KINGSTON, Jamaica - Breeder, owner, and trainer Fitzroy Glispie says while he didn’t expect his charge Prince Marshall to be victorious in the BetMakers Holiday Bonanza Trophy #1 on Saturday, December 17, 2022, he anticipated some fireworks from the four-year-old chestnut gelding.
Neglected at odds of 23-1, Prince Marshall, ridden by Dane Dawkins, came strong in deep stretch to beat rivals by three-quarters of a length in the three-year-old and upwards Overnight Allowance call at a mile (1,600m). Prince Marshall finished in a time of 1:40.4.
"I wasn’t looking to win as Blue Vinyl seemed out of class, but I was looking for him [Prince Marshall] to run a good race. However, at the furlong pole, I knew I had a winning shot because Positive ID took it up and I know my horse had a half-furlong kick that could get there in time. At that point I was confident," Glispie said.
Prince Marshall wasn’t the best to leave the starting gates and had to settle among the backmarkers as Big Big Daddy (Robert Halledeen) led the field ahead of Blue Vinyl (Shane Ellis). Mirabilis (Devon A Thomas) surrounded horses and surged to the front as they approached the 6-furlong (1,200 m) marker.
Prince Marshall continued to race off the pace as Blue Vinyl opened on the field going into the half-mile (800m) turn ahead of Big Big Daddy and Crimson (Anthony Thomas). Turning for home, Positive ID (Reyan Lewis) made a run on the outside of runners and picked up the lead in deep stretch at the furlong (200m) pole.
Prince Marshall then came through the pack and got up in the nick of time to beat Positive ID at the wire. Perfect Brew (Tevin Foster) finished third.
"His [Prince Marshall's] preparation for the race was completely normal.
"I mean, he had a run two weeks prior to this race, where he finished in the ruck but was poorly ridden. The jockey [Dane Dawkins] rode a perfect race plus he knows this horse well as he rode and won aboard him already, and so the instruction to him was just to ride the same race as he did before and see what happens," Glispie said.
