Matos to represent Nakatani

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 Friday, 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 October 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

(on Wednesday) and said he didn't want to ride for a while."

Matos expects Quinonez to resume riding before the meet ends on November 3.

"He's going to start swimming, he's going to start therapy and I would say

he'll be back in two weeks."

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