KINGSTON, Jamaica - It was widely expected to be a clash between, at the time, the two leading three-year-olds Wow Wow and Mahogany.
That predicted scenario did not materialise in the 2020 edition of the 10-furlong Jamaica St Leger courtesy of another horse from the same shed row as Wow Wow. That was Nipster.
Nipster was ridden by Linton Steadman, trained by Gary Subratie and was bred by Michael Bernard. Nipster is also owned by Bernard.
Wow Wow by finishing in second place meant that both trainer, owner and breeder finished first and second in the St Leger.
For Steadman it was his second St Leger victory having won in 2016 on Bigdaddykool.
THE RACE
Nipster came off the final bend in sixth place in the rain soaked, poorly visibile Classic event. Hugging the inside rails and finishing strongly as if thoroughly enjoying the underfoot conditions, Nipster (Casual Trick – Nippit) defeated his more acclaimed stablemate Wow Wow (Robert Halledeen) by 1 ¼ lengths.
Oneofakind, under Dane Nelson, was third. Nipster, the 31-1 longshot, won the St Leger in an impressive time of 2:06.0, the fastest recorded in the event since 1996 when War Zone set the Stakes record of 2:05.2.
Subratie although pleased with the final outcome of adding the Jamaica St Leger to his Classic collection had a tinge of regret because Wow Wow, who was on the Triple Crown trail after winning the 2000 Guineas, was defeated and taken off that course.
TRAINER’S COMMENTS
“I am elated with the victory but I would have been really pleased if Wow Wow had won but both are for the same owner. I am happy for Nipster. Nipster is a good horse. He showed commendable improvement the last time he raced and demonstrated that he could go the distance.
“I can’t understand why he [Nipster] was not given any more of a winning chance of winning, but I expected him to run in the first three. So, it is not a big surprise to me. It was just that we wanted Wow Wow to continue on the Triple Crown journey. I am happy that Nipster won and Wow Wow ran second.
FOLLOW-UP INTERVIEW WITH TRAINER
“Nipster, in fact, all my four horses came out of the St Leger in good nick and all of them have been eating well.
“While there can be changes, as it stands at the moment, neither Nipster nor Wow will race before the Derby which is at the end of October.”
OWNERS’ COMMENTS
“One-two in a Classic race is much to be proud of especially because I am also the breeder of Nipster and Wow Wow. Naturally, I would have preferred one-two-three with Another Affair in third but it was not to be this time.”
THE POSITIVES
Nipster proved that his win before the St Leger (nine furlongs and 25 yards), carrying top weight, was the ideal precursor for his St Leger effort.
The win by Nipster re-emphasised the long held view that three-year-olds can improve rapidly as Nipster did.
Oneofakind is maybe on the verge of a breakthrough based on his third-place finish. Oneofakind was close enough to the first two to harbour thoughts of a realistic push in the Derby at month’s end, given his preference for the longer distances.
THE NEGATIVES
The performance of the talented Mahogany was the disappointment of this year’s St Leger. Mahogany was slowly out of the box, had some difficulties going around the Clubhouse turn and raced wide for almost the entire 10-furlongs.
Truth be told, Mahogany probably does not effectively stay a distance of ground and may be better suited to trips of up to nine furlongs and 25 yards.
