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Giant Moon

Post Position 11

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A fourth-place finish in the Wood Memorial wasn’t enough to get Giant Moon in the Kentucky Derby but it did set him up for a run in the Preakness Stakes, with an eye toward the Belmont Stakes in his home area.     The son of Giant’s Causeway is the pride and joy of owner-breeder Albert Fried Jr. A victory in the Count Fleet Stakes in January ran his career record to four for four, but he finished poorly in the Gotham Stakes over a sloppy Aqueduct. His Wood performance was more like what he was used to, so after missing the Derby, Giant Moon could take a giant step by defeating Derby winner Big Brown in the Preakness.

TRAINER - Richard Schosberg originally from White Plains, N.Y. now resides in Muttontown, N.Y.     Schosberg opened a public stable in September 1988 and won with his first starter, Three Chopt Road, on September 4 at Belmont Park. He got his early training by working at the Middleburg Training Center in the late 1970s before working for trainers Walter Kelley and Mike Daggett and moving up to assistant trainer for Sidney Watters Jr. and later for Tom Skiffington.     He has trained three Grade I winners: Affirmed Success, Maria’s Mon and Mossflower. Maria’s Mon won the Sanford, Futurity and Champagne stakes as a 2-year-old and won the Eclipse Award as the nation’s top juvenile in 1995. During a long career Affirmed Success won the Vosburgh, Forego, Cigar Mile, Jaipur, Toboggan and Carter.     Schosberg earned degrees in business and animal science from Cornell University in 1984.     Among other stakes winners for the trainer: As Indicated, Attila’s Storm, Can’t Slow Down, Pentatonic, Personal Bid, Saratoga Sunrise and Wild Wings.

JOCKEY - Ramon Dominguez was born Nov. 24, 1976 in Caracas, Venezuela and now resides in Elkton, Maryland.     He finished sixth among North American riders in purse earnings for 2007 with a total of $15,343,920. His 319 wins was second to Russell Baze’s 399. Among top horses ridden during 2007: Unbridled Belle, Better Talk Now, Fabulous Strike, Remarkable News, Icy Atlantic, Chelokee, Attila’s Storm and Wild Gams. He racked up purse earnings of $14,409,988 in 2006 for a fifth-place finish among North American jockeys; had 385 winners and posted 2005 purse earnings of $10,767,955 and rode 312 winners on the year. He won his first race in 1995 in Venezuela. He made his biggest mark in this country by riding Better Talk Now to upset victory in the 2004 John Deere Breeders’ Cup Turf. Also that year, his 28.3 winning percentage earned him the coveted Isaac Murphy Awarded presented annually by the National Turf Writers Association to the country’s rider with the best win percentage. He won 2,000th race in 2004 and posted 3,000th victory in 2007.     Other best horses ridden: Tapit, Confessional, Your Out, Gin Taking and Equality. Other top races won: Maryland Million Lassie, Maryland Million Turf, Maryland Million Oaks, all at Laurel Park; Saranac Stakes at Saratoga, Virginia Derby at Colonial Downs and Miami Turf Cup at Calder Race Course. He rides mostly in Maryland except for special stakes races out of the area.     Dominguez was the nation’s leading rider, by victories, in both 2001 and 2003. He was second to Rafael Bejarano in 2004, with 383 victories to the leader’s 455. Purse earnings of $11,507,889 for the year put him ninth nationally. In 2000, he was third leading rider, by victories, with 361. Earnings for that year totaled $7,979,673.     He has ridden in six Preakness Stakes, finishing eighth with Bay Eagle in 2001, 13th on Equality in 2002, seventh with Foufa’s Warrior in 2003, second in 2005 aboard Scrappy T, eighth in 2006 on Diabolical and eighth with Xchanger in 2007. In 2006, put up his highest finish in the Kentucky Derby with a second place aboard Bluegrass Cat. In 2004, finished ninth aboard Tapit in his first Derby ride; was 20th aboard High Limit in 2005 and ninth with Sam P. in 2007.

OWNER/BREEDER - Albert Fried, Jr. origionally from New York City now resides in Rhinebeck, N.Y.     He attended Cornell University for undergraduate study and business school at its Johnson School of Management. His family consists of daughter Christina Elaine Fried, who is a leading rider on the show-jumping circuit.     He is managing member of Albert Fried and Co., an investment banking firm, and is a second-generation of the New York Stock Exchange, following his father who joined the NYSE in 1919. To make it three generations on the Exchange, his daughter joined in 1994.     Fried owns Buttonwood Farm near Rhinebeck, N.Y. He raises mostly New York-breds on the 190-acre spread. He got involved with horses first through playing polo at Cornell. He says racing seemed to be a logical extension of that. His first horse, Alphadelta, was bought from Mrs. Allaire du Pont in 1977.     He has a number of horses in training with Todd Pletcher, Richard Schosberg and Bob Ringhoff. So far, his top horse has been Affirmed Success, who finished sixth in the 1998 Breeders’ Cup Sprint and 12th the next year in the same race. Affirmed Success switched surfaces in 2000 and 2001 to finish fourth and 11th, respectively, in the Breeders’ Cup Mile.     He has raced several other stakes winners, including Nafees, Tina Tina Too and homebreds Tinchen’s Prince and Lamplight.