KINGSTON, Jamaica - He was only scheduled to ride in one race, the curtain-call event aboard Anthony Nunes’ Ha Gow Siu Mei, but as faith would have it, Carlos Blake was presented with a chance ride aboard the Carl Anderson-owned and trained Call The Emperor.
This was after initial rider Kawise Gentle fell from a horse in an earlier race and stood down for the remainder of the day. It was almost like Christmas had come early for Blake and the sparingly used rider certainly made what turned out to be his first ride for the year count.
Sent off at odds of 7-1 in the four-year-old and upward Non-restricted Maiden Condition Race over 5-furlong straight, Blake broke Call The Emperor well from the wide number 11 draw but had to play catch-up to his more fleet-footed rivals.
The Emperor Hall – Call For A Cat gelding was left back in fourth, coming into the main track as Just Move In (Matthew Bennett), Adenosine (Roger Hewitt), and Blue Persuasion (Omar Walker) all seemed full of running.
But with gentle taps of the left-hand whip, Blake gradually brought Call The Emperor into contention before sweeping by rivals at the furlong pole to complete a comfortable four-length win.
Empress Nakelia (Ramon Nepare) closed to snatch second from Just Move In, with Adenosine back in fourth.
Call The Emperor stopped the clock in 1:03.3, behind splits of 25.0 and 48.3 seconds.
It was the first win of the year for Anderson and Blake.
