Isai Gonzalez saw something he liked in Munqad.
So Gonzalez and GSH Stables claimed the 5-year-old Kentucky-bred son of War Front and Muhaawara for $20,000 just three weeks ago at Evangeline.
And he claimed him with one race in mind: the $75,000 Bosselman Pump & Pantry/Gus Fonner Stakes this Saturday at Fonner Park.
“We claimed him three weeks ago looking for this race,” Gonzalez said. “He ran at Delta in a big stake and ran fourth. What we like is he can run anywhere. He has a different style. He’s won going to the front, off the pace, in the middle.
“So we liked the horse at that price. We’re going to give him a shot. We knew he’d won enough money to get in. He won that day at Evangeline. We decided to put him in this race. It’s going to be tough, but hopefully he can give us a good effort.”
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Munqad, who will be ridden by Gonzalez’ regular rider Kevin Roman, easily won that race at Evangeline by six lengths. It was his fourth win in 20 lifetime starts.
Now Gonzalez is hoping he can win Nebraska’s biggest race on Saturday.
But how that might be done isn’t clear. Gonzalez hasn’t had the horse long, but he knows he doesn’t have to be in the lead or coming from off the pace.
So that means it’s going to be up to Roman to figure it out as the race unfolds.
“Honestly, I don’t think there will be any plan,” Gonzalez said. “We just have to put the horse in the race and see what happens. This type of race, I don’t think we’ll follow a plan. We’ll leave everything to Kevin and see how the horse lays in the race.
“This horse can go anywhere. He can go to the front or lay off the pace. He can go either way. We’ll see how it looks that day, and wish good luck to everybody.”
The team of Roman and Gonzalez has been successful the past two years at Fonner. Roman ran away with the jockey’s title in 2022, and Gonzalez did the same with the trainer’s crown.
This year, both still lead their respective divisions, but the margins are closer.
Roman has a solid lead with 48 wins. Jose Medina is second with 37.
Gonzalez leads the trainer’s standings with 37 wins. His Texas neighbor Mark Hibdon is right behind with 33.
“Kevin has been riding for us the last two years and we’ve been doing pretty well,” Gonzalez said. “He’s doing a great job with our horses.”
Gonzalez has brought many of his horses up from Delta Downs. It’s a system that has worked well.
“We’ve been here for the past six years,” he said. “We noticed those horses kind of work here. Delta the competition is a little tougher. When we bring them here, they’re ready to go.
“Eighty percent of the horses from Delta are going to work here. That’s why we keep buying the same kind, and they’ve been doing well.”
But now Gonzalez is looking for a bit more in the Bosselman. He had the favorite a year ago with Its a Wrap, but he finished fifth.
Its a Wrap, who will run in this year’s Bosselman under trainer Jon Arnett, was claimed from GHS Stables for $30,000 in July at Prairie Meadows.
Its a Wrap likes to go to the lead. He will likely be out front along with 9-5 morning-line favorite Buck Moon in the early part of the Bosselman.
Munqad will be somewhere in the mix.
“Maybe laying fourth or fifth, and just make one move,” Gonzalez said.
Tohill in Bosselman,
out of Kentucky Derby
Veteran jockey Ken Tohill is set to ride Fleetridge in the Bosselman Saturday.
Until Thursday morning, he was planning to go on to Churchill Downs and ride Wild On Ice in the Kentucky Derby on May 6. That would have made him at age 60 the oldest jockey to ride in the Derby.
But Thursday morning the news broke that Wild On Ice had suffered an injury and would not be running in the Derby. That’s a tough break for Tohill, who rode at Fonner last year and later picked up his 4,000th career win at Prairie Meadows.
Fonner Park Standings
Jockeys
Name;Sts;1st;2nd;3rd;Win%;Purses
Kevin Roman;210;48;41;39;23;$322,253
Jose Angel Medina;192;37;36;32;19;$287,323
Roberto Morales;166;35;36;29;21;$257,516
Armando Martinez;186;32;31;33;17;$232,323
Nathan Haar;152;26;16;23;17;$199,002
Adrian B. Ramos;159;18;19;17;11;$151,418
David Cardoso;105;18;14;10;17;$123,658
Scott A. Bethke;85;9;8;8;11;$79,604
Bryan McNeil;79;8;10;6;10;$77,037
Ricardo Martinez;106;7;13;16;7;$63,839
Trainers
Name;Sts;1st;2nd;3rd;Purses
Isai V. Gonzalez;163;37;30;31;23;60;$222,307
Mark N. Hibdon;149;33;36;22;22;61;$238,520
Kelli Martinez;129;26;29;22;20;60;$200,310
David C. Anderson;118;18;21;22;15;52;$189,193
Marissa Black;63;14;7;10;22;49;$96,360
Jason Wise;22;10;3;4;45;77;$69,244
Schuyler Condon;93;9;15;10;10;37;$91,878
Dalton Dieter;44;8;7;8;18;52;$49,003
Gilbert W. Ecoffey 68 8 6 4 12 26 $44,325
Gregorio P. Rivera 41 6 10 5 15 51 $63,390