KINGSTON, Jamaica - Trainer Richard Azan might not want to jump the gun too early, but the conditioner believes he has unearthed another Classic aspirant in Mojito, a two-year-old grey colt bred by Savoy Stomp out of the Zanjero mare Fiftyshadesofray.
Mojito, who is bred and owned by Azan and Alexander Haber, crowned himself champion juvenile for the season after an impressive win in the $4-million Supreme Ventures Limited Jamaica Two-Year-Old Stakes (Grade One) feature contest over one mile (1,600m) at Caymanas Park on Tuesday, December 27, 2022, at Caymanas Park.
Ridden by current leading jockey Dane Dawkins, Mojito took the lead from four furlongs (800 metres) out and won the native-bred two-year-old Futurity race by three lengths in a time of 1:41.1.
“I think that he [Mojito] will go further very comfortably. I didn’t hard train him [Mojito] because he is a really good horse and I didn’t want to take any chances that he would hurt himself, and so I think I just got him prepared enough that he could probably win this race. And so as he goes on and he gets more mature, I think he is going to improve a lot more,” Azan said.
It was an even break for most of the runners in the nine-horse field following the scratch of She’s Myhedgefund as Mamma Mia (Robert Halledeen) surged to the front and held the lead down the backstretch ahead of Burlap (Anthony Thomas) and Mojito, with Thalita (Omar Walker) close behind.
Dawkins let loose a notch, and Mojito surpassed the others to surge into the lead going into the half-mile (800m) turn as he began to increase his lead with every stride. Mojito turned for home with a healthy lead and kept up his work to the line, winning quite easily in the end ahead of Legit Boss (Tevin Foster) and Mamma Mia, who dead-heated for second place. The running splits were 23.4 x 46.4 x 1:11.2.
“I didn’t expect the jockey [Dane Dawkins] to go so early with him [Mojito]. As a two-year-old going eight furlongs for the first time, I didn’t train him to sprint; I trained him to come off the pace. He went to the lead very early, and I guess he found himself lonely on the lead, so probably he was waiting on another horse to come back to him. He won, and so credit to the jockey, he handled everything perfectly,” Azan explained.
Dawkins was also pleased with the run by Mojito in the premier two-year-old race of the season.
“I got a break at the start, and from there I just restrained him [Mojito] all the way to the five-furlong marker before asking him to take it up a little on the running — and he responded well.”
“After taking the lead I took another hold on him and asked for everything, and that was that. He [Mojito] was getting a little tired inside the final furlong, but for the first time going a mile, you can expect anything,” Dawkins said.
