Rides first winner at Caymanas Park
KINGSTON, Jamaica - Trinidadian jockey Prayven Badrie won his first race on local soil on five-year-old chestnut gelding Silent Cat in a five-year-old and upwards (non-winners of three) event at Caymanas Park on Sunday, February 6, 2022.
The Dennis Thwaites-conditioned Silent Cat made one move to win the one-mile (1,600m) contest by 6 ½ lengths in a time of 1:43.2. My Time Now (Robert Halledeen) was second and XY Soul (Roger Hewitt) third.
Badrie said that after analysing the race, he was confident that he would achieve his goal of winning on Jamaican soil for the first time in his career.
“Silent Cat felt like a winner going down to the starting gates. When I read the race book, I realised much speed was not in the race, so I was glad that I got this one to ride, and used the opportunity to make the best use of it.
“Everything went to plan and left me on a high. I am satisfied with the win as I was able to get off the mark and hopefully, more winners will come,” Badrie said.
Badrie added that he has already set another milestone that he would love to reach before leaving the island, and that is to ride a total career of 400 winners.
“I have already ridden winners throughout the Caribbean in Barbados, Guyana, St Lucia and for the first time in Jamaica I am a winner and I am thankful. It (win) came in handy as I had registered my 399 career win. One more to make it 400 winners and, I will like to do it in Jamaica,” he said.
Badrie won the 2015 jockey's championship at Santa Rosa Park in Trinidad and Tobago with 50 winners. He also won a jockey's title in 2018, this time at the Assiniboia Downs racetrack in Winnipeg, Canada.
