Richard Mairs wins championship at Assiniboia Downs in Canada
Jamaican jockey Richard Mairs wrapped up his first championship title in his career at the Assiniboia Downs racetrack in Winnipeg, Canada.
Mairs rode 51 winners to finish four clear of Antonio Whitehall, who rode 47 winners. Alex Cruz came third with 39 winners with Renaldo Cumberbatch fourth on 36 winners. Another Jamaican Chavion Chow fifth on 33 winners.
Other Jamaicans, Paul Francis finished in 13th place on 11 winners, Dane Dawkins 14th — seven winners, Arthur Budhu 16th — four winners, Jodeien Anderson and Oral Bennett 22nd and 23rd respectively without a winner.
Fort Knox makes it two on the trot
Five-year-old chestnut mare Fort Knox (Adore The Gold – Purejoy), who returned to winning ways on August 24, 2019, made it two wins in a row when she outsprinted rivals in a Restricted Allowance event going 6 furlongs (1,200m).
Ridden by apprentice Kiaman McGregor, Fort Knox surged to the lead after a couple of metres were run leaving the starting gates in the native-bred five-year-old and upwards event. Fort Knox was then challenged by Rundazzle (Anthony Allen), who pointed running the half-mile (800m), but immediately Fort Knox regained the lead at the 3 furlong (600m) marker and went on her merry way.
The far-striding mare cruised home by 2 ½ lengths ahead of Dada’s Nala (Roger Hewitt), who came with a strong run in deep stretch against the inside rails. Rundazzle was another 4 lengths behind in third place, just ahead of Blood Song (Romario Spencer) in fourth. The final time recorded by Fort Knox was 1:14.3. Fort Knox is trained by Errol Waugh.
Two horses claimed
Only two horses were claimed on the 11-race programme.
In the fourth race, Laguna Point was claimed from Gary Griffiths by Marlon Anderson for owner Diamonds for $250,000.
In the fifth race, Richard Todd claimed Rohan Cattleya for himself from Nicholas Smith for $180,000
Steven Todd, Jemar Jackson continue their good run
The combination of trainer Steven Todd and jockey Jemar Jackson continues to forge a formidable partnership as the duo registered another win, this time was the speedy filly Super Mal in an Optional Claiming ($250,000-$200,000) event.
Running the distance of 4 furlongs (800m), Super Mal (Adore The Gold – What A Honey) used her superior speed and surged to a narrow lead at the off ahead of Laguna Point (Christopher Mamdeen).
With Laguna Point proving to be a stubborn sort, the two were locked in a brief duel but Super Mal gained the ascendency close home and won by ¾ length in the end.
Laguna Point finished in second place with Light Brigade (Mathew Bennett) getting third. The final time was 49.0.
Buck Call by a nose
In a driving finish to the wire, Buck Call out-bobbed Lucky Nine to win by a nose in a claiming ($180,000-$150,000) event over 2 furlongs (400m) in what was essentially a quarter horse showdown.
Ridden by apprentice Roger Hewitt, Buck Call (Rising Moon – Pat On Call) failed to go with the speedsters Rohan’s Cattleya (Christopher Mamdeen) and Lucky Nine (Jemar Jackson) early but inside the final furlong the six-year-old bay horse made a late surge to get up in time for the win in a close home in what was a bang-up finish involving several horses as they rushed to the wire.
Reign Over All (Robert Halledeen) was ½ length away in third place. The winning time for the race was a cool 24.2.
Buck Call won at odds of 29-1 and gave his trainer Raymond Townsend his second winner for the year. Townsend is also the owner of Buck Call.
Hadia provides trainer Christopher Pearson with a rare winner
Four-year-old chestnut filly Hadia (Rising Moon – Flying Firetail), after eight dismal runs without hitting the board, surprisingly came out on top in a native-bred four-year-old maiden special weight event over 7 furlongs (1,400m).
Hadia (Shavon Townsend) was slowly into stride at the start of the race and gave rivals a huge jump as Obsession (Kiaman McGregor) and Dash of Class (Samantha Fletcher) vied for the lead ahead of Whatever (Mathew Bennett) and Dynamax Cat (Kerry-Gayl Robinson) chasing resolutely.
Hadia recovered somewhat at the half-mile when she slipped down into fourth place, looking dangerous with every stride taken. As the runners turned for home, Hadia surrounded her opponents and set sail for home but had to withstand the late burst of Jamaican Storm (Shane Ellis) on the line by a head.
Obsession was third and Whatever fourth with a final time of 1:32.0 being posted by the winner.
Hadia provided her trainer Christopher Pearson with one of his very rare winners.
