ROSE
AFTER WAITING for what seemed like eternity, trainer Norman Rose finally saddled his 100th winner in the 9-5 favourite ABEULO in the ninth race at Caymanas Park on Saturday.
Rose, who also owns ABUELO, had to wait an agonising six months for the milestone winner. His previous winner, MEDICAL ACCOUNT came on March 5 of this year.
The 50-year-old trainer had this to say:
"Bwoy, I am relieved. After so many near misses, I am happy to have achieved the feat, as I was looking forward to this for months and it was slow and and painful in coming".
Rose claimed ABUELO for $150,000 out of a 1300-metre race on July 20 and although the five-year-old gelding lost narrowly to VISCOSITY over the straight course as recent as August 27, he was pretty confident that his charge would make amends next time out.
Ridden by 3.0kg claiming apprentice Kemar Lynch, ABUELO assumed the lead from highly fancied STRAIGHTTOTHEHEART from early in the straight to win the 1100-metre race by 1 3/4 lengths from the fast-finishing PRINCESS ARIZONA.
This brought a smile to the face of Rose who is popularly called 'Khaki Suit".
A neat dresser, Rose took up training in the early 90s and saddled his first winner BRIGHT PRINCESS under many-time champion jockey Winston Griffiths in a three and four-year-old maiden race over 1300 metres on September 21, 1994.
Among his winners over the years were MY DOLL, ALMATAK, SIG SAUER, FIGHT FOR LIFE, ROBOCOP, PRINCE ADINO, BLAZING SILVER, DIAMOND BELLE, WILD ZONE, MAMBO, STAR OF THE MOMENT, JAMAICA JADE, VOICE MAIL, PLEASANT WOOD and the straight five specialist WILD TRAVELER, several of them winning multiple races for the popular trainer.
- O.C.
