Wong praises ‘brave’ Keepmeinthe Moment after Del Mar win
Jonathan Wong never lost faith that a good day would arrive for him during this summer meet at Del Mar, and it came on Sunday (AEST) when he oversaw a winning double with Keepmeinthe Moment and High Heater both saluting.
It meant at the conclusion of weekend racing he moved to a respectable five wins for the campaign so far.
“That was awesome. We’ve kind of had a bit of a slow meet, with some seconds and thirds,” the San Francisco trainer told HorseBetting.com.au.
“So it was nice to get a couple of wins.
“We always kept the faith and just stuck to the process.”
Wong was full of praise for Keepmeinthe Moment’s victory by three-quarters of a length in race three, a 1200m event for three-year-old fillies.
“She ran good. She gets very game and brave when she’s in the lead,” he said.
“If she doesn’t make the lead she won’t run.
“She might go back to Golden Gate and run in an allowance race there. Or if they have a three-year-old claim (at USD $25,000) at Santa Anita she might go there.”
READ: D’Amato happy despite missing out on Del Mar Oaks glory
Wong has enjoyed a strong previous connection with Abel Cedillo, the jockey who steered Keepmeinthe Moment to victory.
“Great ride. He’s one of the best here. I’ve had a lot of luck with Abel from before,” he said.
“He rode her at Golden Gate. He was the leading jockey and I was the leading trainer.
“I’ve got all the confidence in the world in him. He tries hard on every horse.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s 99/1.”
Just over two months ago in mid-June, Wong notched up his 1000th winner.
He now has 1038 career victories to his name after taking out his trainer’s licence in 2014, having been introduced to racing after a family friend invited him to the track as a child.
“Above and beyond grateful. I’ve definitely exceeded expectations,” Wong said.
“There was never a thought I was going to reach that number.
“I have a great group of owners and a great team who works for me.
“I’m very blessed.”