At Caymanas Park racetrack on August 22, 1959, race one was won by a horse called Roman Road ridden by 1958 champion Barrington Smith.
It is now time to look at the achievements of some of the most famous horsemen and the lone great female.
Eileen Cliggott, a British migrant, who conditioned horses to win major races for her patron the late former Jockey Club president and sugar industry mogul Alex Hamilton, also developed a reputation of grooming many apprentice jockeys of which the exploits of Karl Brown, Donovan Lindo and the late Vassel “Jollyman” Najair are best remembered.
Let’s start with the breeders as up to 1992 this industry overperformed to produce a horse population of 1300 until its effort was undermined by the ill-advised and disingenuous introduction of the American aberration of a racing product delivered in a claiming system format in January 1993. This left the industry left teetering on the brink of extinction since and only survived through government cash injection and tax write-offs up to 2017.
This flawed claiming system was established here mainly on the unsubstantiated basis that the industry's integrity, growing at an average of 10 per cent annually for 30 years, needed to be protected from corrupt practices. Further, the trading of racehorses could be a viable economic activity. Neither was true then, not so now and not ever.
Orange Valley Estates has won 21 breeders’ titles on a foundation laid by the late great Calvin O’Sullivan. HAM Stables has racked up 15 with Philip Feanny at the helm and individual Henry W “Justice” Jaghai 10 with trail-blazing owner/breeding Pat W Chung winning six at Caymanas Park. Other notable champion operations included Y.S. 1955 Limited, Mamee Ridge Farms and Grange Farms.
Dealing with the great trainers, the late Wayne DaCosta with 18 titles and Feanny 14, for a total of 32, therefore they dominated over the last four decades. DaCosta’s 2,291 trips to the winners’ enclosed accounted for stakes earning exceeding $1.0 billion.
Kenneth Mattis, a former top-flight jockey whose career in the saddle accounted for 318 successes, was a seven-time champion conditioner. Laurie Silvera won four titles then migrated to Canada to win championships there
Looking at some great owners, Pat W Chung, in addition to six titles as a breeder, was the leader in this category from 1959-1965. In terms of stakes earned Carlton Watson is on top with over $200 million followed by Hamark Farms. Richard Azan took seven individual titles and as a partner in Elite Bloodstock was associated with another four.
There is acknowledgement that many more significant contributors to the breeding and owning of horses at Caymanas could be mentioned but space is limited.
The next article recognizing the 65th anniversary will be dealing with the greatest jockeys and thoroughbreds to have graced the Caymanas circuit.
