KINGSTON, Jamaica - Following on his success in the St Leger 48 hours earlier with the Gary Subratie-trained Calculus, former two-time champion Shane Ellis, son of Winston, himself a former two-time titlist, put a decisive end to his slow start to the 2021 season.
Having secured only 93 mounts yielding 11 winners before that latest Classic triumph, Ellis opened the nine-race Monday card aboard the consistent five-year-old gelding Hecandance for champion and leading conditioner Anthony Nunes, scoring by just over one length at the end of the 1400-metre gallop.
Leading apprentice Youville Pinnock, given the opportunity aboard Fitzroy Glispie’s lightly raced maiden Bin Laden, enjoyed the first of his two wins on the day with a minimum of effort as the four-year-colt won the 1400-metre second event by over six lengths.
Favourite at 3/5, the 2018 Jamaica Derby winner Drone Strike, claimed for tag of $1.0 million nine days prior by Anthony Subratie, started for a valuation reduced to $550,000 and duly coasted in by 5 1/4 lengths easing down for Ellis’s second winning mount.
Conditioned by Gary Subratie and ridden by Dane Dawkins, four-year-old USA-bred Sweet N Smart made very hard work of justifying 3/5 favouritism and was all out to score late by a neck in 1000-metre fourth event. This was Dawkins’s 21st riding success of the season from the 125 chances he has received to date.
Trainer Victor Williams had the good fortune to be the successful claimant of Top Eagle on June 21 and wisely declared apprentice Pinnock, who was aboard for the gelding’s front-running victory that day. Running in similar fashion to his previous race, Top Eagle controlled the pace and was two lengths superior to the field, thus confirming Pinnock’s double success in the afternoon’s 1300-metre fifth.
The Shane Ellis triple was sealed impressively by the Alford Brown-trained True Al Sky in the 1400-metre non-winners of two races sixth event confined to fillies. Starting at odds of 7/1, the well-conformed progeny of American Dance ran prominently to the top of home straight, led early in the stretch run and was just over four lengths better than her nearest of 12 rivals at the wire.
In the day’s seventh gallop, the progressive form of the undefeated four-year-old filly Make Up Artist (Anthony Thomas) was showcased once more. The Adore the Gold progeny won her previous three races by a combined total of 39 lengths while posting impressive clocking in the process.
The Jason DaCosta-trained late bloomer dominated the early fractions of the 1300-metre contest and passed her stiffest examination by 3 1/2 lengths to record a fast time of 1:18.4.
Apprentice Daniel Satchell picked up his fourth win from 28 rides when he brought 3/1 chance Khai Alexis from well off the paced to outstay rivals by just over three lengths in the 1820 metre eighth race. With the earlier success Nunes, Subratie, and DaCosta, Ryan Darby’s win here closed another good day for the 11-strong cohort of second-generation trainers increasing their tally to 189 first places from the 421 races in so far 2021.
Historically, the 1000-metre straight course has been a happy hunting ground for many good sprinters in the 62 years since the establishment of the Caymanas facility. Salvation (Oniel Mullings), trained by former thirteen-time champion Philip Feanny, is one such. In a 10-race career, the impressive four-year-old grey filly registered her fifth win from seven starts over the trip to close the day’s nine-race card.
The Training Feat Award is presented to Philip Feanny for the performance of Salvation as the overwhelming majority of horses following qualification for the Overnight Allowance category with four wins rarely enjoy immediate success against this quality of opposition. The filly displayed the Best Winning Gallop Award and Mullings gets his first Jockeyship Award for his skills to overcome a hugely competitive main rival in favourite Trevor’s Choice (Shane Ellis) running at this lower level.