TRAINER BYRON DAVIS TELLS HIS STORY

Says None Such the best horse he has seen

KINGSTON, Jamaica - Trainer Byron Davis was born near Caymanas Park in Christian Pen, St Catherine.

Davis, while growing up, developed a love for racing and started to regularly visit the track to watch jockeys such as Winston Ellis and Kenneth Mattis ride.

“After school, because of my love for racing, I came to Caymanas Park wanting to become an apprentice jockey. But that expectation in my bosom never got materialised. I was sent to a man by the name of Carl Baker, a jockey/trainer and from him, I got an apprentice licence. That was as far as I got with my boyhood dream.

“But with the love of racing still in me, I then got a groom’s licence to be around trainer Nigel Nunes and stayed with him for about eight to nine years. While with Nunes, I was the groom of a horse by the name of Miss Manchester. Neville Anderson rode her to register my first victory as a groom. A female rider by the name of Donna Hillman was down to ride Miss Manchester but she never showed up and Anderson rode the horse and won the race on Miss Manchester. I was then the groom of Deep River, and Giddy Up, who both won a number of races along with several other horses whose names I cannot recall at present.,” Davis told this publication.

The conditioner, in telling his life story, shared how he changed stables.

“I then left for the barn of Philip Feanny and spent about 14 years with him winning quite a few races.

“After joining Feanny’s stables in 1980, I left in 1994, after now champion trainer Anthony Nunes, who I knew as a child while working for his father Nigel, got his trainer’s licence.

“The young Nunes then asked me to come and work with him.  During that initial start-up period, I groomed the first winner for Anthony Nunes, a horse by the name of Centrestage. It was the first-time winner for the trainer, horse, and owner. Andrew Ramgeet was the jockey.

“After a long delay in getting my trainers’ licence, I decided finally, to get licensed and became a trainer in 2017. I then went on to saddle several winners and feel good about my achievements.”

QUESTION: Q

BYRON DAVIS (BD)

Q: Which horse was your first winner as a trainer?

BD: My first winner was Twilight Eruption.

Q: Which is the best horse you have trained so far?

BD: The best horse I have trained is Weekend Jazz. I schooled him from a two-year-old for his owner and conditioned him to win his first race.

Q: Which is the best horse you have seen run at Caymanas Park?

BD: I have seen some outstanding performers but for me, None Such gets my vote.

Q: Who is the best trainer you have seen conditioned horses at Caymanas Park?

BD: I have seen a good collection of them operating but Bobby Hale, Laurie Silvera, and Kenneth Mattis come to mind without delay.

Q: Trainers are feeling the pinch of the novel coronavirus pandemic, do you have any suggestions?

BD: The operators should start taking a much closer look at the purse for races especially those involving small trainers. They must realise that horses trained by the small trainers need to be fed just as well and as often as those in the higher grades.