Trainer Robert Pearson pleased with effort
KINGSTON, Jamaica – Goliath The Great, running for the first time, justified his odds-on 1-2 favouritism with a spirited front-running display at five furlongs round (1000 metres) to shed the maiden tag in a native-bred three-year-old Maiden Condition race at Caymanas Park on Sunday, February 13.
The positive manner in which the grey colt handled the short journey, under the multiple Classic-winning jockey Shane Ellis, left trainer Robert Pearson contented with the display “unless the after-race examination proves otherwise”.
Running green in the field of eight, the grey son of Midnight Hawk out of Luminous Trieste won the event by 1 3/4 lengths from the 5-2 chance Bugatti ridden by jockey Robert Halledeen. Funometer, the mount of jockey Oneil Mullings, finished third. Goliath The Great completed the distance in a time of 1:02.1 seconds with dictating split fractions of 23.1 x 47.1 seconds.
Owner Wilbert Bagwandeen, who also bred the horse, said: “I am encouraged by the horse’s performance and over such a short distance, as I bred this horse for longer distances. And I am expecting great things from him and that is why I kept him and did not sell him. I got several good offers for him but did not sell as he showed that he has Classic potential.”
Giving his take on the performance of Goliath The Great trainer Pearson said: “It was a good performance. He was running for the first time, but with some amount of greenness. He took forever to switch his lead up the lane. I expected a better performance, as he did train satisfactorily for his debut run, and he won, which is important. Goliath The Great seems at least to have come out of the race in good order without injury, and I am happy for that, and we will move on from there. He had some issues which delayed him but he seems to be over them now after having worked on them to get him to be where he is today, and we will see what the future holds.”
