Champion groom Vaughan Taylor SUPERSTAKES winner, MENUDO is expected to dominate the 12th annual 'Horse of the Year' Awards Dinner scheduled for the New Kingston Hilton Hotel on Thursday, February 8 starting at 7:00 p.m.
Patrons attending the dinner will see live entertainment, fashions by D'Choix, best videos of racing at Caymanas Park in 2000 and modelling by some of Jamaica's finest. Contribution is $1,500 per person and a lucky patron can win a gate prize of two Clubhouse tickets to the Belmont Stakes in June, courtesy of the New York Racing Association.
MENUDO's main rivals for the coveted award are last year's Triple Crown winner I'MSATISFIED and the crack imported mare GAILY DECORATED, who looks a cinch for the Champion Sprinter award.
Indications are that the Richard Azan owned and trained MENUDO will be crowned 'Horse of the Year' ahead of I'MSATISFIED, who in addition to being first runner-up and Champion 3-Y-O should snatch other awards in the 3-y-o category such as champion 3-y-o middle distance performer and stayer.
MENUDO, on the other hand, should supplement his "Horse of the Year" award with those for champion stayer and champion older horse, among others.
MILLIMETRE looks the unanimous choice for champion two-year-old, but the only question is whether he can sweep the 2-y-o sprinter category ahead of stable-companion RAKKADASH.
MILLIMETRE beat RAKKADASH by 4 3/4 lengths when they last met over 1200 metres in the Hi-Pro Stables Choice Feeds Trophy last Heroes Day, yet several members of the 'Horse of the Year' committee felt that the fleet-footed RAKKADASH is better when sprinting.
Champion trainer Philip Feanny enjoyed such a fantastic season last year that the outstanding trainer award should be a mere formality. Still, there were some members of the 16-man committee who took the view that Feanny is already the champion trainer and nothing can top that.
Hence, some votes have gone to trainer Richard Todd who by his standards enjoyed a magnificent season to finish fourth in the championship with stakes in excess of $8 million and over 50 winners, second only to Feanny.
As far as the outstanding jockey is concerned, Andrew Ramgeet who broke his collarbone in a spill in mid-November could well come through on a sympathy vote ahead of new champion Shane Ellis. After all, he was nominated for 'Sportsman of the Year' by the Carreras Sports Foundation. Ellis was not.
Among the other awards to be presented, these based on statistics, are Ellis (champion jockey), Feanny (champion trainer), Richard Azan (champion owner), Henry Jaghai J.P. (champion breeder), Ramon Parish (champion apprentice), The Medic (champion sire) and Vaughan S. Taylor, son of veteran jockey V. "Chicken Back" Taylor (champion groom).
Taylor, who is attached to the stables of Robert Darby, had 15 winners including T.N.T. who won several races for him.
O.C.
