Yesterday’s Jamaica Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Foundation (JTHF) charity promotion was preceded by last Saturday’s race day being past champion reinsmen.
The more venerable patrons must have been gratified by the nostalgic effect of the occasion. To see the likes of retired greats George HoSang, Emelio Rodriquez and Charles Hussey, all Order of Distinction recipients, as well as active Trevor Simpson along with Omar Walker, pose for a photo-op which included Christopher Mamdeen and Dane Dawkins 2019 and 2022 champions respectively was a historic moment in local horse racing.
Notably absent inexplicably, was 2023 titlist Reyan Lewis and former five-time leader Winston Griffiths but unavoidably former champions both Dane Nelson with three titles and Shane Ellis two, both engaged in Canada while Anthony Thomas with three championship titles, is in the United States riding winners at Gulfstream Park in Florida.
To put the proverbial icing on the cake, Jamaican-born top-flight practitioner in the American continental jockey Shaun Bridgemohan arrived at Caymanas Park with 3,399 career successes.
Bridgemohan won with Fearless Soul (4-5), his only mount on the nine-race card. This was in Division I of the day’s featured 1100-metre George HoSang Trophy, run as race seven. Saddled by former 14-time champion conditioner Phillip Feanny, the lightly raced four-year-old bay colt did not have the best of starts and had to check and alter course 800 metres out. However, he still sprinted in by over four lengths ahead of the closest of six rivals. Naturally, the spectators gave Bridgemohan the appropriate enthusiastic reception for career win number 3,400.
The eighth, Division II of the George HoSang, was secured in a driving finish by an advantage of a neck by Kem (5-2), declared by Paul Swaby and ridden by Tevin Foster to close the rider’s four-timer.
Foster opened his successful afternoon in race three with Howard Jaghai’s maiden filly Speed On Wheels (8-5), a nicely bred grey (Spieth/Wheels Of Law by Law Of The Sea), scoring by over 11 lengths in the 1000-metre straight gallop restricted to three-year-old fillies as a divided event.
To confirm his double, Foster was aboard debutant US-bred filly She’s A Godgift (3-5) schooled by Leroy Tomlinson to win race four, which was in fact Division II of the three-year-old maiden fillies event.
Florida-based trainer Rohan Crighton of 2023 Mouttet Mile winner Rough Entry (USA) fame, saddled Bern Notice (8-5) to be the third winner of Foster’s four. This was in race five, contested over 1400 metres and interestingly, five minutes prior, Crighton had a winner at Gulfstream Park at odds of 25/1.
Bred, owned and trained by Fitzroy Glispie, Prince Marshall (7-2) returned to winning form in the day’s opener with three-kilo claimer Romario Spencer steering the former top-class campaigner to a winning margin of a little more than three lengths ahead of $750-600,000 claimers over 1200 metres.
Thirty-six minutes later Four Fiver (2/1) was nearly seven lengths ahead of five other entries over the 1400 metres of race two for owner/trainer David Lee Chin’s first success of the new season.
Robert Halledeen was in double riding form, firstly, with hard-knocking mare Maya (5-1) for trainer Phillip Elliott over the 1100 metres of race six. Then secondly, in the 1500-metre nightcap partnering champion trainer Jason DaCosta’s Life Is Life (4-5) to a runaway of over ten and a half lengths.
