The featured ninth event was another staging of the event race to commemorate the achievements of the late great horseman Alexander V Hamilton, an owner and breeder extraordinaire, who also served as president of the Jockey Club and Chairman of the Horse of the Year committee.
The predictable winner of the seven-furlongs event was 3-5 favourite Commandant(USA) conditioned by Rohan Crichton.
This previous winner abroad led and although his rider, champion Raddesh Roman lost interest a full furlong out, the strapping five-year-old bay still won by five lengths in a time of 1:24.2 eased down considerably.
Commandant (USA) was a close third in the Mouttet Mile toting 126 lbs. Then under the same impost won his next race over the extended nine-furlong course by nearly seven lengths but was allotted 116 lbs here in a bizarrely unfair case of inferior horses conceding weight to a superior one.
Pre-determined weight allotment cannot make sense prior to nominations. It is taking forever for the stakeholders to come to the realization that races making gifts of the prize money to under handicapped horses are bereft of profit. It therefore cannot be in their collective interest to operate with a racing product delivered without a genuine classification of the horse population.
The British Horseracing Authority, the body with responsibility for regulation of the sport in the United Kingdom, has an edict positing that “that horseracing must be conducted in the interest of the majority”.
Therefore, designing a racing product in a complicated claiming system format cannot achieve this ideal and leads to decline in its share of the gaming market.
The US Jockey Club having discovered this after 95 years of the claiming system will try to operate with a classified horse population in the future.
On the programme of ten races, the fourth and seventh, both over six furlongs, were reserved for the 2025 Classic aspirants with the renewal of the Sir Howard (colts and geldings) and the Hotline Stakes for fillies respectively.
The former went to 6-1 bet Honour Prince, saddled by Robert Pearson and ridden by Phillip Parchment.
While the latter went to Social Aviator (2-1) with Robert Halledeen handling the reins for champion trainer Jason DaCosta.
Honour Prince scored by three parts of a length and Social Aviator had her nearest rival a length and a half behind.
Partnered by 2022 champion Dane Dawkins, Milos (5-2) saddled by former jockey Phillip Elliot, won the five-furlong straight opener by three and a half lengths.
The 2023 champion Reyan Lewis had his turn in the winners’ enclosure aboard Prince Amaan (19-1) saddled by Anthony Nunes for a near two-length success in race two run at six furlongs.
Race three over seven furlongs, restricted to maiden four-year--olds and upwards was won by 7-2 bet Monster Vigorous guided by claiming Tyrese Anderson to near six-length victory for trainer Rohan Mathie.
It was a winning debut for the Adrian Prince schooled debutant Big Buzz (4-5) scoring by two and a half lengths over four furlongs.
A son of the brilliantly speedy Buzz Nightmare was the first of a riding double for veteran Oneil Mullings. To confirm his double, the experienced reinsman was at his best in having his mount She’s Dallas Love (8-5), declared by Gresford Smith to battle gamely for the spoils of the five and a half furlongs of race eight to prevail by just under one length.
Bet at 9-5, Rusty, conditioned by Ms Kibbesha Little, with claiming jockey Shavon Townsend bettered 8-5 chance God Of Love by three parts of a length over the five-furlong straight gallop of race six.
In the nightcap, as if running scared Shoamithebutcher trained by Arnold Rambally, had her field in trouble early and was 13½ lengths the best with Christopher Mamdeen the 2019 champion jockey joining Dawkins, Lewis and Roman as the fourth winning titlist on the day and celebrating well before the distance was completed.
