Talamo a win away from number 2,000

CYPRESS, Calif. – Joe Talamo moved within one victory of the 2,000th win of his career on Sunday at Los Alamitos when Tiz Wonderfully won the sixth race.

The achievement has been on Talamo’s minds the past few months, along with a recent drought of wins. Tiz Wonderfully was Talamo’s first winner since Nov. 10 at Del Mar.

“You know how that is,” Talamo said at the end of Sunday’s program. “It will come when it gets here.

“The horses are running good. They’re getting good trips.”

Talamo, who rode his first winner in 2006, is approaching the most important winter of his career. Next month, Talamo plans to leave Southern California to ride the lucrative meeting at Oaklawn Park. Talamo said on Sunday that he will be based at Santa Anita through Jan. 5, allowing him to ride the first eight days of that track’s winter spring meeting.

Oaklawn Park opens on Jan. 24. Talamo turns 30 on Jan. 12.

Of a more immediate nature is finding another winner. Thursday at Los Alamitos, Talamo has three mounts on the eight-race program – Rizzi’s Honors in the fifth race, a starter allowance for sprinters; South Boot Shirley in the seventh, an optional claimer for California-bred sprinters; and I Dub Thee in the eighth, a maiden claimer for statebred sprinters.

Talamo plans to ride at Los Alamitos through the weekend, which are the final days of the track’s brief two-week winter meeting. Santa Anita opens on Dec. 26.