With the Mouttet Mile capturing the attention of most racegoers, the intense jockeys' championship rivalry between Raddesh Roman and Tevin Foster was completely overshadowed. With the Mouttet Mile now behind us, focus has shifted back to this thrilling competition.
On the day of the Mouttet Mile (December 7), leading jockey Roman began the event with 122 wins, holding a three-win lead over Foster, who had 119. With all top jockeys present on the island and participating during their winter break, the usual occurrence of Roman and Foster dominating race days with three or four wins each has been notably reduced.
Foster struck first during the Mouttet Mile race day, securing victory in the eighth event aboard Anthony Nunes' Supremasi. Facing challenging conditions, Foster took the lead inside the final furlong and a half of the seven-furlong race, but Supremasi was distracted by the advertising boards, causing the horse to veer off course and Foster to lose contact with the irons. However, Foster regained his balance and clinched the crucial win, reducing his deficit to Roman to just two wins.
Roman responded swiftly, riding to victory in the ninth race aboard the two-year-old foreigner Runallday, trained by Philip Feanny. By the end of the race day, Roman managed to preserve his three-win lead.
Six race days are left in the 2024 season.
