Last Saturday, after an absence of six years, the Diamond Mile, with the compliments of the promoting company Supreme Ventures Racing & Entertainment Ltd, made a welcome return to the calendar. The weights allotted were a huge talking point, but as a predetermined exercise, rather than with a handicap rating system, inexplicable anomalies is an inescapable outcome. However, in a race over this distance, the speed and stamina to see out the trip are very important dynamics as well.
The 2025 Mouttet Mile hero Rideallday (USA) was backed by most to defy the 126lbs top weight and could only manage to be fifth of thirteen. This was as a result of an unfortunate stumble on leaving his outside post position. Incidentally, 2024 Mouttet Mile hero Funcaandun (USA) reared at the start and with that went his chances as well. This was in a race where any margin for error by horse or rider was minimal and therefore fatal.
Truth be told, this was an impressive display of the speed and stamina of Phenomenal Power (USA), who in a dispute for the early lead with the powerful sprinter Legacy Isle (USA), went clear on the bridle easily half mile out and had his rivals, bar none in trouble, with the issue all but settled from the top of the home straight.
Girvano (USA) showed an improvement in form and was convincingly the best of the rest by getting to within a length of Phenomenal Power (USA) at the finish, with Barnaby (USA) five lengths adrift in third. Three-year-old colt Phenomenal Power, in less than one month, has emerged as the latest top performer of the cohort of US importees.
Conditioned now by second-generation horseman Adrian Prince, Phenomenal Power has now won five of seven career starts for around $4.75 million in stakes earnings. Importantly as well, this was one of the “Win & You’re In” Graded Stakes qualifiers, giving automatic eligibility for an invitation to the 2026 Mouttet Mile on the first Saturday of December.
In terms of impact, the US$350,000 Mouttet Mile, established four years ago, has incentivised the importation of US-bred horses. The top cohort is constituted by Rideallday, Phenomenal Power, Funcaandun, Legacy Isle, Girvano, Barnaby, Supernatural Power, Desert of Malibu, Pack Plays, Nautical Star, Of A Revolution, Dothraki, Tiz Tok, Sir Don and, lately, winner in the US Royal Poppy, 4th in this Diamond Mile toting joint top weight(126lbs) with Rideallday.
Add locally bred sprinters Money Market, California Crown and versatile Don Kwesi to the above list, which, for now, ensures that the island has a competitive Graded Stakes category. The legitimate question arises as to the sustainability of this peculiar circumstance where the Mouttet Mile sponsorship has come to the rescue of the industry in this regard.
Furthermore, the fact of the matter is that as things stand, the breeding industry will not be in a position to deliver the requisite quality in the foreseeable future. Importation has a role to play and sporting owners are needed. In a 1963 article, Hall-Of-Fame racing journalist L. D. “Strebor” Roberts highlighted the fact that “the island was in need of a competitive top class”.
It was really quite extraordinary that over the next two decades, by 1993 the legendary farms such as Orange Valley Estates (Calvin O’Sullivan), YS1955(Browne Family), Ham Stables (Howard Hamilton), Dawkins Stud (Alex Hamilton), Henry Jaghai, Mammee Ridge Farms, and later Grange Farms, collectively working with 900-1000 broodmares, delivered up to 300 foals annually.
The investors in the breeding industry response were extremely productive, and during this period, many of the greatest ever locally bred horses such as None Such, Rameses, Legal Light, Harlequin, Thornbird, Sir Howard and many more emerged.
This was achieved in tandem with heavily invested owners. The likes of Pat Rousseau and Mayer Matalon (Mammee Ridge Farms), as well as Howard Hamilton and Alex Hamilton, were important owners as well as breeders. Then, along with major bookmakers such as Joe Lyn Kee Chow, Lucien Chen, Ivan Lyn and Cecil Charlton, they bred and owned some of the best thoroughbreds of all time.
This was also a voluntary conglomerate of business operators of Chinese and Indian heritage. As a collective they invested significantly in the owning of horses. Unlike the architects of the claiming system, they were well aware that the owning of thoroughbreds was not a viable economic activity, but a prestigious hobby. The outstanding investment and industry of the breeders, in tandem with importation from the UK and the US, saw a horse population exceeding 1250.
By 1970, midweek racing came on stream and from then onwards extended the calendar to at least 84 race days annually. In 1992, there was an average of 115 runners in between 11 and 12 races. This was 300% growth over the 29 race days in 1960, but since 1993, following the advent of the claiming system, the local racing industry has struggled. Thirty-three years later no calendar has matched that of 1992.
The regulatory US Jockey Club has determined that the format of the claiming system racing product is unviable, has retained claiming tags but has instituted a classification/handicap system. Still, the collective leadership of the local racing industry remains steadfast in the misconception that the racing product, after 33-plus years of proven unviability, delivered in the flawed claiming system, will miraculously reverse course and drive development.
