Canada-based Barbadian jockey, Simon Husbands, produces BOY YOU GLITTER (left) with a powerful run to nose out ALFALLO (centre) with Panamanian rider Ameth Robles and Clive Lynch-ridden SHADOWS in Saturday's 1200-metre eighth race at Caymanas Park. - Colin Hamilton/Freelance Photographer
JAMAICAN trainer Kirk Ziadie completed back-to-back title wins at Calder's Tropical Meet in Florida last Wednesday, finishing the season with 29 wins, and another Jamaican, Jose Pinchin, ended with 12 wins to secure eighth-place in the standings.
Ziadie surged to a clear lead at the 60-day meet in late November and kept his advantage to the end.
The son of Florida-based Jamaica trainer, Ralph Ziadie, 39-year-old Kirk also captured the 2007 Calder Meet title in October.
Edward Plesa ended 10 wins behind Ziadie on 19 wins, followed by Kathleen O'Connell and multiple ex-champion Bill White, sharing third with 15 wins each.
Ziadie also led the colony of trainers' earnings as his horses collected US$542,425, just over US$16,000 ahead of Plesa (US$526,116).
Pinchin ended the season with 12 winners and stakes of US$225,400.
Narrow miss
Ziadie narrowly missed securing 30 wins for the 2007-2008 season when his seven-year-old gelding Not Acclaim lost the US$35,000 ninth race by just one length.
With top jockey Elvis Trujillo astride, Not Acclaim battled into a marginal lead as the seven-horse field rushed to the eighth pole but the 5-to-1 bet Hollywood Left finished fast and snatched victory by a length.
Winning rider
John Velasquez was the winning rider in a time of 55.81 seconds for the five-furlong sprint on turf.
Not Acclaim (7-1) held on for second, just a neck in front of third-placed 41-1 outsider World War.
Last year, Ziadie had won twice on the Tropical Meet's final day to capture his first title at Calder — by a single win — when the five-time champion White had scored three wins in a determined bid to keep his title.
Ziadie emerged champion ahead of White 25-24 for the 2006-2007 season and closed out a Jamaican double as the teenage riding sensation Jermaine Bridgmohan landed the jockeys' title with a record 110 wins.
The 37-year-old jockey Manoel Cruz copped the 2007-2008 jockeys' title by logging 104 victories to defeat Trujillo (91).
