KINGSTON, Jamaica - Following the win by Rum Puncher in Division One of a three-year-old (non-winners of two) event on Saturday, July 23, 2022, trainer Richard Azan believes that the equipment change played a major part in his charge’s success.
Travelling five furlongs (1000m) on the round course with the figure-8 on, Rum Puncher held off the challenge from Sir Tajay by a short head.
Ridden by Jordan Barrett, Rum Puncher by Soul Warrior out of Miss Angeline) broke well settling in third place behind Jaguar (Javaniel Patterson) and Noble Impulse, the mount of Tevin Foster. Rum Puncher lost ground navigating the half-mile (800m) as Brompton Alex (Jemar Jackson) went by.
However, Rum Puncher, who hugged the inside rails and to cut the turn entering the straight, produced a strong kick in deep stretch to surge by rivals at the furlong (200m) pole and was just able to hold on from Sir Tajay (Jerome Innis). Owned by NYA, Rum Puncher won at a time of 1:02.2. The splits were 23.3 by 48.1 seconds.
“Well, he [Rum Puncher] won and that’s spectacular. I thought he ran very well and so I am very happy about that. We put on the figure-8 and it helped a lot and he ran very well.
“Let’s see where he goes from here. This was a short race going five round, but when he took up the running, he was not shortening, so let’s see what happens down the road. We have to first see how he comes out of this race,” trainer Azan said.
