KINGSTON, Jamaica - Universal Boss looked fully recovered from his recent gelded alteration when he recorded his first win as a four-year-old at Caymanas Park on Saturday, February 8.
A full brother to speedball five-year-old Patriarch, Universal Boss in his latest run, going 1,400 metres, appeared much better equipped for the job.
He completed seven furlongs in a time of 1:25.1 built on fractions of 23.2 x 45.4 x 1:10.4.
In his first outing as a four-year-old and his first after been gelded, Universal Boss weakened into third place and was promptly given more time to heal.
After a further 35 days of rest, he returned and won, which pleased his trainer Anthony Nunes.
“Universal Boss had a lot of potential as a two-year-old. He would work well in the mornings, but after returning to the barn, he would sometimes groan as though suffering from abdominal pains.
“During the Trainers Championship last year, we wanted to castrate him but could not find the time.
“We decided to keep him running until the time was found, as we knew we had to castrate him.
“Finally, in December of last year, we got the opportunity to castrate, and he got over his groaning issue.
“Then we ran him in a race in which he finished behind Rohan Kabir in third place but, he was not ready.
“After this, we got an opportunity to train him properly towards today’s (Saturday) race as seven furlongs seems to be a perfect distance for him. This is a performance that he is capable of delivering, and we are hoping that his castration will put all the past disappointments behind,” Nunes said.
Universal Boss, ridden by Simon Husbands, won ahead of Duke (Anthony Thomas) with Coco Chanel finishing third.
