Featured in the presentation of the nine races, and staged as the eighth, was another renewal of the eight-furlong Overnight Allowance race to honour the memory of Lloyd Lindberg “Lindy” Delapenha.
An outstanding professional footballer in England, Lindy transited into sports broadcasting, including commentating at Caymanas, as a race-caller and analyst.
Ridden by two-time champion Raddesh Roman, Barnaby (USA), who suffered a setback in his previous appearance last August, was backed at odds of 2-5 and justified this backing, but not in the style that may have been anticipated.
Well off the pace for the first six furlongs, the five-year-old bay horse, conditioned by an emotionally grateful Anthony Nunes, only arrived in the final stages to overtake front-running stablemate Neo Star (USA) for a near one-length victory margin.
The opening event, a Restricted Allowance V, restricted to horses five years old and upwards, went off nearly 22 minutes after the slated post time of noon. I suppose this is understandable, as with Sunday race cards, a pattern of a slow start to sales has been established as habitual. The five-and-a-half-furlong gallop was won by Captain Fantastic (3-1), with a near one-length advantage, and was saddled by Michael Marlowe, bringing a lean spell for jockey Phillip Parchment to an end.
So Lucky Am I (8-1), bred, owned and trained by Ian Roberts, guided by Bebeto Harvey, for the first of a riding double, won by a margin of just under two lengths. A well conformed Successful Native bred debutant, the colt outsprinted four rivals to win the day’s second. This was a Maiden Special event, the Mercury Sprint restricted to three-year-old colts and geldings over the five-furlong straight course.
Race three, went to that free scoring seven-year-old Emperor Hall - bred bay gelding Emperorofthecats (9-5), declared by Oneil Markland for the first of two on the day for his stable. The winner, who had a troubled trip over the straight course with apprentice Evertte Clunis aboard still scored by a length and a half for win number 18 across its 39-race career.
Favourite at 6/5 for the eight-furlongs of race four, Beneison, scored by three parts of a length partnered by Roger Hewitt to deliver a successful challenge close home for conditioner Byron Davis to open his seasonal account.
In race five, Atila, ridden by Tevin Foster for owner/trainer Fitznahum Williams, dominated the stretch drive of the maiden event for four-year-old and upwards fillies and mares, to register a win by just over five lengths.
Race six, over the straight course, was another of the frequent farcical occurrences, where too many of the races projected, horses of inferior form concede weight to superior ones.
Sudden Flight (3-5), saddled by Donovan Clarke with Javaniel Patterson astride, cantered in by nine lengths and previously delivered an identical wide-margin performance in victory on December 13, 2025.
Toting 126lbs, then and now, the weight-allotment condition gifted the event to Sudden Flight, with all other starters weighted too heavily, thus making him the very short-priced favourite.
The 33-year non-genuine division of the horse population into over twenty categories to accommodate claiming has led to nearly 50% of races with odds-on favourities. All this does is render the racing product underperforming in the gaming market because of its complicated features and confusing conditions of entry as well. The US Jockey Club agrees with this writer.
Mulligan Man (USA), schooled by Saqlain Roman, performed the promise he demonstrated on debut when he finished third a month ago by winning, by three lengths in good style, over the five and a half furlongs of the seventh event, run for native-bred and imported three-year-olds. Winning rider, the 2022 champion Dane Dawkins, added this win to the five of twenty-four hours earlier, on the first of the two-day weekend promotion.
Bebeto Harvey closed his double aboard 6-5 favourite Tigeramedat (USA) in tandem with trainer Oneil Markland, whose second winner on the card constituted the best day of this veteran conditioner’s career for an extended period. Tigeramedat (USA) wore down the well-backed frontrunner High Velocity (8-5) inside the final of the seven furlongs to score by two and a half lengths.
