Gomez Fallout Causes Agent Musical Chairs

The fallout continued Friday morning in the aftermath of Garrett Gomez saying he “didn’t want to ride for a while,” leaving his agent, Tony Matos, without a premier jockey.

Effective today, Matos will be agent for veteran Corey Nakatani, whom he represented as an apprentice when he was Southern California’s leading “bug” rider nearly a quarter century ago. Nakatani, who had been represented by agent Jim Pegram, will be 43 on Oct. 21.

“Surprised” is how Pegram described his primary reaction on hearing the news from Nakatani that he was parting company. “I got a hint of it last night, but not officially until this morning,” said Pegram, who once upon a time also represented Gomez.

Matos, who also represents jockey Alonso Quinonez, currently recovering from injuries in a spill at the recent Fairplex Park meet, said Friday he “hasn’t heard from” Gomez since receiving a text from him on Wednesday.

“He’s going through personal problems,” Matos said Thursday. “He texted me yesterday and said he didn’t want to ride for a while.”

Matos expects Quinonez to resume riding before the meet ends on Nov. 3. “He was out here yesterday,” Matos said. “He’s going to start swimming, he’s going to start therapy and I would say he’ll be back in two weeks.”