[QUOTE=Xctrygirl;5967088]
Update:
http://www.drf.com/news/hollywood-park-valenzuela-checks-agent-after-missing-thursday-card[/QUOTE]
If that really is true about the girlfriend, that’s about as unprofessional as it gets! If it was something truly serious there is absolutely no reason he could not call the track and say he is at the ER with his girlfriend. Sounds like they had a fight and he couldn’t get it together to end it and get to the track.
At least he is alive.
[QUOTE=Laurierace;5967263]
At least he is alive.[/QUOTE]
DRF 11/24/11 “Valenzuela has emergency gall bladder surgery”
… his agent reported to Hollywood Park’s stewards that Valenzuela had emergency gall bladder surgery on Thursday morning in Kansas.
“He was operated on this morning to remove his gall bladder,” Kim Sawyer, one of Hollywood Park’s stewards, said Thursday morning in the stewards’s office.
Sawyer had been in touch Wednesday and Thursday with Valenzuela’s agent, Tom Knust, who originally thought Valenzuela was going to have the surgery Wednesday night.
As to the thought he was been somehow back to ‘bad habits’, that appears to be unfounded:
Valenzuela was tested Monday in Kansas and passed.
“It was clean,” Ward said.
Here is to a speedy recovery. Hopefully they were able to do it laproscopicly, the other way takes a long time to recover from.
Hopefully he can find the next phase of his life an truly enjoyable one. What a long and winding first phase it has been for him.
Never say never?
North County Times (CA) March 25, 2012 “Valenzuela on comeback trail?” - excerpt
At least one source said Valenzuela is indeed coming back, but that’s news to Tom Knust, Valenzuela’s agent.
“People have been talking about it,” said Knust on Sunday morning, “but I haven’t heard about it.”
Valenzuela last rode on Nov. 13 at Hollywood Park before personal issues and emergency gall bladder surgery sidelined him for the remainder of the meet.
And yes he is un-retiring.
He’ll be back in the irons with the opening day of Hollywood Park’s Spring/Summer Meet - April 26, 2012.
Shocked? Nope.
[QUOTE=Glimmerglass;6252936]
And yes he is un-retiring.
He’ll be back in the irons with the opening day of Hollywood Park’s Spring/Summer Meet - April 26, 2012.
Shocked? Nope.[/QUOTE]
Maybe he still owes the DRF for the ad he took out begging trainers to hire him.
[QUOTE=Toadie’s mom;6253242]
Maybe he still owes the DRF for the ad he took out begging trainers to hire him.;)[/QUOTE]
Ha! 
Although we’ll see how well he can rebound yet again with age and past injury a difficult handicap. GoGo hasn’t exactly bounced back from his cracked heel injury despite being tougher than shoe leather.
From the DRF on PVal’s planned return:
“I’ve been watching the races at home. My passion is racing. Over the last month , I’ve debated whether to come back. I don’t feel any reason why I can’t come back.”
Valenzuela said his knees, which have caused him problems in the past, are not an issue, but admitted that they have not been exposed to the rigors of riding of late.
“I haven’t been riding and my knees have been a lot better,” he said. “We’ll have to wait and see. I haven’t rode a race. It’s not like I’ll be riding eight horses a day.”
Valenzuela said he plans to begin exercising horses by next weekend.
Accordingly to another report he wants to ride specifically Acclamation (whom he rode to 2 consecutive graded wins in late 2011) in the Grade 3 Inglewood Handicap at 1 1/8 miles on turf on Friday, April 27.
As indicated - entries are now out for the $100k Inglewood H. (Grade 3) - and viola P. Val is listed on Acclamation for the 5-horse field.
He has 4 mounts out of 9 races which is damn good for a man who has only recently returned to exercising horses.
That is Friday APR 27th which is opening day for (just renamed) Betfair Hollywood Park meet. And duh (with Betfair’s prominent role) TVG will have the exclusive race coverage for the meet.
At one time he was a great rider.
I don’t know what to characterize him as now. Racing really doesn’t need the publicity.
[QUOTE=Glimmerglass;6253309]
GoGo hasn’t exactly bounced back from his cracked heel injury despite being tougher than shoe leather[/QUOTE]
FWIW, I have a friend whose son broke his heel last year. Because of him, I have learned that a broken heel is a serious injury…extremely painful, slow to heal, and there can be long-term problems with the foot and ankle. My friend’s son broke his heel in the late summer/early fall. He has had 2 surgeries and he’s still having pain and problems.
