KINGSTON, Jamaica - The words of Christopher Mamdeen, the winning jockey atop I Am Fred in the 6-furlong Grade One — None Such Sprint Trophy on Saturday, September 10, 2022, at Caymanas Park say it all.
“The plan coming into the race was to sit off the pace around three lengths from the leaders and come at them in the last two furlongs of the race. I wasn’t that worried as my horse was comfortable; he wasn’t forcing or anything as he was comfortable.
“From I saw the rails open, I was confident as my horse was going well and he was responding while gathering momentum in the stretch run. He fought hard and got his head in front where it mattered most,” Mamdeen said.
Indeed, foreigner I Am Fred trained by Jason DaCosta, his third win on the day, had to dig deep into all his reserves to beat the howling 1-9 odds on favourite Mahogany (Dane Dawkins) by a short head in a final time of 1:11.3 with fast splits of 22.0 x 45.0 seconds.
In winning for the seventh occasion from 17 starts, I Am Fred had to rely on the speed of his stablemate Make Up Artist (Jordan Barrett) and the weight advantage of 6.5 kilogrammes given to him by Mahogany.
When the starter pressed the go button, I Am Fred got a reasonable break settling in mid-pack as Make Up Artist, racing at this level for the first time, used her known speed to antagonise Mahogany. The two battled for supremacy for approximately three furlongs before Mahogany rated by pundits as the best around at this time took over but still Make Up Artist did not allow the five-year-old chestnut gelding to get away. She was persistent and gave it her all for the stables.
Mamdeen at this stage was getting I Am Fred closer and closer but was still two to three lengths behind the front pair.
Turning for home, both Mahogany and Make Up Artist drifted three to four wide, respectively, thereby creating a clear path for I Am Fred and Mamdeen on the inside rails.
Then the two, Mahogany and I Am Fred, locked horns with neither giving any quarter in the last furlong and a half of this contest.
In a throbbing two-horse fight to the winning post, which had racegoers in a frenzy at the track and the over 100 off-track stations, I Am Fred prevailed. I Am Fred’s stable companion Lure of Lucy (Jerome Innis) finished third.
“He [I Am Fred] has guts. He stayed off the pace and ran on well. He got home by a head, it was a nail-biter, it was a good race worthy of the None Such. Mahogany lost no marks in defeat as he gave every horse lots of weight and he is the best horse in the land. I am happy for the win by I Am Fred,” trainer Jason DaCosta said in his post-race interview.
He then added: “We will have to first see how I Am Fred came out of this gruelling None Such race before a course is charted for future engagements. Like everyone else, if all is well with him, emphasis will be placed on getting him ready for the Mouttet Mile on December 3. More than likely, with all being well, he will race before December 3, but yes, the Mouttet Mile is the major objective.”
With victory in the None Such, I Am Fred’s career earnings reached just over $5 million.
