Gomez Wins 70th Stakes, Ties Bailey

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Photo: Benoit

Garrett Gomez

Garrett Gomez won his 70th stakes of the year aboard Hucking Hot in the $68,650 Audrey Skirball-Kenis Stakes at Hollywood Park Nov. 10, tying Jerry Bailey for most stakes wins by a jockey in a single season. Bailey set the mark in 2003.

"At first when they kept telling me about it and telling me about it, I was just going like 'yeah, yeah, yeah,'" Gomez said of the record. "But now that I'm there, it's a nice feeling to be able to put my name up there with a guy like that (Bailey)." 

Gomez leads all North American riders in purse earnings in 2007, with more than $21 million, and won a pair of Breeders' Cup races Oct. 27 at Monmouth Park.

Gomez, 35, who began his racing career in 1988, led all jockeys with $21,922,522 in 2006, but finished second to Edgar Prado in the Eclipse Award voting.

Owned by Jim Ford, Rick Holiday and K M Stable, and trained by Patrick Gallagher, 3-year-old filly Hucking Hot went off as the betting favorite and won the 1 1/8-mile turf race by a length. She has now won three of nine starts in her career.

"These kind of fillies make you look good," Gomez said. "There was a tiny hole at the top of the stretch and when I pointed her for it, she accelerated like it was the size of the Grand Canyon.”

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