So I worried about Garrett Gomez when I heard about his injury. It might not seem like such a bad injury, but sometimes it can be.
^^^^ Raven, oddly enough I thought of GoGo’s injury as I met an older gent this morning who had multiple fractures of his heel - came off a stepladder onto a hard tile floor and whammo!
This man was in a lot of pain months after he incurred the injury, with a bazillion screws just like the x-ray’s I saw online of Gomez’s heel. What a mess.
If a world-class athlete like GoGo is have trouble coming back, mere mortals will have a tough go of it. Am wishing nothing but the best for Gomez in his recovery.
As for PVal, I wish him well too with Acclamation and other mounts.
Sigh. Every time I want to revert to my normal “tough love” judgement of the man and his troubles over the years I think of Sunday Silence and honestly, I just wish the man well in his endeavours.
Among Patrick’s workout techniques to get back into shape:
The condition of his knees, more than 33 years after his first win in New Mexico, remains a concern, he says. A recent exercise program that includes Bikram Yoga may help, he hopes.
“That is some tough stuff,” he said. “It’s like doing yoga in a sauna room.
“I think it’s helping my knee, too. The teacher tells me it does.”
By incorporating yoga into his exercise away from the racetrack, Valenzuela said he hopes to “strengthen his legs and take the strain off the knees.
“So far, I’ve felt good. I’m eating the right food after having my gall bladder removed. I had to change my diet.”
Bikram Yoga is ideally practiced in a room heated to 105°F with a humidity of 40%
It hasn’t been an easy comeback and it appears the days of old with quickly getting mounts and racking up wins have waned. Only on Sunday May 13th did he get his first win from 25 rodes since returning.
Valenzuela, 49, rode favored Langfurs Lightning to a three-quarter length win over King’s Red Journey in a maiden claimer over 7 1/2 furlongs.
Langfurs Lightning was Valenzuela’s 25th mount since returning to riding on April 26, at the start of the current spring-summer meeting. In his comeback, Valenzuela has struggled to attract business.
“I feel like I’ve got a monkey off my back,” Valenzuela said after he left the winner’s circle. Valenzuela has now won 4,334 races in his career.
May 20th: Halted comeback! Due to weight.
“I can’t get my weight off,” Valenzuela said in a phone interview. "I’m 126 [pounds]. It is tough and it’s tougher than I thought.
“I ran this morning and I got to 126. I was 129. Until I’m get my weight down I’m not going to name on horses. It’s not fair to horsemen.”
Saturday, he had one mount, finishing second on Playful Council in a maiden race for 2-year-olds. He was listed at 122 pounds for that mount.
I go back and forth about Pat riding. I am feeling kinder right now and I hope he makes a good comeback. Poor guy, his addiction issues have been a lifelong struggle and I admire someone still trying to work and make a living and not just succumb. Hope he gets his weight down (without drugs! ) and gets back to riding.
Video: 6-9-12 Acclamation with PVal up in the G1-T $250,000 Charles Whittingham Handicap
The Whittingham was Acclamation’s first start since the Grade 2 Clement Hirsch Turf Championship at Santa Anita last October. Acclamation was entered for the Grade 3 Inglewood Handicap here in late April, but did not start after Warren expressed concern about his soundness.
Subsequent tests revealed no abnormalities, allowing Acclamation to return to normal training in May.
Valenzuela’s win on Acclamation was his first ride in three weeks.
He took off his mount on May 20, citing difficulties in controlling his weight. He weighed 120 1/2 pounds when he checked his weight before the Whittingham, and carried 124 pounds in the race.
Devastating … in the performance by PVal on Acclamation in the Grade I $300,000 Eddie Read Stakes! The six-year old horse paired with Patrick (trained by Don Warren) extended his winning streak to seven, including four Grade I stakes, most notably the 2011 $1 million Pacific Classic last summer.
Video: Acclamation controls the Eddie Reed (7-21-12)
Like PVal or not he applied his career of skill - perhaps the best ever with a horse willing to take the lead - to school this field and cash the check. The win cost Del Mar money in the end of the day with so many folks knowing PVal was money in the bank.
Because of heavy wagering on Acclamation to show, there was a minus show pool of $66,680.86. Of $453,281 in the show pool, $378, 984 was wagered on the winner.
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