Mahogany, the well-decorated seven-year-old chestnut gelding, delivered another notable to remember, winning the Poorlittlerichgirl Trophy race effortlessly on Saturday, August 10, 2024.
With the expertise of Shane Ellis, the 2024 Jamaica Derby-winning jockey, in the saddle, Mahogany toyed with the competition before pulling away to a resounding five-and-a-half length victory in the Open Allowance contest for three-year-olds and upward-going seven-furlongs.
Mahogany showcased his superiority, clocking 1:26.2 minutes (24.1 x 48.0 x 1:12.4) for the distance, beating Easy As A.B.C and Thalita in second and third places, respectively.
Trainer Ian Parsard's eyes shone with pride as he reflected on Mahogany's journey.
"Mahogany has been a class horse throughout his career, but as you know, when you get up in age, more issues start to develop and so we try to manage him as best as possible.
“The issues that we have to deal with to get him at his best are really not easy to deal with and so we have to be very careful how we race him,” Parsard said.
“He was well today. When Shane [Ellis] worked him, he said that this horse was completely different from when he rode him couple weeks ago. So, what happened here was not a surprise as we expected this performance from him,” he added.
As Parsard looked to the future, he acknowledged that Mahogany's racing days are numbered.
“I wouldn’t say it is coming towards the end of his career. At seven years old, he is really regulated to competing at the top class and so he doesn’t get much of a break in terms of the competition.
“The field today was not an extremely strong one and so he got a little bit of a class drop today but when gets back to A Class he going to carry weight again and he is not going to have an easy task.
“We have to trust him and be very patient and careful with him as well as looking after him and protecting him because he is a very special horse. I think this win today has taken him over $20 million in stakes earnings. Mahogany is a once in lifetime horse,” Parsard said.
Mahogany burst out of the gates, quickly finding his rhythm, settling into second position behind Yellowstone (Oshane Nugent), with Madelyn's Sunshine (Shavon Townsend) and Easy As A.B.C (Raddesh Roman) running in third and fourth places respectively.
As the field travelled down the backstretch, Mahogany maintained his effortless stride, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
Approaching the half-mile marker, jockey Ellis gave Mahogany the green light, and the talented gelding surged to the front, taking command of the race. From there, it was a one-horse show, as Mahogany opened a gap on the field, his lead growing with every stride.
Mahogany is a seven-year-old chestnut gelding bred by Sensational Slam out of the Traditional mare Mete-Orite.
Ellis was also happy with the performance from Mahogany.
“All I wanted was a good start,and that was it,” Ellis said.
“I got a good break and saw Yellowstone rushing up for the lead, so I took a hold of my horse, and he rated well. He is a very experienced and professional horse, and whatever he wants to do, he will do it. I asked him to relax; he relaxed. I asked him to go, and he goes. There’s nothing much to tell; I was just a passenger,” he added.
