Starting at odds of 4-5 Kingswood, who failed to finish his previous event and “walked in” 39 lengths in arrears reportedly lame, demonstrated complete recovery from his New Year’s Day malaise to score in the 1500-metre opening event.
Bebeto Harvey, a rider of above-average competence, had Gary Crawford’s nine-year-old grey horse in front early.
Headed 350 metres out, the aging thoroughbred rallied gamely inside the final 100 to secure the major portion of the spoils by a neck.
Raddesh Roman secured the first of his couple of wins on the day aboard Peter-John Parsard’s Blue Sensation (4-5) in the 1500-metre Maiden Special Weight contested by a field of five in the second of the nine races scheduled.
For Roman’s second, it was the winner of race eight, favourite Uncle Nub (1-1) saddled by Fitzgerald Richards to outsprint ten rivals over the straight 1000-metre course.
Bizarrely, there are conditions that allow 2023 Jamaica Derby hero and Mouttet Mile runner-up Ability, winner of three of eight starts and a bankroll of $10.02 million to compete at a much lower level. Ridden by three-kilogramme claimer, Ability, favourite at 1-9, was hindered by the untidy start of Geolithic (Raddesh Roman), subsequently disqualified for causing a chain reaction resulting in significant loss ground for the Patrick Lynch trained Classic winner.
Making up the ground steadily, Ability led entering the final 200 of the 1400 metres of this the third event to score easily by nearly two lengths.
This was the first of a Lynch two-timer on the card. The 1500-metre race five was yet another one of the frequent farcical events with 2-5 favourite Lion Charmer declared by Lynch with jockey Tevin Forster toying with six rivals in posting a victory margin of 16 lengths to close a double for Lynch’s stable.
Half an hour later, four-kilo claimer Daniel Thompson demonstrated that he should be given more opportunities. His mount Ruds D Indian (5-2) was the last to begin in the 1300-metre race six but made ground under patient handling to quicken and collar long-time leader T Brady (Oshane Nugent) 150 metres out to score by just over three lengths.
Robert ‘Hard Ball’ Halledeen having had the first of his two successes on the card aboard KP Choice (6-5) with a four-length triumph over the 1000 metres straight of race four followed up in race seven.
Favourite at 1-9, It’s That A Fact (USA), declared by champion Jason DaCosta won the featured Alexander Hamilton Memorial Trophy in the expected romp with Halledeen easing down to restrict a winning margin that could have been significantly more than just ten lengths.
To win the 1200-metre nightcap, two-kilogramme claiming jockey Shavon Townsend did an admirable job in guiding 5-2 bet King Air to deny his nearest rival by a length.
Challenged on both sides of his flanks from 300 metres out Townsend’s balance and use of his whip ensured trainer Howard Bogues’s first trip to the winners’ enclosure.
