KINGSTON, Jamaica - IN a dynamic scenario, such as the keep and care of racehorses, undoubtedly is the onsite O&S Tack Room since its establishment has provided service with the requisite immediacy. The day’s featured trophy was in recognition of the support the company has provided for the horsemen.
Staged as the eighth event on the ten-race card, only six of the seven declarations came under starter’s order for the 1300-metre gallop. Ridden by leading reinsman Dane Dawkins for the second of two wins on the day, favourite Power Ranking (3-2) controlled the pace comfortably and no threat emerged from any of his five rivals. For conditioner Richard Azan it was also double success.
The first of Dawkins’ two came in the opening 1000 metres round maiden event confined to three-year-olds. Favourite at odds of 2-5 the Gresford Smith-schooled colt One Like It outsprinted the opposition by six lengths. Azan’s second was confirmed in the Restricted Overnight Allowance eighth event, with former six-time champion Omar Walker steering consistent four-year-old filly Artesia (9-2) to a seven-and-half-length runaway.
On form and category, race two, a 1400-metre $250,000 claiming event, was expected to be virtually a match between ante post favourites Bruce Wayne and Diligent but neither reported to the starter. Claiming jockey Matthew Bennett, partnering Dare To Speak (1-1) for trainer Owen Dawes, was 14 lengths ahead of the nearest of the four other runners to secure what was an early Christmas gift.
To erase the memory of the anticlimactic second event, race three had a vastly different outcome. Sudden Flight (2-1) ridden by Roger Hewitt — the most frequently engaged claiming jockey this season with his 290th ride — beat chief rival Berlino’s Choice (Tevin Foster) by a short head in a desperate touch-and-go affair in the last 100 metres. This was Hewitt’s 17th success and trainer Steven Todd’s 19th from 169 starts.
It was Samantha Fletcher’s time in the 1000-metre-round fourth event. Miss Fletcher brought 9-2 shot Quanna, saddled by Donovan Plummer, with a sustained run in the home stretch to relegate long-time leader and even favourite Papito (Anthony Thomas) to runner-up status, thus improving her season tally to double digits from 115 mounts.
In an almost total surprise in the fifth race, restricted to three-year-old maidens over 1000 metres round, 35-1 chance AKA Storm went clear 500 metres out and sprinted on strongly to score by over four lengths. Trained by Patrick “Wacky” Lynch and ridden by Jerome “Cranberry” Innis the colt was behind by a total of 87 lengths in five previous starts and has improved significantly in a short time, having debuted on April 22 this season.
Race six provided the most talking points of the race meet. Ridden by Shane Ellis, winner Colorado Ranger was (6-1) extremely fortunate for trainer Gary Griffiths’s 11th success from 103 starts. At the start, Legal Opportunity (Roger Hewitt), drawn at post position seven, made an unbelievably roguish dart to the left and interfered with the half-a-dozen rivals drawn lower.
The offending Legal Opportunity was disqualified from the race with Jemar Jackson falling from his mount Queen B. The other most offended horse was Hijo Primero, ridden by Dawkins substituting for Javaniel Patterson, who after losing significant ground early, failed by only a short head. Other incidents of note include riderless horse Queen T eliminating 5-2 favourite Carol Strike (Dick Cardenas) at a crucial point less than 150 metres out, and 99/1 chance Longie Lala, under excessive left-handed use of the whip by Tevin Foster, being disqualified from third for hindering the chances of Wright In Flight (Prince Holder) and Leo (Matthew Bennett).
The 1100-metre seventh champion Anthony Thomas rode 4-5 favourite Chrisanli to a twelve-length runaway for his only success from nine opportunities in the 19-race two-day weekend meetings.
While in the 1400-metre nightcap, veteran reinsman Paul “Country” Francis was at his absolute best. He kept the light-framed filly Sweet Majesty (7/1), conditioned by Edward Stanberry, a close third in the backstretch and induced the requisite speed for success in the straight.
The Training Feat Award is presented to Edward Stanberry for preparing the little four-year-old bay Sweet Majesty to produce the Best Winning Gallop. Paul Francis secures the Jockeyship Award for his delivery of composure, judgement of pace and balance when it mattered most to enhance the successful gallop.
