- RICARDO MAKYN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
The favourite, Seattle's Girl (right), is hard-driven by Shane Ellis to win the eighth race over the round five course from the 46-1 outsider Precocious Miss D (left), who was ridden by Learie Seecharan at Caymanas Park on Saturday.
Orville Clarke, Freelance Writer
WITH the fancied horses biting the dust with great regularity at Caymanas Park on Saturday, the consolation prize on the Pick-9 was paid to punters with only five winners.
Despite the upsets, the two Super sixes were caught, the second going to one lucky punter who collected a whopping $527,319.50.
There was an unusually high number of upset wins, led by HI JOE at 16-1 in the fourth race, XTRA ROYAL at 14-1 in the eventful fifth race, UNQUESTIONABLE at 11-1 in the 12th and final, SELECT PRINCESS at 10-1 in the 11th and UNTOUCHABLE at 5-1 (a genuine upset in a small field) in the seventh.
Even hot favourites such as SOLID SOLUTION and SEATTLE'S GIRL had to pull out all the stops to win their respective races. The front running SOLID SOLUTION held on by only a nose to beat the 48-1 outsider FAST BREAK in the second race for maiden three-year-old fillies. And SEATTLE'S GIRL had only a neck to spare over 46-1 longshot PRECOCIOUS MISS D in the eighth, again for maidens.
OTHER WINNING FAVOURITES
In addition to SEATTLE'S GIRL and SOLUTION, the other winning favourites on the 12-race programme were LIL' COUNTRY BOY at 1-2 in the third race for the Abe Issa Memorial Cup and MAJESTIC KING at 6-5 in the sixth race over a mile for maiden four-year-olds and up.
Trainers' Association president Vin Edwards was the toast of the trainers' room on Saturday after posting HI JOE to a convincing win against some tough opponents over 1500 metres.
Owned by his wife Monica, HI JOE was in receipt of a confident ride from the young claiming apprentice Kerry-Gayle Robinson and this was a deserving win for the consistent five-year-old horse and his popular trainer who could not hide his glee after the race. He said of HI JOE.
"Not even rich people eat as good as this horse. I give him all the best and that's why he has never broken down in the three years I have acquired him", he explained.
"Right now I have him in the best shape of his career. Sometimes he has a tendency to walk out of the starting gate but I have worked on him and he appears to have settled down to his racing," added Edwards, who, during his heyday in the '80s, was voted the most improved trainer in 1985 by virtue of conditioning. Outstanding horses, such as COUNTRY ACT, SECRET, ANGELBURGER BABY and the 1985 'Horse of the Year' DYE JOB.
EDWARDS HAPPY
Edwards went on to point out that he was happy with the win and the price (16-1) did not matter.
"The odds mean nothing to me because I don't gamble," he confessed.
The same sentiments were shared by his wife who told me that she didn't bet a dollar on the horse.
It is good to see that an increasing number of trainers are more concerned with winning than landing the gamble.
This was further underlined when I overheard another trainer asking eight-time champion Kenneth Mattis how much his horse SOLID SOLUTION paid in the second race.
"To tell the truth I don't even know," was the reply.
Jockey Charlie Scott who was involved in a near fatal motor vehicle accident three years ago, notched his first win since aboard the Owen Sharpe-trained XTRA ROYAL in the fifth race over the straight five course.
Significantly, the five-year-old gelding was vigorously ridden without the use of a whip to win in a dead-heat with highly-fancied MR. DUNN, but following a stewards' inquiry the latter was disqualified for causing interference to fifth past the post TOUCMEN early in the last furlong.
INEVITABLE DISQUALIFICATION
Ridden by in-form champion apprentice Paul 'Country' Francis, MR. DUNN, who made most angled across from the number one post position and clearly took the ground of TOCUMEN, who was attempting to mount a challenge between MR. DUNN and the challenging XTRA ROYAL on the outside from the furlong pole. His disqualification was inevitable in my view. Still, this did not deter Francis however, as he rode two winners in PHYSICS BOOK and MAJESTIC KING.
Later in the afternoon, SELECT PRINCESS came from nearer last to first to upset rivals in the Clifford Stewart Memorial Cup supporting feature over 1200 metres.
Well ridden by the claiming apprentice Andron Findley, the four-year-old filly won by all of four lengths from highly fancied POWERED BY TUNDRA who got up on the line for second ahead of 9-1 chance AFFIRMATION who led entering the straight.
Minutes before the race, noted owner Louis Phillips disclosed that he had put in a claim for SELECT PRINCESS. I told him it was a good claim and in the end, he got the super fit filly for $170,000.
