KINGSTON, Jamaica - Patience and consistency paid off for the connections of DenDen as the three-year-old bay colt picked up his first win in a maiden special weight contest travelling seven furlongs (1,400m) on Saturday (July 4).
DenDen (Nasheet – Rushing Force), owned by Mr JPS, trained by champion Anthony Nunes and ridden by Andre Martin, a chance ride as Dane Nelson was down for the day, won by a half-a-length in a time of 1:28.3.
“The performance was good, and I expect him to improve from here on.
“He worked well coming into the race and so we expected him to win.
“Jockey Andre Martin did an excellent job after he went wide at the top of the lane.
“He [DenDen) will stay a distance of ground, and the performance was encouraging, and three-year-olds are expected to improve,” Nunes said.
DenDen raced among the backmarkers as Ajita (Rudolph Paige) went to the lead ahead of Big Big Daddy (Robert Halledeen).
Wifey Sez So (Trevor Johnson) took up the running passing the six-furlong (1,200m) marker as Big Big Daddy slipped into second place with Elitist (Anthony Thomas) in third. At that point, DenDen was still well off the pace.
When Ajita regained the lead navigating the half-mile (800m) turn, DenDen began to round horses but went wide entering the straight which allowed Big Big Daddy to seize the opportunity by going to the front.
Approaching the final furlong, Martin started to work, and DenDen got up in time to nip Big Big Daddy on the line for the win. Sheboom (Dane Dawkins) finished in third place.
“I was very confident coming into this race as I knew my horse had a very good chance. I rode him the last time going 5 ½ furlongs, and he (DenDen) was flying at the end of the race and so going longer, I knew he would get there in time,” Martin said.
