Orville Clarke, Freelance Writer

Oneil Mullings stands tall in the saddle as he guides the 5-2 chance DEARDREAMER to a post-to-post victory in the sixth race over the straight five course at Caymanas Park on Saturday. The six-year-old horse is owned and trained by Robert Darby Sr. - Colin Hamilton/Freelance Photographer

With $10.6 million already in the kitty, Pick-9 sales went through the roof at Caymanas Park on Saturday and when the dust had settled, fortune smiled on six punters.

They shared the fantastic $16.2 million payout - each receiving a cool $2.7 million.

Thus ended the sensational run of the Pick-9 after eluding punters for nine consecutive racedays.

Even a 17-1 upset by DUST ROCK in the closing race could not ensure its survival as too many bankers had obliged in earlier races on the card.

These include the highly fancied stable-companions BELLA IN BLOOM, BULLET TRAIN and GOOD COMPANY, three of four winners on the day for champion trainer Wayne DaCosta, not to mention FABULOUS P, another horse widely used as a banker in the fifth race.

HARD ON THE PSYCHE

I gather that nearly 300 punters were still alive going into the last race, but DUST ROCK silenced all but six. It is really hard on the psyche when a punter spots the first eight winners, only to stumble in the last race.

A friend of mine was sitting pretty with five horses in the last race and asked me what I thought of his chances. I told him that anything could happen especially when dealing with $160,000 claimers, but it all depends on lady luck. She didn't smile on him.

I should have reminded him of another friend who battled his way through two outsiders en route to what appeared a potentially large Super-6 payout some years ago. After spotting the first five winners, Mass Ken, as he is popularly called, said he was closing on seven of the nine horses in the last race and asked me to rate his chances.

I told him that if he were to lose closing on all of seven horses, he would be the 'saltest' man on the face of the earth. The end result - the two horses he left off finished first and second, the winner at 14-1 and the runner-up at 20-1.

But get this, I jokingly remarked before the race that if I were him, I would buy the two horses as a quinella. He quietly took my advice, bought the quinella for $500 and won $120,000.

That's the nature of gambling.