- RICARDO MAKYN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
In a thrilling finish, SHAHID (outside) with Trinidadian jockey Brian Harding aboard, is about to catch RED BOOTLACES (right, Larris Allen) and QUICK MEDIC (Learie Seecharan) in the closing stages of the seventh race over 1200 metres at Caymanas Park yesterday. SHAHID, who won by a head at odds of 8-1, is owned by Cuds and trained by Richard Donaldson.
Orville Clarke, Freelance Writer
YESTERDAY'S CAYMANAS Park feature race for the Arthur Jones Cup over 1200 metres turned into a farce as three of the seven horses declared to run were withdrawn, leaving the howling 1-9 favourite LIL' COUNTRY BOY to win without turning a hair.
Two of those declared late non-starters COURT CASE and ROYAL RUN, both recent winners were expected to give top weight LIL'COUNTRY BOY a run for his money, but it never materialised.
Former champion trainer Wayne DaCosta, who not only conditions LIL'COUNTRY BOY but ROYAL RUN as well, disclosed that all was not well with ROYAL RUN from Thursday and he was always going to be a late scratch.
"He picked up a stone squeeze and I only discovered this on Thursday morning. It effectively ruled him out of the race as a result," said DaCosta.
BIGGEST DANGER
COURT CASE, bidding for a hat-trick of wins, was expected to pose the biggest danger to LIL' COUNTRY BOY over this trip. But the Ken Mattis-trained 6-y-o horse went lame and had to be withdrawn. The same was true of the Percy Hussey-trained PEACE & LOVE.
This left 'COUNTRY BOY' against three vastly inferior opponents and he duly went wire to wire for an effortless 13 1/4 lengths victory, landing the $775,000 graded stakes event for the second consecutive year. The fleet-footed American 5-y-o horse by Diligence out of Lil' Country Gal, was ridden by four-time champion jockey Charles Hussey in the pink and blue checkered silks of Alexander Haber.
Significantly, the race was originally scheduled to be run on the previous Saturday but after attracting six entries at the overnight stage, including LIL' COUNTRY BOY, had to be abandoned and rescheduled to yesterday by the promoters.
Hussey, meanwhile, rode two winners for DaCosta and Haber on the 11-race programme, the other being FORMALLY GOLD in the 10th race over 1700 metres for overnight allowance horses.
Installed a 2-5 favourite in a field of 10, FORMALLY GOLD was early in the lead under top weight of 57kg and proceeded to run her opponents into the ground, so to speak, to win by 11 1/2 lengths from 7-2 chance SATISFIER, covering the distance in the fairly good time of 1:45.3.
TWO IN A ROW
The American 4-y-o filly duly made it two in a row, having scored by 10 lengths over 1500 metres on March 12.
Also riding two winners was Jamaican-born, Canada-based jockey Eldridge Lindsay. His winners were 3-2 chance THAT'S GOLD in the first race over the straight five course and the even-money favourite LADY ISIS in the circular nine secondary feature for the Mortimer 'Morty' Heron Memorial Cup (claiming $210,000 - $180,000). Both horses are trained by Desmond Shand.
Lindsay, who over the years has ridden mainly at Fort Erie and Woodbine in Ontario, Canada, has been riding locally for the past fortnight, but THAT'S GOLD marked his first winner locally since ROYAL RANGE for Shand in 1994.
Owned by Douglas Rose, LADY ISIS shot into the lead leaving the half mile and won by 5 1/2 lengths from AMANDA'S GOLD in a field of nine.
MUSTANG (4-1) and HIGH ROLLER (5-1) won the respective sections of the Percy Martin Memorial Cup over the straight five course, both in post-to-post fashion.
