Formal Gladiator makes it two-in-a-row
Formal Gladiator (Adore The Gold – Princess Beauty) romped home to his second consecutive victory after defeating rivals by 1 ¾ lengths in a Restricted Allowance event over 5 ½ furlongs (1,100m).
Red hot reinsman Dane Dawkins held the Patrick Lynch-trained Formal Gladiator for the first part of the race behind Storm Born (Richard Henry) while Mother Nature (Douglas Badaloo) raced in third place.
Entering the lane for the drive, Formal Gladiator drew alongside Strom Born for a brief moment before pulling away for a comfortable win.
Miss Elaine (Anthony Thomas) came with a late run on the inside rails for second place with Outrageous Taj (Oshane Nugent) earning the third slot. The final time for the event was 1:08.2.
A new and rejuvenated Alhamdulillah aided by change of equipment
Four-year-old American-bred bay colt Alhamdulillah earned his first win on local soil after he brushed aside rivals in a Restricted Allowance event over one mile (1,600m).
Owned by Ven Deezle, trained by Errol Waugh and ridden by champion Christopher Mamdeen, Alhamdulillah’s maiden win was enhanced by a change in racing equipment as the Shakin It Up – Queen Majesty offspring raced with the visor on and the figure 8 off.
Running in the visor, tongue tie, and with Lasix administered, Alhamdulillah broke well from the outside number 14 draw and assumed the early lead, but was taken off as Prince Dominick (Paul Francis) was allowed to take control.
Alhamdulillah regained the lead at the half-mile marker and then began to draw clear from the rest with every stride taken. Turning for home with a significant advantage, Alhamdulillah turned on the power to score convincingly by 12 ½ lengths. The final time was a noticeable 1:39.2.
Inspired Miracle (Javaniel Patterson) outbattled Bloodsweatandtears (Shane Ellis) for second money.
Baby Star makes winning start
Baby Star (Nuclear Wayne – Westqueenstreet) displayed signs of ability when running for the first time.
With apprentice Oshane Nugent doing the riding duties for trainer Johnny Wilmot, Baby Star ran out a relaxed 4 ½ length winner in a maiden condition race for native-bred four-year-olds and upwards over the five-furlong (1000m) straight course.
Baby Star left the number eight draw in good nick and shared the early lead with Fabulosity (Omar Walker) and Case Closed (Javaniel Patterson). Sorting themselves out, passing the dummy rails, Baby Star took full control. Fabulosity finished in second place with Case Closed third.
The final time for the event was a reasonable 1:01.0.
Rare winner for Carlos Blake Jr
Apprentice Carlos Blake Jr scored a rare win after piloting the Wayne DaCosta-trained Awesome Aviator to victory in an Optional Claiming ($450,000-$400,000) spread run over six furlongs.
Awesome Aviator broke on top but Blake Jr took the four-year-old dark bay colt off the lead. Cartel (Anthony Thomas) surged to the front with Smokey Topaz (Omar Walker), Belligerent King (Oshane Nugent) and A Seh Soup (Dane Dawkins) chasing.
Turning for home, Cartel took off from the pack and looked the likely winner, but with 1 ½ furlongs (300m) left in the contest, Blake Jr got Awesome Aviator going and came flying, to win by three lengths going away.
Cartel finished in second place with Belligerent King in third place. The final time was 1:14.3.
Eight horses claimed
The claiming box drew attention as eight horses were claimed on the 11-race programme.
In the first race, Paul Smith claimed Dash Board for owner Lloyd Chong from Anthony Nunes; Welsh Soutar claimed winner El Cliente for owner Richard Evans from Steven Todd; Delroy Wisdom claimed Stallwalkin’girl for owner Theodore Thompson from Welsh Soutar, and Byron Davis claimed Also Correct for owner Noril Atkins from Ray Phillips. All horses in the first race were claimed for $250,000 each.
In the 11th and final event, Nicholas Smith claimed Lazer Light for owner Baddal Syndicate from Gary Griffiths; Ryan Darby claimed Awesome Aviator for owners James Forbes and Nadine Forbes from Wayne DaCosta; Wilfred Chin claimed Cartel for owner Wayne Crosdale from Steven Todd; and Henry Harrison Jr claimed A Seh Soup for owner David Forbes from Rowan Mathie. All horses in the 11th went for $450,000 each.
