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February 2012 - He is the most exciting emerging riding talent on the New Mexico circuit with the drive and dedication to send him to the top. Zacatecas native Enrique Gomez is a throwback to the good old days in the best possible way. Merely a year since having lost his bug, Enrique continues to display the hard-to-find core values blooded by a traditional apprenticeship. Watching him in the saddle, it does not take a seasoned race fan long to recognize that Enrique is naturally gifted. What may go unnoticed, however, is the young man’s genuine respect for his mentors that is matched by a willingness to go the extra mile on and off the track. “When I came over to the United States, I started at Frontera Farm, getting on 2-year-olds and learning how to gallop. Then I came out to the track, and Henry Dominguez gave me a chance to start galloping horses, and I have been working with him ever since.” In a sport that is known for its highs and lows, a solid foundation is invaluable to any jockey. You would be hard-pressed to find a better person to provide such a platform than Henry. Not only has his veteran eye seen it all, as one of the all-time great trainers in the region, he has the stock to turn the young rider’s dreams into reality. As the 2011-2012 racing season at Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino edges into the second third, it is apparent that Henry Dominguez is at the top of his game, leading the Thoroughbred trainers’ standings. That is no surprise to those familiar with the New Mexico circuit. The big shift however is in the jockeys’ standings where the 29th day saw Enrique Gomez break out to a three-win lead with a banner day. That Tuesday, Jan. 24, marked the first four-win day of his career and the first for any rider in the current meet. More importantly, each victory seemed to reflect Enrique’s skill development. Wins by Atlantic Thunder and Free Range, both for the Dominguez barn were clear-cut examples of his fine judge of pace, displaying patience beyond his 23 years. You could also add them to a growing list of rail-hugging rides that have become a hallmark of his success. Not all jockeys are comfortable taking a tight run up the inside of other horses but time and again it has paid dividends for him. “I try to save ground, and sometimes the rail is going to open up. You never know if it is or not but if it does, I will take it.” The two other winners of his four-bagger came for smaller barns, Ross Amestoy and Paul Smith, reflecting the increasing demand for Enrique’s services. Hunting Dixie was a further example of Gomez allowing a horse to find its feet even when the principal opponent had the early jump. His fourth winner, Bolivar Shag required the virtual opposite. Despite 11 in-the-money appearances from 26 lifetime starts, merely one of those had been a win. Enrique rode assertively, putting the professional place-getter into the race early, dashed his charge clear before the final turn and in contrast to previous tries, made the rest of the field come catch him. Enrique lifted his win tally to an impressive 23 from 111 mounts, a win strike rate of 20.7 percent. Factor in the 14 seconds and 14 thirds and his in-the-money strike rate spiked to a healthy 45.9 percent. As current leading Thoroughbred rider, it is fair to assume that more often than not, he is on live mounts. That is not to say, however, that a horse player cannot still land a price play with him, both Free Range (7/1) and Bolivar Shag (6/1) as solid evidence. What is astonishing about Enrique is the fact that he had never been on a horse until five years ago when he arrived here in the United States from Mexico. Born in Sombrerete, Zacatecas, but raised farther down the road in Fresnillo, it was his uncle Humberto Portillo who told him to come over here and start getting on horses, Humberto an exercise rider himself. From a close family of three brothers and one sister, it was not as though Enrique had grown up around horses. “I just knew I liked the races and the horses a lot, how the riders look in the saddle, so I was very excited about being in a race,” he said. And in a race he soon was, bursting onto the scene in 2010 as an apprentice. Enrique moved his tack across the entire New Mexico circuit from Ruidoso Downs to Sun Ray Park to The Downs at Albuquerque and Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino. For some young riders, coming out of an apprenticeship can see opportunity dry up, but not so in this case. Prior to his return to Sunland, Enrique wound up the Zia Park meet with 23 wins, fifth in the jockey’s standings and has been on fire from Day 1 this winter. Enrique is one of three riders represented by top-class jockey agent Rick Evans, the others being leading defending Thoroughbred champion Alejandro Medellin and former Californian hoop Isaias Enriquez. There is a long way to go until the season end but it is quite feasible that the biggest threat to a repeat title for Medellin could come from Enrique, whom he trails by five wins at this time. Both riders are clearly on target for a showdown, each with an important stakes win under his belt for highly successful owners Kirk and Judy Robison. Alejandro could not have been more impressive in his crushing win New Year’s Eve in the Riley Allison Futurity aboard Isn’t He Clever, a potential Sunland Derby candidate. Six days prior, Enrique had to call on all his skills to get quality mare Twelve Twenty Two home in the Bold Ego Handicap. Undefeated at Sunland Park, she was fresh off a seven-month lay-off and in need of the run, yet overcame considerable ground to snatch victory right at the wire. Outsiders may well think that jockey agent Rick Evans is faced with a dilemma