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Jockey glad to have Far West ride By Kris Henry Joe Crispin is well on his way to winning the jockey points title, but he feels fortunate simply to have a mount in today�s featured race at Grants Pass Downs. Crispin, who has 19 wins on 70 mounts heading into today�s season finale at GPD, missed out on the jockey title last year after missing one day of racing. He nearly missed out on riding in today�s Far West Futurity after his horse, CPR First Class, was disqualified in the June 17 trials after stewards determined it bumped two others at the start of the race. "I would have been tough (in the Far West Futurity) if they wouldn�t have disqualified me. I was mounted pretty good," Crispin says of CPR First Class. "Unfortunately they decided to disqualify the horse because of banging away from the gate. I�m still not sure about that (ruling)." Fortunately for Crispin, the top two qualifying horses, Jets Flame (17.89) and Rio Cheng (17.92), were both ridden by Twyla Beckner. With the 23-year-old jockey only able to mount one of the Scott Raley-trained horses, Crispin was tabbed for Rio Cheng. "I have a real good chance (on Rio Cheng)," says Crispin. "I�m just glad I�m in the race. I could have taken other calls but I was lucky to get this call." The eight quickest 2-year-old quarter horses from the three trial heats two weeks ago will compete for the $28,203 purse in Division I of the Far West Futurity finals in today�s eighth race at GPD. The Far West is divided into two legs. The first is run at GPD, while the second is held at Portland Meadows in December. Post time today at GPD is 1 p.m., with four stakes races and the Oakhurst Thoroughbreds Marathon also highlighting the action. Although the Raley-trained horses boast the top qualifying times for the Far West, Crispin says all of that goes out the window for him and Beckner when the gates open today. "Things can happen and we can both get sucked out of it," says Crispin. "You just never know. That�s why it�s horse racing. We have the better time and shot at winning that looks good on paper, but when the gates open, that�s when the truth comes down." Truth is what Crispin will be hoping to discover about Rio Cheng in those fateful moments before the gates open. "I know absolutely zero about this horse," the 39-year-old says. "That�s the way I like it though. Most of these horses I jump on I don�t want to know about. The less I know the better off I am." Crispin says he has seen Rio Cheng in action but traditionally favors the mysterious qualities of a horse and isn�t inclined to seek out other opinions on its style. "I like the mystery," he says. "When things happen, things happen. I love being able to just go from there and seeing what we can do." Crispin says it�s the moments prior to the gate that make all the difference for him. "If you don�t know them by the time you get to the gate, then you won�t ever know them," he says. "That�s all the time I need to get to know a horse. Otherwise you�re listening to all everyone else has to say about the horse and not going with your own feelings." GPD had its largest attendance of the season and biggest handle on Sunday � 1,435 in attendance and a handle of $69,888. Last year, the final day of racing, also on the July 4, produced figures of 1,697 spectators and a handle of $105,688. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA