Mike Smith to retain his mount on Bodemeister, while Garrett Gomez will ride Daddy Nose Best in the Kentucky Derby
Veteran jockey Mike Smith was originally considered as the mount of Daddy Nose Best for the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby on 5 May at Churchill Downs, but after the jockey’s emphatic nine and a half length victory in the Grade 1, $1 million Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park on 14 April, 2012, Mike Smith has all the reasons to retain the mount on Bodemeister.
With Bodemeister going with smith, Daddy Nose Best will apparently run under the two time Eclipse Award winning jockey, Garrett Gomez, and these two vertean runners will make the Derby field all the more interesting come 5 May, 2012.
The news was broken out by the Santa Anita Park’s publicity office that agents for Smith and Garrett confirmed the news on 15 April, 2012. Mike Smith turned in a smashing victory over Bodemeister, and with this victory the BO Baffert trained colt is being considered as the favourite for the Kentucky Derby.
With Smith onboard, Bodemeister’s chances have doubled, because the jockey is a big race and jockey and he has gone on to prove it many times, and most recently winning the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Class last fall at Churchill Downs while riding,Drosselmeyer.
Garrett Gomez’s agent Tony Matos confirmed that Garrett Gomez is going in the Kentucky Derby coupled with Daddy Nose Best.
“We wouldn’t trade places with anybody,” said Matos. “There will be a lot of speed in the Derby and Daddy Nose Best can get the mile and a quarter. We’re very excited to be riding for Steve Asmussen.”
After Bodemeister’s dominant performance in the Arkansas Derby, everyone was on pins and needles as to who will ride Bodemeister in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby, except the colt’s trainer, who names Bodemeister after his seven-year-old son.
“He ran like he did when he broke his maiden (winning by 9 ¼ lengths at Santa Anita going one mile on Feb. 11). He was relaxed. His last race (second by three-quarters of a length to Creative Cause in the San Felipe Stakes on March 10 after leading into the stretch), he sort of fell apart going to the gate, he got hot; he was a mess.”
Tags: