Orville Clarke, Freelance Writer

IVAN THE TERRIBLE, ridden by veteran jockey David 'Scorcher' McKenzie, gets up in the nick of time to win the Royal Crest Trophy over 1200 metres in a driving finish from OUTFITHER (Kirk Johnson) and JET SKIER (Dane Nelson), both partly hidden, at Caymanas Park, on Saturday. The winner is trained by Arnold Rambally Jr. - Colin Hamilton/Freelance Photographer

The Pick-9 had no takers at Caymanas Park on Saturday, thanks to mild upsets by IVAN THE TERRIBLE (6-1) and ME LLAMO (5-1) on the 10-race programme.

Nine punters with eight of nine winners received $20,791.50 each. The Super-6, on the other hand, saw 30 correct forecasts of $38,543.50 each.

Significantly, one punter bagged 20, of the 30 prizes. If that wasn't enough, he picked up one of the nine Pick-9 prizes to win total prize money of more than $800,000.

On a day when star apprentice Omar Walker did his championship cause a world of good with five winners, veteran jockey David 'Scorcher' McKenzie brought IVAN THE TERRIBLE with a tremendous stretch run to win the Royal Crest Trophy over 1200 metres in a driving finish from highly fancied OUTFITHER, JET SKIER and long-time leader ISLA.

Indeed, the 3-2 favourite ISLA looked the likely winner when going well on the lead approaching the distance. However, she faltered in the last furlong and was gobbled up by the first three midway through the distance.

Brick wall

It was not that ISLA was stopping in the last furlong, but the winner and runner-up closed so rapidly on her that it appeared that she had run into a brick wall.

Stable-companion OUTFITHER looked likely to give Canadian-based Jamaican jockey Kirk Johnson his first winner on local soil when OUTFITHER struck the front 100 yards out, but IVAN THE TERRIBLE fell on her like a ton of bricks, closing from a seemingly hopeless position after being tailed off at the half mile.

McKenzie, who is well in his 50s, never gave up aboard IVAN THE TERRIBLE and I can tell you, it's the first in a long time that I have seen a horse come from so far back to win over a sprint distance. All credit is due to trainer Arnold Rambally Jr., who represented the lightly raced three-year-old colt in unbeaten fashion following a 4-1/2-month absence.

Another veteran, Sydney Watson, also came into his own by saddling two winners in OK BABY and HEAD OF STATE in the second and 10th races, respectively.

Watson, now well into his 70s, has no plans of retiring any time soon and was just as happy as 24-year-old Omar Walker, who cemented his claim for the 2007 jockeys' title with a fabulous five-timer, his first since he started riding in July of last year.