Anthony Thomas continues his progress with third title
KINGSTON, Jamaica – Anthony Thomas is the champion jockey for the third occasion registering 112 wins in the season.
This result speaks volumes of the talent of this hard-working, quiet, and committed young man who hails from the parish of St Mary. Thomas had 493 mounts during 2021 with a win percentage of 23 per cent. Allied to this, ‘St Mary’ as he is known in racing circles, hit the top three places 50 per cent of the time, which is a clear demonstration of his consistency in the saddle.
Despite these outstanding figures by Thomas, there is still much to do. He is yet to ride the winner of a Classic race, which is one of the benchmarks used to determine his overall impact in the saddle. Other riders from Thomas’ apprentice cohort or the group after, have already ridden Classic winners, including Linton Steadman and Reyan Lewis. However, riding over 100 winners in a year is quite an achievement, and riding over 400 winners in a career spanning approximately 6 years is even better.
Dick Cardenas finished second in the championship behind Thomas with 59 wins. The ‘Wily Coyote’ as Cardenas is called had 394 mounts with a win percentage of 15. He continues to be ever-present in the top three as mainly a freelancer rider without a permanent attachment to any of the bigger barns. Cardenas gets several rides from trainer Jason DaCosta, but Thomas is the number one call at this time.
Dane Nelson despite missing the last quarter of the year ended in the third position with 58 wins from 255 mounts with a winning percentage of 23, and he was in the top three placings 55 per cent of the time, the highest among the top 10 riders.
Robert Halledeen, who lit up the Park over the last three race days with 10 winners from 31 races took the fourth spot with 46 wins from 229 rides for a 20 per cent win record and he was in the top 3 placings with his mounts 48 per cent of the time. Halledeen in the latter part of the season got allied with champion trainer Anthony Nunes, and this association has led pundits to believe that if this amalgamation continues, then Halledeen will have a good opportunity of becoming champion jockey in 2022.
Fifth on the list is former six-time champion Omar Walker with 41 wins with a win percentage of 17. Walker these days is more of a freelancer with no specific attachment to any one stable. He continues to be his consistent self but winning the title for the seventh time is not in his future.
Sixth and seventh places in the top 10 are Oshane Nugent and Tevin Foster respectively. Nugent was impaired during the year by an injury but has come back well with 37 winners at a winning percentage of 16. He has won the appeal of some of the ‘big’ trainers with his talent as evidenced by his performance on Father Patrick in the Chris Armond Sprint Trophy. Nugent is growing in stature and hopefully will progress further in the next season.
Foster suffered from a major injury and was hesitant when he returned at the end of the first quarter this year. Foster is talented and that talent is slowly but surely coming to the fore. Since the usual departure of Dane Nelson to ride overseas, Foster has forged a link with Nunes, mainly as the secondary jockey after firstly Nelson and then Halledeen, but Foster has prospered riding many winners for the trainer with his superb performance on Golden Wattle in the recent Jamaica Two-Year-Old Stakes cementing his position as a rider of immense promise and worth. In the year 2021, Foster rode 35 winners with a winning percentage of 9.
Eighth on the top 10 list is Dane Dawkins, who got injured at exercise and is yet to regain any sort of form. Dawkins rides primarily for Gary Subratie and Ian Parsard and these relationships are expected to continue in 2022. Dawkins rode 35 winners in 2021 with a win percentage of 12.
Number nine on the list is Javaniel Patterson who started the year with a bang then petered out in the middle, only to resurface in the last quarter. Patterson is a competent rider, who if he gets the rides will do well. Patterson won 31 races in 2021, with a win percentage of 10.
Completing the list of the top 10 is the ever-green Shane Ellis. Once again Ellis demonstrated his proficiency in the Classic races with victories in the Derby and St Leger onboard Calculus. In 2021, Ellis was atop 30 winners with a winning percentage of 16.
Although not in the top 10, a special mention is made of Reyan Lewis. Lewis popularly known as Jason has the potential of being a good rider but he needs to settle down and pay attention and focus his thoughts on his riding career.
