KINGSTON, Jamaica - One of the standout victories on the 10-race card of Saturday, December 21, 2024, was seen in the ninth race, the Will In Charge Trophy.
Blue Vinyl, trained by Gary Subratie and ridden by Dane Dawkins, won the one-mile event with impressive ease. Now a five-year-old, Blue Vinyl had an illustrious three-year-old season, capturing both the 2000 Guineas and the Jamaica St Leger, where he triumphed over the soon to be two-time Horse of the Year, Atomica.
Initially conditioned by Patrick Lynch during that season, Blue Vinyl has encountered a series of injuries before and after his St Leger success.
He transitioned from Lynch to Alford Brown, and finally landing with Subratie.
In 2024, Blue Vinyl's performances had been lacklustre, with two previous starts resulting in fifth place finishes each time before his triumph in the Will In Charge. Following his win, Subratie expressed his excitement.
“I tell you; Blue Vinyl is a very talented horse. His career has been nagged with injuries, yet even with that reality, there is no doubt in my mind that Blue Vinyl is way above average,” Subratie remarked.
When asked about Blue Vinyl's condition post-race, he replied, “We are speaking on Sunday morning, less than 24 hours after winning on Saturday afternoon, so we have not been able to do a full assessment; that will be done during the course of this week, but based on preliminary observation, Blue Vinyl came out of the race looking well, that’s all I can say at this time,” shared the trainer with Quickgallopja.com.
In terms of the race itself, Blue Vinyl primarily raced in third position, trailing behind the leaders Geolithic (Oneil Mullings) and Impressive Force (Raddesh Roman) for much of the course. He briefly dropped to fourth when Further And Beyond (Tyrese Anderson) made a move along the rails to contest the leaders.
Entering the straight, Blue Vinyl had a clear path on the rails, prompting Dawkins to make his move. The five-year-old quickly surged ahead of Geolithic and, having taken the lead, powered ahead to secure victory by six lengths, clocking in at a final time of 1:38.3. Geolithic finished second, followed by Bern Identity in third.
“I am encouraged by the run. It was pleasing to see how he quickened in the straight,” Subratie commented in his post-race interview.
