KINGSTON, Jamaica - Promoting company Supreme Ventures Racing and Entertainment Limited, seemingly as a matter of policy, has taken the available opportunities to showcase and highlight the services of employees in all departments. On this occasion it was the team of presenters turn, hence the one-off staging of the Announcers Raceday featuring an event at the Overnight Allowance level. Titled the Caymanas Park Announcers Trophy over 1,300 metres, it was run as the 10th and final on the card.
Miniature Man, winner of the 2000 Guineas in 2021, has had sundry problems militating against his further improvement and has been a challenge for conditioner Jason DaCosta to get him back in competitive mode. Prior to start, the chestnut son of Northern Giant was taken through an extra warm-up process by claiming jockey Abigail Able. Stablemate Super Duper (Anthony Thomas) set the moderate fractions into the straight pursued by Miniature Man (9-2), who led entering the last 200 metres to score by one-and-a-half lengths.
Late on a very quiet Sunday morning, the opening event over 1,000-metres straight was won by Step In Faith, favourite at 8/5, saddled by Leroy Tomlinson. Leading reinsman Dane Dawkins did the honours for the first of his two successes on the card.
In-form mare Whatever (3-5) with Roger Hewitt up, won the 1500-metre second by nearly six lengths for owner/trainer Ryan Williams to record his third success of the season from 27 declarations.
In the third contested over 1,000-metres straight, juvenile debutant Rejected Raja (6-5), despite claiming jockey Shane Townsend losing an iron inside the last 100 metres, the useful and promising looking chestnut, schooled by Robert Pearson, was the third winning favourite on the programme. North American bred four-year-old chestnut colt One Don (USA) was winning favourite number four. Ridden by Dawkins to confirm his double success, the winner, presented by Gary Subratie, scored at odds of 2/5 in returning a three-length margin of victory.
Energetic and enthusiastic claiming rider Matthew Bennett was in front aboard the Ryan Darby-conditioned maiden North London (7/1) in the day’s 1,000-metre straight fifth event. The extra effort inside the last 50 metres by Bennett enabled the little filly to defeat 6/5 favourite Noa Li by a head. Run over a similar distance to race five, the service by favourites for form players was resumed in race six. Even Money Bet (Tevin Foster) was in front for top-ten conditioner Patrick Lynch and also gave the in-form rider the first of two wins on the day.
Saddled by Alford Brown, Alexa’s Lodge (Dick Cardenas), in making all the running over the 1,300 metres of race seven was the first of two for the stable, winning at odds of 6/5 favourite.
Brown only had to wait an hour to have the stable’s double success confirmed with Yellowstone (6/5) leading all the way and holding on by a nose in the 1,100-metre ninth and penultimate event. Foster had to be at his best in terms of judgement of pace, balance, and use of whip to ensure his double success.
While half an hour earlier, in the eighth event over 1,000-metres straight, the winning favourites trend was given a jolt with the success of the Steven Todd-trained, Garth Samuels-owned filly Awesome Choice (Jordan Barrett), scoring at odds of 24/1.
The Training Feat Award is presented to Todd for the obvious improvement of Awesome Choice to win a competitive race, an infrequent occurrence, in a higher category. The Best Winning Gallop was delivered by Yellowstone as it met the criteria for speed, stamina, and courage comfortably in all respects. The same can be said for Tevin Foster’s skill set aboard the three-year-old sprinter for the rider to be deserving of yet another of his regular Jockeyship Awards.
