Praises young conditioner after intense championship battle
KINGSTON, Jamaica - Champion conditioner Anthony Nunes has heaped praises on his rival Jason DaCosta for the stellar work done in a short period of time to make the battle for his third-straight trainers’ title as close and intriguing as it ended.
Much like it was with his two previous triumphs in 2019 and 2020, Nunes was again engaged in another ding-dong battle, this time with Jason DaCosta, who took over from his late father Wayne, who passed away in March of 2021.
From there, Nunes and the young DaCosta, who officially started training in late April, traded blows in the race for the coveted title after separating themselves from Gary Subratie, who went ahead by just over $1 million after Calculus’s victory in the Jamaica Derby on Saturday, August 7, 2021.
The battle for the top honours was initially expected to be a straight fight between Nunes and Subratie, before DaCosta announced himself as a main contender and shifted the action into a nail-biting duel with Nunes all the way up until the final race day on Monday, December 27, 2021.
Nunes eventually regained his title with a tally of $63,770,610, almost $3 million ahead of DaCosta, who ended with $60,978,855. Subratie ended third with $49,728,395.
“Jason came in April and I thought he did an unbelievable job. What he did in approximately eight months, I think is iconic and legendary. He is a fantastic racehorse trainer and I know he could not have made his dad any prouder than the way he represented him for the time he has been training,” Nunes said after Golden Wattle’s win in the $4-million Jamaica Two-Year-Old Stakes officially handed him the crown.
“It’s not if Jason is going to win a championship, it’s how many he is going to win because he represents the future of Caymanas Park and we are going to be looking up at him for a long time,” Nunes added.
Though he lacked the firepower in the top classes, following the retirement of the top-rated Toona Ciliata and the absence of Horse of the Year Nipster, and while Oneofakind struggled to find his best form, Nunes bided his time with his resources, particularly in the latter stage of the season.
On the last two race days of the 2021 calendar, in which Nunes once again proved his worth.
On Sunday (December 26), he saddled a dazzling four-timer, including the talented three-year-old Further and Beyond in the $4-million Open Allowance/Graded Stakes event for the Ian Levy trophy. General Mubaraak, Generational, and Curlin’s Affair were the others that propelled him to a lead of just over $1.2 million after entering that racecard trailing by approximately $700,000.
On Monday (December 27), Nunes brought back Generational for a quick double and even with his other runners earning, uncertainty still surrounded which stable would have walked away victorious as DaCosta also had a strong hand on the day.
However, the stunning performance by Golden Wattle in the Supreme Ventures Limited Two-Year-Old Stakes sealed the deal.
“I am really happy and proud that we were able to win another championship. We have a terrific ownership group and a terrific staff at the stable and they are doing a wonderful job. I am happy, and we will just continue to work and see what next year holds,” Nunes said.
