Rare winner for Trevor Johnson
After guiding home Best Advice to victory on December 8, 2018, then his first winner in 15 years when he rode Veronica’s Special in 2003, veteran jockey Trevor Johnson notched another of his rare winners with Locomotive in the opening event over 5 ½ furlongs (1,100m).
Owned and trained by Lance Richards, Locomotive (Taqarub – Sure to Cure) made one move to win the event named in honour of former Gold Cup winner Orient Express by a comfortable 2 ½ lengths in a final time of 1:08.2.
Johnson got Locomotive out and running from the off as the four-year-old held the lead over Miss In Kiss (Aaron Chatrie) and She’s A Banker (Jemar Jackson) going into the half-mile (800m) turn.
Then Locomotive injected some pace, opening up on the field before turning on the pressure in deep stretch to win easily ahead of Fearless Treblav (Oneil Mullings) and Miss In Kiss in that order.
Robert Halledeen a winner again
Jockey Robert Halledeen having gone under the winning radar in recent months gave a timely reminder of his worth with a victory aboard the Gary Crawford-conditioned Sandori.
Sandori was a 4 ¼ length winner in an Optional Claiming ($350,000-$300,000) event over 9 furlongs and 25 yards (1,820m).
Photogenic (Daniel Satchell) was the first to show on the front end as she led the field around the clubhouse turn chased by a comfortable looking Sandori.
Passing the 5-furlong (1,000m) marker, No Money Friend (Jemar Jackson) took over proceedings ahead of Sandori, who then surged to the lead for the first time close to entering the straight.
Cruising coming into the lane, Sandori powered to the winning post ahead of Photogenic and Shauna Cruise (Aaron Chatrie). The winning time was 2:00.4.
Lala Diva gets there
Lala Diva, trained by Patrick Lynch and ridden by champion Anthony Thomas, created a mild upset when defeating rivals to win the Kilowatt (Gold Cup winner) in a Restricted Allowance event over 5 ½ furlongs at odds of 5-1.
Lala Diva got a good break but had to settle in second place behind speedster Nuclear Thunder (Linton Steadman) with Best Advice (Jerome Innis) just a tad back at third. Lala Diva took up the running the half-mile turn and held the lead and looked all set for a comfortable win.
However, the four-year-old had to dig deep to stave off the late attacks of Dyna’s Pride (Christopher Mamdeen) and Nuclear Dan Dada (Ameth Robles), winning by three-parts-of-a-length in a time of 1:09.0.
Reigning King in time for Eros
Consistency paid off for the connections of Reigning King as the four-year-old chestnut colt picked up his second win for the season in the Eros (former Gold winner) in an Optional Claiming ($750,000-$700,000) spread over 6 furlongs (1,200m).
The Gary Griffiths trainee came with a strong run in deep stretch to win by 3/4 length in a race confined to three-year-olds and upwards and native-bred four-year-olds and upwards non-winners of four.
With Christopher Mamdeen in the saddle, Reigning King, who has been on the board in his last nine starts, failed to go with the early pace as Polly B (Reyan Lewis), Cartel (Jerome Innis) and Anaso (Robert Halledeen) proved the fastest of the lot.
At the half-mile pole, Polly B and Anaso got rid of Cartel as Storm Valley (Anthony Thomas) came into the picture. Anaso took control at the three-furlong point but Reigning King came with his effort and snatched the lead close for home, holding it to the wire.
Royal Aviator (Raddesh Roman) also came from nowhere to get second money. The winning time for the distance was 1:15.0.
Nine horses claimed
The claiming box drew some attention on the Gold Cup race day as nine horses were claimed on the 11-race programme.
Danos La Paz was claimed from Ryan Darby by Fitzgerald Richards for owner Masoud, while winner Sandori was claimed from Gary Crawford by Gordon Lewis for owner Peter McFarlane from the second race. Both of these horses were claimed for $350,000 each.
In the third race, Wilfred Chin claimed Ballon D’or for owner The Hustler from Ryan Darby; Ryan Darby claimed Sotomayor for owner Marlon Biggs from Anthony Nunes; Johnny Wilmot claimed Mirabilis for owner Carlton Watson from Gresford Smith; and Errol Subratie claimed Luana for owner Denrick Chambers from Michael Francis. All claims were made for $450,000.
In the seventh race, Also Correct was claimed by Winchester McIntosh for owner Eight 721 from Joseph Thomas; Bay Commander was taken by Lorne Kirlew yo owner Michael Wint from Welsh Soutar, and Chief Prospect was claimed by Phillip Elliot for owner Vinute Taylor from Dennis Thwaites.
Dead-heat, Baltusrol, Ali
At the end of the ninth race — the I’msatisfied (former Gold Cup winner) Restricted Allowance event — the photo finish judges could not separate Baltusrol, trained by Anthony Nunes and Ali, trained by Gary Subratie, as both horses dead-heated for first place.
Ridden by apprentice Reyan Lewis, Baltusrol picked up the lead inside the final furlong (200m) and looked all over the winner but with yards to go in the 6-furlong event, Ali, under Kiaman McGregor came with a strong late surge to nod heads with Baltusrol as both horses hit the line together.
In the end, both connections were left satisfied with the win. Kingsman (Christopher Mamdeen) was third and Enuffisenuff (Omar Walker) fourth. After splits of 22.4 and 46.2, the final time was recorded at 1:14.3.
