KINGSTON, Jamaica – Captain Calico is proving to be one of the late bloomers.
This three-year-old chestnut colt (Soul Warrior out of Rackman’s Mistress), trained by Anthony Nunes entered the fray of competitive racing on May 22.
Since then, Captain Calico won his first three races and was most unfortunate not to achieve a fourth, when he reared in his starting stall, losing many lengths, yet was able to be just three lengths behind the winner.
Then came the Mouttet Mile Race Day (Sat, Dec 2, 2023), with Captain Calico entering in a three-and-four-year-old non-four going seven furlongs with visiting jockey Julien Leparoux in the saddle.
On this occasion, Captain Calico broke went to the lead, carrying his 15 rivals along the backstretch, with Leparoux using his vast experience to regulate the pace.
Captain Calico entered the straight with a slight advantage and was quickly challenged by Sensational Move (Rudolph Paige) on the outside and was eventually overtaken by the latter. Yet, somehow, Leparoux was able with the use of powerful hand riding to get everything out of Captain Calico, to make it win number four.
Captain Calico won by three parts of a length in a time of 1:26.1, with splits of 23.1 x 46.2 x 1:11.3.
“Well, Captain Calico is now in Overnight Allowance thanks to an outstanding ride by Leparoux.
“I am particularly happy for the owner (Derrick Brandt), who is also the breeder, for his patience and understanding as it has not been easy getting Captain Calico to where he is today.
“Time alone will tell how far Captain Calico will go from here, so we will continue to give him the best care possible,” trainer Nunes said in a post-race interview.
