KINGSTON, Jamaica – Another display of patient yet strong handling by jockey Phillip Parchment brought victory for the Gary Griffiths trained Diligent at odds of 5-1 in the Caymanas Sunday (May 8, 2022) first.
Diligent earned his fifth win from 62 starts in a three-year-old and upwards claimer $250,000 - $200,000 at six furlongs.
At the off, Diligent from the one draw took the initiative on the inside but was quickly passed by another grey Pure Heart (Tevin Foster) with the 8-5 favourite Poker Star (Nicholas Hibbert) moving smoothly on the outside to challenge the leader.
After leaving the four-furlong marker Diligent backed out to fifth place as Poker Star took over on the front end.
In the straight, Poker Star was all set to land his second win in a row, but that was when the power of Parchment came into play, as after switching from the outside to the inside rails, Diligent pulled away to win by 1 ¼ lengths. Poker Star was second and Party Princess (Raddesh Roman) third.
| RACE 1 3YO&UP CLAIMING ($250,000-$200,000) 6 FURLONGS 12:35 PM | ||||||
| POS | NO | HORSE | JOCKEY | ODDS | WIN | PLACE |
| 1 | 1 | Diligent | Phillip Parchment | 5-1 | $340.00 | $110.00 |
| 2 | 11 | Poker Star | Nicholas Hibbert | 8-5 | $105.00 | |
| 3 | 9 | Party Princess | Raddesh Roman | 23-1 | $340.00 | |
| 3 | 7 | Willodeen | Oneil Scott | 5-1 | ||
| 5 | 2 | Hail Mary | Ramon Nepare | 9-1 | ||
| TRAINER: Gary Griffiths | ||||||
| Splits: 23.4 x 49.2- Final Time: 1:17.3 - Margins: 1 1/4 by 4 3/4 - 11 RAN | ||||||
| Ex: $1,039 | T/Fecta: $5,443 | Hi-5: $54,099 | ||||
| Qu: $580 | S/Fecta: $14,587 | |||||
