KINGSTON, Jamaica - TRAINER Anthony Dixon says he wasn’t entirely surprised by Major Danger’s upset win on Saturday, April 22, 2023, as he knew his three-year-old American-bred bay colt had the potential to do wonders when focused.
Major Danger, who was sent off at long odds of 19-1, made light work of rivals in an imported three-year-old and upwards (non-winners of three) and native-bred three-year-olds and four-year-olds (non-winners of four) going 6 ½ furlongs (1,300m).
Ridden by Javaniel Patterson, Major Danger, who was winning for the first time from four starts on local soil, won impressively by 4½ lengths in a time of 1:20.0 (23.3 x 47.3 x 1:12.3).
“I was not really surprised by the win. Ever since, I knew that he had it in him [so] it was a matter of when he was going to demonstrate his true potential on the racetrack,” Dixon said.
“His last performance was very good because, if you noticed, for the five-and-a-half-furlong race although he finished fourth he ran 1:07.2 and the winner did 1:07.0. I knew he had the winning run in him, and the longer the races go, the better for him.
“I don’t have anything planned for him at the moment, and we are going to take it step by step with him as the sky is the limit,” Dixon added.
Running with the blinkers on and the tongue-tie off, Major Danger raced in second position at the off behind Durocell (Bebeto Harvey) down the backstretch, with Platinum Force (Reyan Lewis) and Divine Force (Anthony Thomas) racing behind.
Going into the half-mile (800m) turn, Major Danger surged to the front and began to open up on rivals approaching the home bend. Entering the lane still under a tight hold, Major Danger accelerated and powered home, winning easily ahead of Inspire Force (Omar Walker), Platinum Force, and Divine Force in that order. All four top finishers are owned by ACK Stables.