of how to divvy up business between his three riders, but apparently the chips fall quite easily most of the time. “Honestly, it’s really not a big deal. Each of my riders has different strengths. Alejandro is very vigorous, Enrique is improving all the time and Isaias can get a horse to switch off early or gun out of there, if needed. For instance, some owners may want Alejandro over Enrique or visa-versa and, if it comes down to a choice, I will ask the rider which horse he would prefer.” Rick is proud of his team, especially given the depth of talent in the Sunland jockey colony right now. Miguel Hernandez is on a roll, Ken Tohill appears rejuvenated and Ry Eikleberry is building steam every week, just to name a few. It may be each man for himself once the gates open, but both Alejandro and Isaias admire Enrique’s talent and have helped in his development. The season has been full of minor awards for Isaias, the most recent a stakes placed third in the El Paso Times on Angry Bird. He is a grateful man who recently became a new dad with month-and-a-half-old Ismael. Isaias brings a depth of experience from the California circuit to New Mexico and has unselfishly taken Enrique under his wing. “I am so proud of him, that he is becoming one of the new talents in New Mexico.” The truth is, no rider has been more instrumental in guiding him forward than Isaias, whom Enrique credits as the jockey he looks up to the most. “We came to be good friends because he was right next to me in the lockers. He wants to learn,” Isaias stresses. “It’s not that I teach him,” he adds humbly. “He wants to learn because he would come to me after the races and ask, what did I think? Did you look at me in that race? What do you think?” “Enrique likes the way I ride, the way I sit in the saddle. I have known him from four or five years, and he has always been a good kid. When he started riding, he was all over the place. Breaking out the gate, he would go to the left, he would go to the right. He dropped a couple of riders the first couple of months.” Their relationship continued to strengthen, Enrique confiding in his willing mentor. “It’s like that every day. He asks me a question. What do you think I should do? I want to be a little bit stronger, what do you think of my left hand and when I want to push? He really wants to learn, and I really want to help somebody like that who asks you all the time. “I said to him, you know even when you’re given instructions, you have to let a horse have its own style to go through a hole. Don’t let the horse take you off balance, don’t rush him out the gate, take him back, go with the flow. You win the race in the last eighth of a mile. That’s when horses come flying home. He’s patient. He’s a very good kid, a very good talent and because he wants to learn, I think he will continue to improve more and more.” Even after a successful day on the track, Enrique may head back to Frontera Farm to work five or six more horses for Henry Dominguez, to whom he feels indebted. “He has been giving me support by letting me ride for his stable and has given me advice too on how to ride a horse, how to handle horses here and there, how to approach the race. “Before I go to the track, I study the form and the pace of the race, whether there are horses coming from behind and what is the style of the horse, whether it tends to be more in the middle of the pack, its speed, how to save some horse for the end. And after the race, I look at the replay and go over how I rode the race to see any mistakes and how I can fix them in the future.” The desire to learn is a recurring theme that has impressed each of the key people in his immediate circle, including his valet, Kent “Buck” Benjamin who has traveled North America working with top-notch riders such as Jacky Martin. “Enrique is a great kid. The way in which he looks up to Isaias is something to be seen. It really is special.” Buck has known talented riders can waste their good fortune but does not see destructive patterns emerging. “Enrique is very humble. His success has not gone to his head,” sentiments echoed by his mentor, Isaias. “I think he can go anywhere right now because he’s a really, really talented rider. He gives 110 per cent on every single ride that he has. He’s not a rider who in his breaks between races looks at the form and thinks, this is a donkey. I’m not going to try my best. He tries and I think he has further room to improve his riding style. I give him one more year to learn and he will be one of the leading riders in New Mexico and if he had the right opportunity, somewhere else too.” Enrique is keeping his options open. “Right now, I will work my hardest to try and get a title. If in the future I get the opportunity to ride at another track, I will think about it. I am getting stronger every single day, learning more and more every day, so I am working on everything.” And that includes his English. “I am a little bit shy when people first meet me but after that I open up and talk to everybody. I am pretty easygoing. I know it would help me to have some English lessons. Sometimes I understand what an owner is saying and sometimes I don’t.” The language barrier does require a third person now and again but has not been a hindrance to getting the job done. Whether he is watching movies or simply relaxing at home on a day off, Enrique is focused on making his new life fly. If the current results are any indication, Enrique will soon be a household name among racing fans, prompting another piece of fatherly advice from his friend and mentor, Isaias. “First thing I told him the other day is you need to start investing your money.” | ||
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A RIDE TO THE TOP - by Robert Geller for
SureBet