KINGSTON, JAMAICA - Another renewal of the 1200-metre Lady Geeta Trophy was featured on the 11-race programme and run as the programme’s 10th event. There is an age-old principle that says: “Any horse with the requisite class and is sufficiently lightly weighted, the distance becomes less important.”
The 2020 Derby winner King Arthur, toting 52 kilogrammes, although having demonstrated his ability to win over the 1000-metre straight course early last season, has been competing mainly over distances much further than this sprint and was therefore due for a good effort after being unplaced in his last five appearances. It was hardly surprising to the more discerning bettors that the Jason DaCosta-conditioned five-year-old gelding with odds of 9-1 against would represent good value for a wager
Former six-time champion jockey Omar Walker may have been a little surprised that King Arthur was able to dominate the final 200 metres to register a victory by four-and-half lengths and give DaCosta his second of two on the day. An hour earlier DaCosta’s Billy Whizz (3-5), duly gifted the winner’s purse at the weights and over the distance, outstayed seven rivals in the 1800-metre eighth event with champion Anthony Thomas at the reins.
Tevin Foster rode the first of his two winners on the day with US-bred but locally foaled Commissioner winning the opening event at odds of 5/1 for trainer Lincoln Lungs. Foster ended the day with his season tally improving to 24 when Anthony Subratie’s recent acquisition Tequila Blue (7/2) was in front of 14 rivals all the way to score in the 1,200-metre sixth event.
Raddesh Roman replaced leading reinsman Dane Dawkins aboard Patrick Lynch’s maiden filly Joyful in the day’s second. The four-year-old filly racing for the third time won by six-and-a-half lengths as the even money favourite and was always clear over the 800-metre dash.
In race three, running at generous odds of 3-1, Out On A Limb (Andre Powell), saddled by Kingsley Davis, was the first starter of this season for this trainer.
The fourth event, run over 1,400 metres, was won at odds of 9/2 by D’s Choice (Oshane Nugent) coming home just over six lengths clear in an impressive clocking of 1:26.4 for trainer Alford Brown to register his fifth winner from 36 declarations this year.
While trainer Dennis Pryce made it 12 wins from 49 starts this season with Pure Heart (Youville Pinnock) at 2/1 turning in a 12-and-a-half-length runaway in the 1,200-metre fifth for the first of his double on the card.
Jockey Andre Martin and trainer Wilfred Chin 6/1 were out of luck when maiden Flight Time veered sharply to the right immediately after the start of the 1,100-metre seventh. Following a near three-length “first-past-the post” performance, the colt’s number was justifiably taken down for the interference to two rivals. The major slice of the prize money was awarded to 9/1 shot Sir Tajay, ridden by apprentice Romario Spencer for trainer Steven Todd.
Running in the ninth, debutant Unruly Dude (Robert Halledeen) did nothing wrong. The three-year-old progeny of Bern Identity was always in front to win the 1100-metre contest by nearly five lengths, thus confirming schooler Dennis Pryce’s double success. Another rider, in the form of Javaniel Patterson, benefited in similar circumstances to Raddesh Roman’s second race success when, in the absence of Dane Dawkins, he made all the running to win the 1,200-metre nightcap aboard 3/1 chance Alexa’s Dream for trainer Gary Subratie.
The Training Feat Award is presented to Alford Brown for the career-best performance of D’s Choice. The five-year-old, a difficult one to train, won in a fast time in what was only his 16th lifetime start for win number four and delivered the Best Winning Gallop in the process. Tevin Foster is favoured for the Jockeyship Award for his skills and athletic ability to keep Tequila Blue in front, with challengers on either side right throughout the sprint, for the spoils of the sixth race contest.
