For his only success on the ten-race programme, leading reinsman Tevin Foster brought 5-2 bet Nala’s Bushman from last to first in the opening event which was run over the 1400-metre course by just under two lengths. Saddled by owner Dale Murphy, the durable nine-year-old won for the eighth occasion from 85 appearances.
Thirty-five minutes later, Raddesh Roman, chief protagonist of Foster, had an immediate response in riding Sir John (3-5) to victory for trainer Carlton Cunningham in race two, run over the same distance as that of previous race. Neither jockey revisited the winner’s enclosure and Forster now on 109 winners still leads Roman by four in the race for the 2024 title.
Dane Dawkins, the 2022 champion having returned recently from a successful stint in Canada secured the first of a riding triple in guiding the Richard Azan schooled juvenile filly Danka (4-5) to victory by three parts of a length in race three. This event was contested by a field of seven over the 1000-metre round course. Further success was on the cards for Dawkins and Azan.
Races four and five over the sloppy 1000-metre straight course, a divided maiden contest for four-year-olds and upward, presented two opportunities for the current trainees in the Jamaica Racing Commission Riding School to use whips for the first time in a race.
Errol Clunis rode Shadow Of A Doubt (8/5) to win Division I for trainer Oneil Markland. Division II went to even money favourite and debutant Okoye Warrior partnered by Nicardo Carr. Both winners scored narrowly. Okoye Warrior won by a head and Shadow Of A Doubt by a neck.
Race six, restricted to three-year-old maidens unplaced lifetime, went to Spencer Chung’s La Vida (5-1) ridden by the increasingly popular Panamanian Victor Sanchez.
It was 5-1 against Gary Subratie’s Cookie Day N Night in the 1200-metre race seven and Dawkins, for his second bought the four-year-old chestnut colt to the front inside the final 100 metres to score by four and a half lengths.
Speaking of Panamanians, race eight, over 1820 metres presented former champion Dick Cardenas with a good chance to return to winners’ enclosure following an extended absence recuperating from injury in the US. Presented in frontrunning condition by Peter-John Parsard, Amma (5-2) held a clear lead for over 1750 metres but Cardenas had to work for an advantage of only a reducing three-parts of a length when the winning post ended the gallop.
For race nine over the 1000-metre straight course, veteran rider Devon A. Thomas aboard US imported maiden Hotbred Scammer (9-2), trained by Patrick Fong, induced a late flourish from the strongly built filly to collar by a head the long-time leader Indestructible ridden by Roman.
Featured on the card was another renewal of the Errol Subratie “Little Sub” Memorial Trophy over the 1600-metre trip. Weight was added to the unexplained but accepted theory that grey thoroughbreds perform better on sloppy surfaces with Rainsville (7-1) outstaying grey Run Julie Run narrowly by a half a length to confirm the Azan stable double and the Dawkins three-timer.
