THE RACEDAY VERDICT (06-04-2019) – Apprentices dominate, plus a ‘Big Bang’

KINGSTON, Jamaica – The value of weight in determining the outcome of races was underscored at the completion of the 11 races on Saturday, April 6 at Caymanas Park.
Six of the 11 races were won by claiming apprentices and this trend has been taking place for a while now.
Christopher Mamdeen, the currently leader of the lot of new apprentices with 37 overall wins and 23 this season was aboard two winners, Blu Attitude and Sendamessagetomama.
The emerging talent of the lightly weighted Reyan Lewis came to the fore with a vibrant triple.
Lewis, the younger cousin of six-time champion jockey Omar Walker was at his best when taking home a triple.
The young man was aboard Lady V, El Profesor and Rising Bop. His overall tally is now 26 with 18 being achieved during 2019.
With Mamdeen and Lewis accounting for five winners on the day, their colleague apprentice Kiaman McGregor chipped in with a solitary win on Jon Marshall.
Trainers will always be lured to using these claiming apprentices in order to gain a handicap advantage, and while that is quite understandably, when these same young riders lose their ‘bug’ very few survive.
A look at the riders used in the Classics and other big races further cements the last point.
Claiming apprentices or even apprentices without claims are rarely ever used in these big races.
Of the races itself on Saturday (April 6, 2019) only one performance really caught the eye.
The high-octane camp of leading trainer Anthony Nunes showcased another one to watch in the form of Big Bang.
The apparently bred in utero bay colt, Big Bang, racing for the first-time scorched rivals over seven furlongs at the maiden three-year-old level.
It is not often that we see a horse, on his debut coming from off the pace to catch rivals in the straight and then pull away to win by seven lengths.
That is exactly what Big Bang ridden by Robert Halledeen did and remember it was a seven-furlong event. This horse gives the distinct impression that he is going to relish going long.
Let’s see if the din will be more pronounced as the longer three-year-old races will be on us in a flash.