Orville Clarke, Gleaner Writer

Champion trainer Wayne DaCosta stole the show at Caymanas Park yesterday, thanks to four winners on the 10-race programme.

Among them was the very fit four-year-old filly FIRST LADY (6-5) who got up in the nick of time to deny the front running 3-5 favourite TWENTYFIRSTOFJUNE in the Howard Phillipps Memorial Cup feature over 1100 metres.

DaCosta teamed up with stable jockey and reigning champion Omar Walker to win three of those races, including FIRST LADY.

The free-running four-year-old filly made amends for her near miss against THE GREYT DOCTOR on the previous Saturday to beat TWENTY-FIRSTOFJUNE under Panamanian jockey Dick Cardenas by half a length.

In addition to FIRST LADY, DaCosta, who won his eighth cham-pionship last year (four in a row), also posted 3-5 favourite THE REAL STREAM to win the first race over 1200 metres, 4-5 favourite GOOD HOPE under former champion Shane Ellis in the eighth race for bottom of the barrel claimers and 6-5 favourite THE GUARDIAN who pipped his lesser fancied stable-companion NATURALLY ROYAL (18-1) by a neck in the closing race over the straight five course.

As a result of yesterday's windfall, DaCosta who has been setting a blistering early pace in the cham-pionship race, duly chalked up his 15th win and $5.3 million in stakes only six weeks into the new season.

He was particularly pleased with the victory of FIRST LADY.

"She was unfortunate not to have won last Saturday, having been hampered when the leader NATIONAL GALLERY stumbled and threw his rider when she was challenging on the outside as they straightened," lamented the trainer. "However, she came back nicely freshened for this race and I told Walker to just track TWENTYFIRSTOFJUNE into the straight and wear her down. And he rode a peach of a race ... ."

Meanwhile, two-time champion jockey Walker extended his lead over the suspended Paul 'Country' Francis in the jockeys' standings after winning aboard FIRST LADY, THE REAL STREAM and THE GUARDIAN. He has so far ridden 16 winners - five clear of Francis who sat out day three of a four-day suspension.

Also riding three winners was bang-in form Richie Mitchell who returned to the saddle in mid-January after being sidelined with a broken collar bone.

His winners were LIGHT MY FIRE a 7-5 favourite in the third race, UNBRIDLED RUNNER at 9-1 for trainer Dwight Chen in the fifth race for the Pansy Thompson CTL 'Employee of the Month' Trophy race over 1100 metres and GUIDING LIGHT at 5-1 in the seventh race (high claiming) over 1400 metres. He has so far ridden nine winners this season.

Meanwhile, veteran jockey David 'Scorcher' McKenzie, who celebrated his 59th birthday on January 9, became the oldest jockey to win a race in the 50-year history of Caymanas Park, aboard the highly fancied COLLATION in the third. McKenzie has been riding since 1963.