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BAZE, MARTINEZ OUT OF ACTION
Pomona, Calif. (Sept. 7, 2008) - Jockeys Tyler Baze and Michael Martinez, who were both thrown from their mounts in the fourth race on opening day, won't be riding for awhile.
"Tyler jammed his neck pretty good when he hit the ground head first after falling off his horse (Yoursmynanours)," said his agent Ron Ebanks. "He's really stiff and sore, so I told him to take off the next 10 days and go relax.
"Tyler may ride the final weekend of Fairplex (Sept. 20 and 21) in the stakes races if he feels well enough. We thought we could make a run at Martin Pedroza (for the jockey title), but it wasn't to be.
"Tyler recently got married, and he and his wife have been waiting to take their honeymoon, so they will be going to Tahiti. I'm going to Vegas, then we'll regroup for the last part of Fairplex, and then the Oak Tree meet."
Martinez came out of the spill body sore after also falling off his mount, Just Miss.
"Nothing was broken, but Michael was complaining of pain in his upper and lower back," explained his agent Alex Procel Crowley. "He'll be off for about a week and must be cleared by the doctor before he can resume riding.
"We had some momentum coming out of Del Mar and were expecting to do well at Fairplex, but these things happen."
MARTIN GARCIA, MATT GARCIA UNHURT
In Saturday's fourth race jockeys Martin Garcia and Matt Garcia, also were tossed from their mounts in a horrific spill that looked worse than the accident on opening day.
Russian Liquor, handled by Martin Garcia, was on the lead entering the stretch when the horse suddenly fell, sending Garcia to the main track.
A trailing Dawn's Day, ridden by Martin Pedroza, literally jumped over the fallen Russian Liquor, avoiding further calamity, but Cotati with Matt Garcia aboard couldn't avoid the Prone Russian Liquor and plowed right into him.
Martin Garcia came back to ride the very next race while Matt Garcia was taken to nearby Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center, but was later released with minor facial lacerations.
Both horses, Russian Liquor and Cotati, somehow escaped injury and were led off the track by their handlers.
For Martin Garcia Saturday was a real roller coaster ride because he came back eight races later to win the $61,750 Phil D. Shepherd Stakes with Freesgood by a half-length over pacesetting Tice in 1:44.22 for the 1 1/16 miles.
Martin Garcia was puzzled by the accident.
"I don't know why my horse fell," said Garcia. "He was on the bridle and I hadn't asked him yet (for his best) when he went down. That was ugly. At first I thought he broke down, but he didn't. I don't know if he tripped, or stumbled, or what."
DASH DOT DASH MAY TRY BLACK SWAN
Dash Dot Dash, ridden by Fairplex's leading jockey Martin Pedroza and trained by Vladimir Cerin, was a convincing three length winner over Chilliwack and Amina in Saturday's $61,750 Bustles and Bows Stakes, going wire to wire in 1:18:54 for the 6 ½ furlongs as a prohibitive 1-5 favorite.
The 2-year-old daughter of Put It Back may make another start at Fairplex before the meet ends.
"She's a pretty good filly," said Cerin. "And when you have Martin riding (at Fairplex), you don't have to worry. He doesn't make any mistakes.
"We want to run her long. Maybe, we'll come back in the ($65,000) Black Swan Stakes (Sept. 17). I wouldn't even be afraid to run her in the (Grade I $250,000) Oak Leaf Stakes (on Sept. 27) at Santa Anita."
Both races are at 1 1/16 miles.
NO SURPRISE, PEDROZA LEADS JOCKEYS
After winning a record seven races on opening day Friday, jockey Martin Pedroza added three more on Saturday, scoring with Gold Datnoid ($5.40), Dash Dot Dash ($2.40) and Danny Q ($7.40).
Pedroza, who has won nine consecutive riding championships in Pomona---and 10 overall, is the track's all-time leading rider with 529 career victories.
With Pedroza's main rival Tyler Baze on the shelf for at least the next 10 days the door is wide-open for the Panamanian-born rider to break his own single season record at Fairplex. In 2004 Pedroza won 51 races in 17 days (a three-a-day average). His mounts banked more than $1 million in purse money that season.
With only two days of the Pomona session in the record books Pedroza's horses have amassed $203,400 in earnings.
FAIRWELLS - While PEDROZA leads the rider's race with 10 victories, jockey AGAPITO DELGADILLO moved into second place in the standings with four winners after registering a triple on Saturday. His winners included Tuscan Princess ($20.60), Southern Man ($4.40) and Miss Anziayan ($15.20)…TED H. WEST is atop the trainer standings with three winners from just four starters. West, who has been pointing to the Pomona meet, has 25 horses stabled at the track…Betting favorites have won 12 of 26 races for a win percentage of 46.15…After two days the $1 win pick nine has a carryover pool of $6,841 for today's 11-race program…This Wednesday's $65,000 C.B. Afflerbaugh Stakes for 2-year-olds at 6 ½ furlongs was canceled when the race did not fill on Saturday morning…
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