KINGSTON, Jamaica - Former three-time champion jockey Dane “Warrior Chief” Nelson earned another win in the Jamaica 1000 Guineas Classic race aboard the talented and still developing filly Above and Beyond. By this win, Above and Beyond ticked the first box in the Triple Crown series of races.
Above and Beyond gave Nelson his third victory in the one mile (1,600m) Classic for native-bred three-year-old fillies, after putting in place her 12 rivals by 6 ½ lengths at Caymanas Park on Saturday (July 25). Nelson had previously won the 1000 Guineas with Al Fouzia in 2010 and Nuclear Affair in 2016.
“Machine, this horse is like a machine,” said Nelson. He continued: “I am just so proud of her (Above and Beyond). She did everything right today (Saturday), and she is a lovely filly as well. We broke well, held our position, and came home comfortably in the end.
“The performance was brilliant, and I expect her to keep going from strength to strength and develop into a nice racehorse.”
“Winning these races [Classics) are always special, and they are always races that you remember for a very long time. The feeling is wonderful, and I am happy that I won,” Nelson told The Supreme Racing Guide.
Nelson put Above and Beyond straight to the front at the start of the race, and they held that lead easily ahead of Another Affair (Robert Halledeen) and Another Prosecutor (Christopher Mamdeen). Above and Beyond maintained her gallop down the backstretch and then came a challenge by Another Affair going into the half-mile (800m) turn.
Nelson continued to relax Above and Beyond around the final turn before letting the Blue Pepsi Lodge - Rumble filly loose at the top of the lane. Above and Beyond then accelerated and powered home effortlessly to win a time of 1:38.4. The recorded splits were 23.3 x 45.3 x 1:10.2.
Another Affair had no answers to Above and Beyond in deep stretch, finishing in second place. Above and Beyond’s stable companions SenCity (Reyan Lewis) and Glock (Phillip Parchment) completed the frame.
