KINGSTON, Jamaica - Despite being tasked with a lot of work to do in deep stretch, jockey Omar Walker said that once Taurus Boy got into his groove, he was confident that the American-bred would run down rivals in the $1.14-million top-rated Restricted Overnight Allowance call on Saturday, February 11, 2023.
Trained by many-time champion conditioner Philip Feanny, Taurus Boy, who was running for the fifth time at this level, won by a neck in the three-year-old and upwards event for horses that have before not won an Overnight Allowance race. The distance of this event was five furlongs (1000m) round.
“I wasn’t worried at any point during the race as I was just waiting for the right time to make my move. I was pleased with the performance by Taurus Boy, as he did well to win the race,” Walker said.
The six-time champion jockey continued: “Going around the half-mile, I was just getting him rolling, and when I asked him to run a furlong and a half out, he started giving me everything, so I kept him up to his work. I understand Taurus Boy, as I have already won on him. I saw him run the other day, where he finished third, and so I asked the trainer for the ride, and I programmed him, and I was confident with our chances.”
As expected, Super Duper (Oshane Nugent) blazed the early trail and led the field into the half-mile (800m) turn ahead of Big Big Daddy (Dane Dawkins) and Will The Conquerer (Shavon Townsend). Taurus Boy came into view approaching the distance when rounding horses to take third place behind Super Duper and Big Big Daddy.
Taurus Boy turned for home on the outside of rivals but appeared flat-footed in deep stretch as Big Big Daddy surged ahead of Super Duper. When all seemed lost inside the final stages of the race, Walker produced his mount for an effort and the five-year-old bay horse responded well and nipped Big Big Daddy on the wire for the victory. Super Duper finished a length and a half adrift in third place. After splits of 23.2 x 46.4, the final time for the race was recorded at 1:01.0.
