fund (Los Angeles County Fair The Los Angeles County Fair (also called simply the L.A. County Fair) is an annual event held in the Fairplex in Pomona, California, held every September. It is a carnival with rides, merchants, food vendors, cooking contests, and livestock. The 2007 L.A. , P.O. Box 2250, Pomona, 91769). Proceeds will go to his mother, Maria de los Angeles Maria de los Angeles (literally: Maria of the angels ) (1997) was a Venezuelan telenovela that was produced by and seen on Venezuela's Radio Caracas Televisión. Julio César Mármol came up with the idea for this telenovela. Gonzalez, a housekeeper who lives in Reseda. The infield flags fly at half-staff. ``It's been rough,'' said Iggy Puglisi, who was in tears after winning last Friday's third race aboard a horse Gonzalez had been scheduled to ride. ``The day after the accident, it was a bad, bad scene in the (jockeys') room. Nobody would even say his name. ``But every day we're feeling a little more comfortable. J.C.'s gone, and we can't do anything about that, but he'll never be forgotten.'' A WEEK AT THE RACES At The Races is a British television channel, originally co-founded with Channel 4, but now owned by a partnership between British Sky Broadcasting, Arena Leisure PLC and 28 (out of the 59) UK racecourses. Fairplex Park leaders: Jockeys (through Wednesday): Martin Pedroza, 11 wins; Iggy Puglisi, 9; Isaias Enriquez, 7; Frank Alvarado, Victor Espinoza Victor Espinoza (born May 23, 1972 in Mexico City, Mexico) is a jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing. He began riding in his native Mexico and earned his first win there in 1992 before moving the following year to compete at racetracks in California. and Matt Garcia, 6. Trainers: Paul Aguirre, 5; Cliff Sise, 4; Barry Abrams, Caesar Dominguez, Leonard Duncan, Juan Garcia, Craig Lewis, Sherrie Monroe, 3. Handicapper hand·i·cap·per n. Sports & Games 1. One who assigns handicaps. 2. One who predicts the winners in a horserace, especially one who publishes such predictions as a guide for bettors. Noun 1. helper: Mid-season Fairplex Park trends find stalking horses doing as well as front-runners at every distance beyond 6 furlongs, and posts 1 and 2 the troublesome starting spots in every type of race. On the stakes schedule: At Fairplex: Saturday, $50,000 CTBA CTBA California Thoroughbred Breeders Association CTBA Center for Tax and Budget Accountability CTBA Cuatro Torres Business Area (Madrid, Spain) CTBA Converging Technologies Bar Association CTBA Central Texas Ballooning Association Marian Stakes, California-bred 3-year-old fillies, 1 1/16 miles; Sunday, $50,000 C.B. Afflerbaugh, 3-year-olds and up, 1 1/16 miles; other $50,000 stakes each day. At Belmont Park: Saturday, $500,000 Woodward, 3-year-olds and up, 1 1/8 miles, and $250,000 Ruffian Handicap, 3-year-olds and up, 1 1/16 miles; Sunday, $150,000 Futurity, 2-year-olds, 1 mile, and $150,000 Matron, 2-year-old fillies, 1 mile. Mileposts: Jockey Dave Gall, fourth on the all-time wins list, announced he'll retire after Saturday's races at St. Louis-area Fairmount Park. Gall, 57, has ridden 7,389 winners, trailing only Bill Shoemaker, Laffit Pincay and Pat Day. He led the nation in wins in 1979. . . . Sheikh sheikh or shaykh Among Arabic-speaking tribes, especially Bedouin, the male head of the family, as well as of each successively larger social unit making up the tribal structure. The sheikh is generally assisted by an informal tribal council of male elders. Mohammed's $3.9 million purchase Tuesday of a colt by Kris S. out of the Mr. Prospector mare Mr. P's Princess set a record for the 55-year-old Keeneland September auction. . . . Churchill Downs' purchase of Hollywood Park for $140 million _ announced in May _ became official last Friday. Management changes so far: Former NYRA NYRA New York Racing Association NYRA National Youth Rights Association NYRA New York Restaurant Association executive Allen Gutterman is the new marketing VP; Hollywood Park president Don Robbins takes a new role as consultant on ``governmental and racing affairs.''. . . Kent Desormeaux's latest prognosis puts the jockey back in action at Santa Anita in mid-October, about six weeks after he broke his right wrist in a Del Mar fall. . . . Silverbulletday is 7 for 7 against fillies and mares this season after winning the Gazelle gazelle, name for the many species of delicate, graceful antelopes of the genus Gazella, inhabiting arid, open country. Most gazelles are found only in Africa, but several species range over N Africa and SW Asia; the Persian, or goitered, gazelle ( Handicap at Belmont on Saturday. Her lone defeat came in the Belmont Stakes. She'll stay in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of and use the Oct. 10 Beldame to prep for the Nov. 6 Breeders' Cup Distaff The Breeders' Cup Distaff is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares, 3 years old and up. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup. It is sponsored by the airline Emirates. at Gulfstream Park. . . . Unbeaten 2-year-old More Than Ready's return from a minor illness in the Belmont Futurity should be the weekend highlight back east. . . . European turf star Royal Anthem is joining trainer Bill Mott's barn in New York. The 4-year-old figures to be Gary Stevens' prime Breeders' Cup mount for The Thoroughbred Corp. He's coming off a nine-length loss to Godolphin Racing's Daylami in the Irish Champion Stakes The Irish Champion Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in the Republic of Ireland for three-year-old and above thoroughbreds. It is run over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlongs (2,012 metres) at Leopardstown Racecourse in September. . . . . Belmont Park canceled racing Thursday because of Hurricane Floyd. . . . Woodcarver, winner of the Queen's Plate, Canada's Kentucky Derby, broke down in a workout and had to be destroyed. CAPTION(S): box Box: A WEEK AT THE RACES (see text) |
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