KINGSTON, Jamaica - A surprising reduction in the valuation of US-bred six-year-old The Good Witch (1-5), ensured there was a winning odds-on favourite in the 1200-metre opening event on the ten-race programme.
Ridden by champion Dane Dawkins for Gary Subratie, the bay mare campaigned at the Overnight Allowance level unsuccessfully but prior to that won at Canada’s Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto in October 2020 completing a trip of 1300 metres in 1:15.4.
The Good Witch’s previous race was last February, but against $400,000 claimers, with the option of a tag declined, she hit the front close home to score by just over a length and back to her stable.
This makes yet again, a mockery of prospective competitive betting in the conditions of entry and weight allotment of this and too many other races.
Five juveniles came under orders for a 600-metre dash over the straight course in the day’s second and Jason DaCosta saddled the first two to finish. It ended with 4-5 favourite Lucy In The Sky (Reyan Lewis) outsprinting stablemate Himaya by a length and a half.
Race three over 900 metres signalled the start of a good day for Tevin Foster with 6-5 favourite Buckaluck, a ten-year-old dark bay mare declared by Adrian Prince, giving this trainer his second career success and the first of three on the day for the rider.
Foster’s second was with maiden Premier Identity rewarding backers at odds of 7/2 in the 1000-metre straight sixth event for trainer Howard Jaghai’s 100th career win.
In race nine, contested over 1200 metres, former three-time champion conditioner Anthony Nunes turned out lightly raced Milos (7-1) in winning form to enable Foster, with his third on the day, to move to 199 winning mounts. The in-form reinsman is therefore closing in on the milestone of 200 career riding successes.
Bebeto Harvey had the luxury of sitting motionless for the first 1000 of the 1400 metres of race four aboard 8-5 favourite Den Street. With the gentlest of persuasion, the Winchester McIntosh entry ended nearly 10 lengths the best.
In race five, former six-time champion Omar Walker guided the Peter-John Parsard schooled maiden Bernard De Quik to a four-length success as the 1-5 favourite.
Featured on the card and run as race seven, was the second renewal of the 1600-metre She’s A Maneater Trophy Grade I. It was an opportunity for United States-bred Runaway Algo (3-5) to demonstrate his progressive form and that was achieved in style.
The Dale Murphy-conditioned four-year-old chestnut colt, toting top-weight (57kilos), was confidently handled by jockey Raddesh Roman and was easily the best by eight lengths.
With his last victory achieved over 1820 metres, versatile four-year-old colt March And Shoot (15-1), trained by Capt. Marlon Brown, executed a strong late run to win the 1000-metre straight race eight with two-kilo claimer Matthew Bennett at the reins.
In saddling debutant maiden three-year-old colt Fearless Soul (3-5) to win with infrequently engaged rider Kerry-Gayl Robinson, former fourteen-time champion Philip “The Maestro” Feanny brought back memories of his training heyday. It was The Maestro's uncanny speciality then, to school horses to win on first appearances. Fearless Soul confirmed that without a sign of greenness in galloping to a four-and-a-half margin of victory in the closing event over the 800 metres of the straight course.
