OWNER ACCOMPLISHES DREAM WITH THE GOODBYE KISSER IN JOHN DEERE CALIFORNIA REGIONAL

CYPRESS , CA… AUGUST 27, 2010 - Marcelo Jorge has racked up the frequent flyer miles watching his prized filly The Goodbye Kisser run at Los Alamitos Race Course in the past few weeks.

Jorge, a native of Brazil, was on hand to watch the daughter of First Down Dash post the fastest qualifying time to the John Deere California Juvenile Challenge on August 13. A few days later he returned back home to Brazil only to come back to California to watch the Juvenile final on Friday at Los Alamitos. The trip was worth every mile, minute and dollar that Jorge invested, as the Bob Moore Farms-bred filly outdueled longshots Gossipaboutthis and Corazon Valiente to win the $40,410 final at 350 yards.

“When I saw the start of the race I thought that she was never going to make it, never,” said an elated Jorge, while clutching on to the beautiful Challenge regional trophy. “Then I saw that she was coming on strong and she kept on getting closer and closer. When she won the race I was speechless. This win is the completion of a 20-year-old dream. The dream of being here at Los Alamitos and winning a stakes race and an important race like the Challenge with a good young filly, it’s unbelievable.”

Jorge was on hand at Los Alamitos following a 12-hour non-stop flight from his home in Brazil.

“After the trials I went back to Brazil and then I came back yesterday,” he added. “The cost of the trip is not that expensive because I was traveling economy. Each round trip was a little over a $1,000. It’s now going to be such a happy flight back. It’s going to be a 12-hour trip of happiness. You can’t imagine how much this victory means to me. For us in Brazil, Los Alamitos Race Course is like a temple. It’s one of those things that it’s impossible to describe.”

Jorge was wearing his lucky coat, one that he borrowed from the Vessels Club coat rack.

“I wore this same coat when she won her trial,” Jorge said. “This is my lucky coat and I’ll have to buy it. This trophy, I’ll sleep with it tonight, and the trophy blanket, that’s another great prize too.”

All that’s left for Jorge to do is start planning his next trip to Los Alamitos and possible a journey to the Fair Grounds in Louisiana for the Grade 2 John Deere Juvenile Challenge final.

“She’s in the PCQHRA Breeders Futurity in September and the Challenge races in November,” he added. “I’ll let (trainer) Paul Jones decide what we are going to do next with this filly, but maybe the next time I’ll fly first class.”

Ridden by Carlos Huerta, The Goodbye Kisser paid $5.60 for the win. She earned $18,588 for crossing the wire first, her third victory in four career starts. She also covered the distance in :17.517.

Gossipaboutthis and Corazon Valiente were both dismissed at odds of 22-1 before posting their solid second and third place finishes, respectively. Like A Zephyr, Exotic Camila, Current Sea, MB One Day Conanas, First To Divulge and Carburator completed the field.

8-YEAR-OLD VETERAN GETS THE JOB DONE IN PFIZER CALIFORNIA REGIONAL

Just minutes after trainer Ugo De La Torre had saddled the 8-year-old veteran Precisionist RM to victory in the Pfizer California Starter Allowance Challenge at odds of 23-1, he was already starting to make plans to fly the gelding to Louisiana for the Bank of America Racing Challenge.

First, a fellow trainer asked if he wanted to partner up and fly their horses together. A few moments later an owner of another horse also planning to make the trip made it a traveling trio of horses. It sounds like De La Torre and Co. will get a good group deal , but even that won’t match the great bargain that the trainer found when he claimed Precisionist RM a few years ago at Fairplex Park.

“He was running in 870 races back then,” said De La Torre, the 27-year-old conditioner who trains Precisionist RM for his 32-year-old brother, Gustavo. “When we claimed him we wanted him for 870 races. He was only about a $3,200 claim, a good price for veteran horse with a lot of heart. There aren’t many 870 races California anymore so we started running him short. He was always a horse with a lot of energy and very aggressive. He was hard to calm down. He would always try to bite you or kick you but in the past six months or so he has really started to relax. Maybe he liked where we are keeping him now, but he’s really hit fine form.”

Precisionist RM has now won three of his last four starts, including wins against $2,000 and $4,000 claimers. His victory in the Pfizer came against horses that had been racing against $20,000 and $16,000 claimers, but the old veteran handled them to the tune of a 1 ½ length victory and
a 350-yard time of :17.218.

“I never expected him to run that fast of a time,” De La Torre said. “I knew that our best chance was for him to leave the gate quickly. That’s what he did. He’s an old horse, but he knows what to do.”
The Separatist gelding improved his career record to 17 wins from 57 starts. He earned $9,331 in winning this race to push his career earnings over the $90,000 mark.

“The trophy that he won us is what counts,” the trainer added. “The money comes and goes, but this beautiful trophy is ours forever. I’ve been training for the past three years and always at Los Alamitos. The time that he posted here is very fast, but we’ve had some other fast horses over the years like Willy Swings, who had the fastest time to this race last year.”

The complete order of finish is as follows; Precisionist RM, Gemini Special SA, Beer Blast, Mister Dominic, Premier Venu, Honor Dat Miracle, In Blues Honor, and Greylock.

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