Veteran horseman Gerry Longo seems to be getting better with age. Now 70 years old, but still going strong with a string of 10 horses in his stable, driver Longo swept to victory in the last three races on the Saturday night card at Running Aces.
With the triple, Longo leaped back into fourth-place in the current driver’s standings sporting 30 wins in the first 29 nights of the 53-night meet. He also ranks fourth in the local trainer’s standings with 20 wins from 70 starts.
Longo won both feature races on the Saturday program guiding his own Kiss On The Lips to a 1:54.3 half-length score in the $8,000 Fillies and Mares Open; and steering trainer Gene Miller’s Its Getting Hairy to a 1:54.2 tally in the $6,500 Open II for males. Longo concluded his “turkey” by capturing the $3,000 condition race nightcap with longshot Barbosa, a four-year-old gelding which he also owns.
Kiss On The Lips came first-up before the quarter and cleared to the front well before the half, then held off favoured Party Hangover Two (Steve Wiseman), Keep The Dream (Travis Bowman) and De Valeria (Tim Maier) in a driving finish that resulted in all four mares being lapped-on to one another at the wire. The win was the 16th in 59 career tries for Kiss On The Lips, a five-year-old daughter of Dontgetinmyway who inched closer to the $100,000 earnings plateau—currently at $97,264.
Its Getting Hairy is owned by Wolfswinkel Pacers Inc. and now sports 22 victories and a bankroll of $109,003. The Minnesota-sired six-year-old son of Relentless Yankee topped stablemate Bunkerhill Bill (Tony Succarotte), the runner-up who was uncoupled in the wagering, Major Hottie (Kim Pluta) and Greybeard (Brian Detgen).
Barbosa kicked back $22.40 to his $2 supporters, upsetting fellow longshot Kablooie (Kim Pluta) and favourite Goody Two Socks (Rick Magee) in a very tight three-way photo finish. Unraced at two, it was Barbosa’s ninth win over the last two seasons.
If Longo can maintain his present 30 percent win percentage with starters from his current hard-hitting stable, this will be his finest and most productive season at Running Aces. One of just a handful of trainers who have called Running Aces their summer home since the track’s inception eight years ago, Longo shows no signs of letting up any time soon.
“I’ve been training horses my whole life,” Longo said, “and I want to race as long as I’m able and competitive.“
There seems to be no reason to start planning a retirement party anytime soon!
(With files from Running Aces)
What a wonderful thing for
What a wonderful thing for Longo! He is part of a powerful contigent of California horse persons from years gone by with pitstops in Chicago and now with a visible presence in major racing venues. These feats are great stories to be told.