Apprentice Jose Gomez looks for a second win on Top Gun Tommy
It’s probably safe to assume Top Gun Tommy ranks as one of apprentice Jose Gomez’s favorite horses. He was the young rider’s first career winner last month, and the pair will be in action again Friday at Aqueduct.
Top Gun Tommy goes in the second race, a first-level allowance for 3-year-olds and up at a mile. It’s one of a number of interesting offerings on a strong card, with a two-other-than allowance for 3-year-olds and up at a mile and three-sixteenths on turf slotted as the feature.
Top Gun Tommy is one of several contenders in the second race following his victory in a $50,000 starter allowance at a mile and a sixteenth Oct. 28 at Belmont Park.
Gomez, a 10-pound apprentice, is a former exercise rider who will soon start riding regularly at Aqueduct. Top Gun Tommy was his 12th career mount, and he guided the horse home by 3 3/4 lengths. The race was the New York debut for the 21-year-old Gomez.
Kelly Breen, who trains Top Gun Tommy for John Martino, said Angel Cordero Jr. will be Gomez’s agent for the winter.
“We’re just in the preparation stages,” Breen said. “He’s going to start riding more, say, ‘open’ horses. Before, he’d just been riding for me. A month from now, mid-December, he’ll start looking to ride for outside people, kind of turn it up a little bit.”
Gomez had his first mounts at Monmouth Park. He’s long been affiliated with Breen.
“He worked a couple of horses for me going back a couple of years,” Breen said. “We were going down to Florida and he came with us. He’s a good kid. He’s got a good work ethic, and he’s got nice hands. He’s been working with Angel the last two months and I think the help that Angel is providing him has brought him [forward] leaps and bounds. There’s a difference in being a good exercise rider and starting to ride horses. He’s got one of the best in the business – if not the best – helping him.”
Breen has a division of 27 horses based at Belmont Park and will be competing throughout the winter at Aqueduct.
Top Gun Tommy will break from post 4 and could show the way under Gomez.
Among his opponents is Adare, who was second by a head at this level in October at Belmont. It was the first start in two months for the horse, who was previously based in Southern California. Trainer Neil Drysdale has given the mount to Jose Ortiz.
The featured ninth race drew Doswell, who was third at the same level Oct. 21 at Belmont in his first out since January. Last winter, Doswell finished in the top three in a pair of graded turf routes at Gulfstream Park. Dylan Davis has the mount for trainer Barclay Tagg.
Temple could go favored off his third-place finish in the Grade 3 Knickerbocker on Oct. 12 at Belmont. Kendrick Carmouche has the mount for trainer Thomas Morley.