In the opening event, ZD Eye (5-2), after a series of placed finishes, came good over the five furlongs round course to win by five lengths and a quarter.
Presented in unbeatable form by second-generation conditioner Michael Marlowe, claiming rider Anthony Allen made sure that, unlike the tactics deployed previously, ZD Eye was of the early pace before storming along the far rails to victory.
Race two underscored the trend where owners and more importantly, trainers are opting to make full use of the claiming riders. Ridden by claimer Demar Williams and declared by Ian Roberts, Hail The Queen (5-1) had her field in trouble as early as the end of the first furlong of the four, and thereafter was unchallenged to score by nearly seven lengths.
Veteran Phillip Parchment rode his first of two winners on the card as maiden four-year-old colt Dark Matter (2-1) defied top weight to win by just over two lengths over the maximum straight course for trainer Donovan Plummer.
It was back to the apprentice winning trend as Ramon Nepare had the Winston Morris-trained frontrunner Ridge Liner (9-2) just over two lengths clear at the end of the five-furlong straight of race four.
Richie Shakes, the leading claiming reinsman, had the first of his double with Patrick Fong’s US-bred Hot Scammer (7-2) in front at the halfway point of the one-mile distance of race five to score by just under two lengths. Whilst former two-time champion Shane Ellis, guided Musketoon (2-1) to an almost four-length success over the six furlongs of race six for trainer Joseph Thomas.
At the end of race seven, Jason DaCosta’s Teflon Don (4-5) was in the winners’ enclosure with Robert Halledeen, who executed the riding engagement with confidence in driving the four-year-old colt to a winning margin of one and three parts of a length over the five-and-a-half-furlong sprint.
To close his riding double, Phillip Parchment supplied the strong handling to get Phillip Elliot’s consistent sprinter KP Choice (3-2) a length and a half ahead of the five-furlong straight gallop.
Race nine, the featured Easter Sprint Cup over five and a half furlongs, allowed claimer Tajay Suckoo to reestablish the apprentice trend. There was no heading of Mahogany (3-5) as the versatile top-class sprinter ran gamely from in front to win by just over one length for trainer Ian Parsard.
Richie Shakes underlined the apprentice trend aboard three-year-old maiden Riley J(3-2), the two-lengths-and-a-quarter winner of the five-and-a-half-furlong race ten for trainer Lorne Kirlew.
Interestingly, Michael Marlowe, Jason DaCosta and Lorne Kirlew are second-generation trainers, while two other winning conditioners on the card, Phillip Elliott and Joseph Thomas, were jockeys.
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