Another renewal of the Alexander V. Hamilton Memorial Trophy to honour the contribution of the heavily invested breeder and owner, who also served as president of the Jockey Club of Jamaica and chairman of the Standing Horse-of-the-Year Committee, was featured as the eighth of ten races on the first of last weekend’s race meeting.
The seven-furlong Open Allowance attracted five declarations, and the outcome generated robust verbal interaction between the raucous backers of the chief protagonists, US-breds Supernatural Power (2-5) and 2024 Mouttet Mile hero Funcaandun (5-2), ridden by Raddesh Roman and Robert Halledeen for trainers Philip Feanny and Jason DaCosta, respectively.
Immediately on leaving the gate, Funcaandun (USA) got into the path of Supernatural Power (USA), causing her to lose ground and early momentum, but generally, in most jurisdictions, Operation Stewards take no action as this early in the gallop, the rider of the offending horse is reasonably presumed not to be in full control.
Provident (24/1) was outclassed as early as six furlongs out, and Zulu Warrior (8-1) and 2-1 bet Wall Street Trader shared the lead from Funcaandun until the trio was overtaken by Supernatural Power, who led into the upper straight two furlongs out.
Pressed by Funcaandun, Supernatural Power (USA) was worn down and conceded her advantage by a head.
Both riders, Halledeen, with incorrect right-handed use of his whip, and Roman’s equally faulty left-handed whipping, in retaliation, influenced the Stewards to let the finish stand as the duo went past the post.
Roman had objected on the grounds of intimidation in the home stretch, but to no avail, and Halledeen, in tandem with DaCosta, closed a stable double with strapping US import The Teacha doing nothing wrong on debut to win race three, over five and a half furlongs, by nearly four lengths.
As the Jamaica Racing Commission Riding School (JRCRS) class of 2024 continues to perform with promise, there were double successes for Shaheen Gordon and Garvin Harris.
In the opening event, run at eight furlongs, Gordon was in front all the way with Christopher Pearson’s maiden colt Smoking Thom (2-1) in scoring by just over three lengths.
The young reinsman returned to the winners' enclosure aboard 21/1 shot Proudest Vision, saddled by owner Carlton Cunningham, at the end of the five-furlong round gallop of race ten.
Harris guided Another Blue (5-2) to a six-length victory in race six, which was run at five and a half furlongs, for trainer Lawrence Freemantle.
Lennis Chin turned out Roman Princess (5-2) in unbeatable condition for the four-furlong gallop of race seven, and the mare needed minimal persuasion from Harris to score by just over five lengths. Champion apprentice of 2025, Demar Williams, added to the JRCRS’s tally on the day with Adrian Prince’s Whisky, clinging gamely to his early advantage by a nose at the end of the seven furlongs off race nine.
Tevin Foster rode Successful Man (4-5), the winner of the seven-furlong race, two to a four-length advantage for trainer Errol Burke.
The 2022 champion, Dane Dawkins, was aboard Peter-John Parsard’s debutant Awesome Star (7-2) for a win margin of five lengths and a quarter on the straight course of race four.
Not to be outdone, 2023 champion Reyan Lewis was aboard the 34/1 bet Blood Mood for a victory by half a length for veteran trainer Rudolph Hardial to take race five on the straight gallop of five furlongs.
