KINGSTON, Jamaica - The 1,820-metre feature event on the ten-race midweek programme was a memorial run in honour of the great Kenneth Mattis, OD, who, without question, is the greatest-ever local heavy weight jockey and a many-time champion trainer as well. It was fitting sentimentally that the race was won by a horse conditioned by a jockey-turned-trainer in Fitzroy Glispie and returned odds of 4/1 in outstaying rivals by over two lengths.
Winner Money Monster (Omar Walker), a versatile sort, won back-to-back sprint races last February and is seemingly a challenge for Glispie as the four-year-old gelding has been kept to distances well short of this trip without success in its last seven starts. Apparently, being breeder, owner and trainer, Glispie suddenly had the pleasant memory of Money Monster making all with top weight over this course and distance on September 20 last year and going on to finish fifth to King Arthur in the Jamaica Derby hence this declaration.
Durable 11-year-old Royal Vibes (2/1), posted by Ryan Darby, regained form to win the 1,400-metre opening event to tally 13 career wins from 128 starts. Popular reinsman Paul “Country” Francis has been very busy this season but this was only his ninth success from 122 opportunities. However, he has 14 and 13 second and third-place finishes, respectively, which means his long career is still at a viable juncture.
Half-hour later in the 1,100-metre third, the expected winning canter of seemingly progressive US-bred three-year-old Double Diva (1/9) materialised. The well-conformed filly clocked 1:06.0 for the trip, which could have been much faster if joint champion Anthony Thomas had given more rein to this Jason DaCosta charge.
Paul Charlton’s frequently raced six-year-old mare Whatever created an 11/1 upset for a second win from 19 starts this season in the day’s third, making it win number 13 from 88 rides for jockey Linton Steadman to put his judgement of pace on display for a three parts of a length winning margin over the 1,820 metres stamina test.
Well drilled 9/2 chance Primal Fear saddled by Alford Brown won the 1000-metre straight fourth event. This victory turned out to be first of two for champion apprentice Oshane Nugent, who closed his double in the ninth event aboard Nakamura for trainer Lawrence Freemantle who landed a pair himself following victory with 37/1 shot Lion Talk (Shane Richardson) in the ninth thus giving his stable the two divisions of the 1,100-metre maiden events.
Unusually, emulating the feat of Royal Vibes, US-bred Fortuneonehundred (Devon A Thomas) saddled by Anthony Subratie was the second 11-year-old winner on the day as this former top-class sprinter scored in the fifth event over the 900-metre straight trip at odds of 5/2 for a 22nd victory in a 76-race career.
Third-time starter Stevie The Great (Matthew Bennett) claimed a second career victory as the 2/5 favourite in the afternoon’s sixth over 1,200 metres for owner/trainer Colin Ferguson; thus rewarding his patience in keeping this lightly raced four-year-old gelding, who was a starter for the first time on July 24 this year, race ready.
In the seventh event hard-knocking five-year-old horse Uncle Vernon (3/1), whose starting prices only exceeded 5/1 in two of his last eight starts, was well ridden by leading apprentice Youville Pinnock to score by a length and a half for trainer Roy Matthews to enjoy a second trip to the winners’ enclosure this season.
The Training Feat Award is presented to Fitzroy Glispie for the conditioning of Money Monster to win the feature. The gelding’s performance is recognised as the Best Winning Gallop and the Jockeyship Award goes to Omar Walker for his unerring judgement of the pace required to outstay the opposition.
