Australian horse trainer John O’Shea has beaten everyone to the punch by naming one of his thoroughbreds Pacquiao. O’Shea is a noted stable master who employs the highest ratio of staff to horse in Sydney. He is also known never to compromise on veterinary assistance.
O’Shea is in the record books for producing several Group One winners, including Racing To Win, Private Steer, Charge Forward and Son of Thunder.
Last Jan. 13, his three-year-old gelding Pacquiao broke away to a 7 1/2 length win over 1,200 meters at Gosford. The Australian trade paper “World of Boxing” reported that “Filipino ‘flash’ Sarangani Congressman Manny Pacquiao is like grease lightning around the boxing ring and he can run faster than the wind on a thoroughbred racetrack.”
Under the rules of The Jockey Club which controls the sport in North America (including Canada and Puerto Rico), written permission must be given by a person whose name is to be used for a horse. When she was First Lady, Barbara Bush allowed a filly to carry her name via an official White House letter. It’s not certain if the world’s No. 1 pound-for-pound champion gave his permission or if it was even asked. Note that the name Manny Pacquiao was not used for O’Shea’s gelding, only Pacquiao.
In the Gosford maiden handicap, Pacquiao was ridden by 56.5 kilogram jockey Christian Reith and brought home prize money of Australian $16,000. According to the “World of Boxing,” it paid $3.20 on the New South Wales tote for the win and $1.20 for the place.
Curiously, Pacquiao the fighter spent 10 days in Sydney with his family during the Christmas holidays.
O’Shea’s Warwick Farm stable counts on over 40 horses and Reith is one of his top riders.
A week after Pacquiao’s victory at Gosford, he was back on the track at Warwick Farm. Pacquiao and stablemate Freyberg, with Nash Rawiller on board, went neck-to-neck in the early going. Then, Pacquiao stormed ahead with about 500 meters to go only to falter down the stretch. Pacquiao came in third as Mirjulisa Lass and Next The Universe galloped to swamp O’Shea’s pride.
There was no word if other Australian trainers had horses named Mayweather, Mosley, Margarito or Marquez.
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Former Northern Consolidated star and naturalized player Jeff Moore is living in Guadalajara, Mexico, staying active in the game he loves. Moore, 50, was coach Ron Jacobs’ protégé at Loyola Marymount University and even lived with his family in Seal Beach, a Los Angeles suburb, during his year with the NCAA Division I varsity. Jacobs piloted Loyola in 1979-80 and was named West Coast Athletic Association Coach of the Year that season.
In 1980, Jacobs moved to Manila on Ambassador Danding Cojuangco’s invitation to coach the national squad. With Moore playing small forward, Jacobs steered the Philippines to the 1986 Asian Basketball Confederation (now FIBA-Asia) title – the last time the country ruled the conclave. Moore was also a mainstay on Jacobs’ teams that won the Jones Cup in 1981 and 1985 and the PBA Third Conference in 1985.
When the Philippines captured the FIBA-Asia crown in 1986, rules allowed two naturalized players to suit up for a country. Moore and Dennis Still were Jacobs’ pair. Chip Engelland, another naturalized player, would’ve been eligible to play for the country starting in 1987 under the principle of residency. Moore, Still and Engelland, however, played on the same San Miguel Corp. squad that beat coach Gene Keady’s US All-Stars in overtime in the 1985 Jones Cup finals. In the Jones Cup, there was no limitation as to the number of naturalized players. FIBA later restricted the use of naturalized players to one per country with no residency requirement.
Moore said from the Philippines, he went to play in Argentina and Venezuela before settling in Mexico. He has two children – a boy, 15, and a girl, 12. Moore said he keeps in contact with Engelland, now a San Antonio Spurs assistant coach, and Still who lives in Kansas. He also stays in touch with several of his former Filipino teammates, including Franz Pumaren.
Moore said he conducts basketball clinics and coaches in Mexico. He’ll always have a special place in his heart for Cojuangco, Jacobs and Filipino basketball fans. One of his hopes is to be able to get tapes of his games with the national team, Northern and San Miguel.
In his facebook, Moore wrote a piece entitled “The Man In The Glass.” Here’s what he said: “Something to think about...the man in the glass...when you get what you want in your struggle for self and the world makes you king for a day, just go to the mirror and look at yourself and see what that man has to say. For it isn’t your father or mother or wife whose judgment you must pass, the fellow whose verdict counts most in your life is the one staring back from the glass. Some people may think you a straight shootin’ chum and call you a wonderful guy. But the man in the glass says you’re only a bum if you can’t look him straight in the eye. He’s the fellow to please, never mind the rest, for he’s with you clear up to the end. And you’ve passed your most dangerous and difficult test if the man in the glass is your friend. You may fool the whole world down the pathway of life and get pats on your back as you pass. But your final reward will be heartaches and tears if you’ve cheated the man in the glass.”