RACE ONE – The dominance of jockey Tevin Foster continued unabated when he piloted 2-1 choice JamalJames to victory for trainer Wilfred Chin. For the veteran conditioner, it was a welcome victory after his winning three-year-old Flight Time was disqualified last race day.
RACE TWO – This event provided the easiest of wins for Cartel and jockey Paul Francis. It was Cartel’s 13th from 45 starts with his career earnings now standing at approximately $7.5 million. For Francis, it was his 10th this season.
RACE THREE – What can one say about 12-year-old Royal Vibes? Well, he is in the best form of his racing life scoring another facile victory this time in $550,000 - $450,000 claiming at a mile with the blinkers on. Royal Vibes was winning for the 16th time from all of 137 starts. His career earnings now stand at approximately $13.5 million. It was a rare win for another veteran conditioner trainer Victor Williams, his first from 18 starts in 2022. It was the first win on the day for Thomas.
RACE FOUR – While Madelyn’s Sunshine’s victory was no surprise the eyes of racing pundits were focused on champion two-year-old Golden Wattle. Golden Wattle raced prominently but had no spunk in her gallop when they entered the lane for the last two furlongs. She finished 10 ½ lengths behind Berning Red, who was 2 ½ lengths second behind Madelyn’s Sunshine. And what of Berning Red? He was placed in claiming for $1 million, where he was victorious, and has now returned to Restricted company. The next stop for Berning Red is probably the 2000 Guineas. Interesting days are ahead.
RACE FIVE – A romp for Atonement, jockey Dick Cardenas, and trainer Raymond Townsend. It was noticed that Heart of a Lion, who finished second, 13 ½ lengths behind the winner, gave problems to go into his starting barrier, and when he went in, and the jockey mounted, the gates were quickly opened with Heart of a Lion getting a poor start.
RACE SIX – The longest shot in the Reggae 6 came in this event with Shashamani Dance winning at odds of 12-1 for jockey Kiaman McGregor and for jockey now owner and trainer Linton Calder. It was nice to see McGregor back in the winners’ enclosure. This young man started his career well but has fallen steeply in recent times. The hope is that he can now resurrect his career. Shashamani Dance was also the longest odds winner on the day.
RACE SEVEN – Desha racing for the second time lived up to expectations by winning after a dogged fight with She’s A Friend for jockey Youville Pinnock and trainer Rowan Mathie. Desha then had to survive a stewards’ inquiry and a jockeys’ objection to keep the race. Looking forward, She’s A Friend needs to be followed and the same for Never On A Sunday. Never On A Sunday, who ran on well to get third place was part of the back-pack throughout and only asked to run in the final two furlongs when it was already too late to have a meaningful impact on the outcome.
RACE EIGHT – Dropping down in grade from Open Allowance to Overnight, God of Love (Robert Halledeen) made easy work of the opposition. No praise can be too high for trainer Fitzgerald Richards for his handling of God of Love and, of course, the now-deceased Patriarch. The track seems to be slow at present as God of Love could not get under a minute for five furlongs round. Based on preliminary checks the track is approximately a second slow.
RACE NINE – This event was the culmination of a good day for jockey Anthony Thomas and trainer Jason DaCosta. It’s A Boy, under a vintage Thomas ride closed a triple for the champion rider and a double for DaCosta. Two of Thomas wins were for DaCosta.
