Trainer Richard Phillipps announced his return to Caymanas Park after an absence of 10 years when he saddled his first winner Cartel. Cartel who won the third race on Derby Day, Saturday, October 31.
Ridden by Dane Nelson, Cartel won a 5 ½-furlong event by two lengths from Superbolt in a time of 1:07.3.
Quickgallop.com (QG): Where have you been all these years?
Richard Phillipps (RP): I left here [Caymanas Park] in 2010 and went to Montego Bay where I had a contract to manage a big security company. The security company was Hawkeye. I am now retired and I said the best thing for me now is to come and do what I love best and that is horse racing. Now that I am retired, I want to do something that I am happy with.
QG: You just won your first race since your return, what are your emotions?
RP: The feeling is good. Anytime you win a race it brings out the happiness in you to know that what you have done, you have progressed in it. I got this horse [Cartel] eight weeks ago and he couldn’t walk, so it gave me great satisfaction to know in eight weeks what I have done with him.
QG: How many horses do you have under your care?
RP: I have two horses now because they have claimed Cartel.
QG: How did you get involved in of horse racing?
RP: I got my trainer’s licence in 1984 but it was a family affair that got me involved in the game through my family members, Howard and Donovan Phillipps. Howard got most improved trainer one year, Donovan got most improved trainer the year after and I got most improved trainer the year after that.
QG: Which horse was your first winner?
RP: My first winner was with a horse by the name of Brenda’s Star. Brenda’s Star was the first horse that I started and she won the first race.
QG: Which is the best horse you have trained?
RP: The best horse I have trained was Stichie. An imported horse but during Hurricane Gilbert (1988) he damaged himself in the stall and never raced again. But apart from him, I had a horse named Stator, what a fantastic racehorse.
QG: Which is the best horse you have seen raced at Caymanas Park.
RP: To me the best horse is Eros. The statistics are there.
QG: Which is the biggest race you have won?
RP: The Governor’s Cup with Restless Que. He broke his foot the day before the Derby.
SRG: What can we expect from you in the future?
RP: Horses make good trainers. If you don’t have the horses you will just be an ordinary, mediocre trainer. So what I need is to get involved with some of the good owners. Today (Saturday, October 31) is proof to them that I am back because I have won over a 100 races already in a short space of time.
