"Juan Mosca was my friend from boyhood and he was a ball of fun," said Buxo Potts, former jockey and boxing promoter about the death of the trainer/owner/breeder.
Mosca died on Monday night after succumbing to a heart attack.
Potts who was with Mosca on January 2 when he lost consciousness, relived the incident for the Guardian Media Sports on Thursday said, "We were liming and I noticed that Juan was not himself but he said he was okay. However, when our vehicle reached the corner of Picton Street and Marli Street in Port-of-Spain, Mosca stopped breathing. We immediately rushed him to the St Clair Nursing Home, which was less than a two minute drive from our location.
"It was less than five minutes before he had the immediate attention of the doctors. He was placed on a ventilator and they pumped him up, it seemed at that time that he was in a coma."
"He never came out of it and after three weeks, he was moved to the Living Water Hospice on Warner Street in Port-of-Spain. I went there and visited him but after a while I decided that I couldn't look at him anymore. I said to myself 'He ain't coming back. I don't want to remember Juan like this, helpless, lying on a bed'."
Potts shared that he wanted to remember the spirited, energetic, funny and straightforward person that Mosca was.
"He was entertainment, he was fun, and I did not want to lose that memory of him," said Potts, who was named as the chairman of the World Boxing Council after being the special advisor to T&T Boxing Board of Control for several years. "He was friend and a good friend, he was a character but likeable, he made everyone enjoy themselves and he did well with his horses. Take nothing away from Juan, he was a good trainer. He had a heart attack in August of 2018 and was given a year to live by his doctors and he in true Oropuna-style, he beat the prediction," said the outspoken Potts, who was referring to top thoroughbred, Oropuna, which was owned and trained by Mosca.
Oropuna was the first creole ever to pass the $100,000-mark.
"He was indeed a good friend and a good man and racing will not be same without him. May he rest in peace."