Reigning champion jockey Dane Dawkins inched closer to rivals in the race to retain his title, as he rode a dazzling three-timer, including Perfect Brew, who dismantled the field to cop the Alsafra Trophy over a mile (1,600m) at Caymanas Park on Saturday. 

Perfect Brew, conditioned by Hall of Fame trainer Richard Azan, justified favouritism, romping the three-year-old and upward Overnight Allowance race by six lengths in a time of 1:38.0. The splits were 23.4, 45.4 and 1:11.1.

The four-year-old bay gelding, who finished nine lengths behind the reigning Horse of the Year Atomica over seven furlongs (1,400m) on May 23, showed that he was better off from that run, as Dawkins rode a patient race, while Ameth Robles played catch me if you can aboard former Horse of the Year Further and Beyond.

Returning from an almost one-year break, Further and Beyond, now trained by Donovan Hutchinson, rushed to an early three length lead, which rapidly increased on the backstretch, as the rest of the field settled well off the blistering pace.

By the time Robles and Further and Beyond left the five-furlong mark and flashed past the half-mile, they were well over six lengths in front with Stomp The Rhythm (Anthony Thomas) and Marquesas (Tevin Foster), the closest pursuers at the point.

However, Dawkins made his move aboard Perfect Brew at the three-furlong point and after hitting top stride in the home stretch, they swept by a now-tiring Further and Beyond, whose lack of race fitness was well advertised, and a fighting Stomp The Rhythm, in the latter stages to win. Marquesas completed the frame.

While it was the first win of the season for Perfect Brew, it was Dawkins's 35th of the season, as he moved within 10 of leader Reyan Lewis and two shy of second-place Tevin Foster.

Dawkins earlier won aboard Jaguar in the fifth race giving newly licensed trainer Ricardo Mathie a first win from his first start. He later piloted Big Guy In The Sky to victory in the ninth race for trainer Gary Subratie.

Meanwhile, Barrington Bernard and Courtney Williams, who are also freshly licensed trainers, also won their first races. Bernard won the first race with Anngelos (Roger Hewitt), while Williams won the seventh race with Zion (Phillip Parchment).

‌Mojito expectedly produced a devastating performance to claim the 49^th running of the Jamaica 2000 Guineas, a native-bred three-year-old Futurity race for colts and geldings, over a mile (1,600m) at Caymanas Park on Sunday.

Conditioned by Hall of Fame trainer Richard Azan and ridden by reigning champion jockey Dane Dawkins, Mojito again underlined his credentials as the best among his lot at the moment with this, a fifth-straight win on the trot, in his seven-race career. His other two runs were second-place finishes.

Having won the Prince Consort over seven furlongs (1,400m) by 5 1/2 lengths, in 1:26.2 and, The Kingston by 15 lengths in a flat 1:33.0, over seven and a half furlongs (1,500m) on his way to the Guineas, it was a matter of how far Mojito would romp the $3.75-million Classic event.

The answer was a resounding 12 ½ lengths in a time of 1:37.2, behind splits of 24.1, 46.3 and 1:10.3.

Running from post position number two in the nine-horse field, Mojito left the gates well but suffered early traffic problems and, as such, was relegated to the back of the pack.

However, room opened up on the inside rails which Dawkins gladly accepted and soon joined Awesome Anthony (Javaniel Patterson) on the headline at the six-furlong point.

When Dawkins gave the signal, Mojito made big move and took the lead heading toward the five and later slipped away by three lengths leaving the half mile.

The gap widened coming in the stretch and Mojito continued to power away from rivals with Dawkins barely moving a muscle.

Money Miser (Reyan Lewis) was second with Ability (Linton Steadman) and Rhythm Buzz (Anthony Thomas), completing the frame.

Given the manner of his victory, Mojito is now heavily favoured to secure Triple Crown honours with the 12-furlong Jamaica Derby and 10-furlong St Leger to come.

Azan, who along with Alexander Haber, bred and own Mojito, is already rating the grey colt among the top horses he has conditioned in an illustrious career.

“I said he is one of the best because I have trained some really good horses so now he ranks up there right with them,” Azan said in a post-race interview.

“To be honest, I was a little worried at first but the jockey knows the horse very well, I was actually surprised that he went so quickly to the lead but then he relaxed after that and you know the rest was history. It is just about maintaining him from here because we still have two-more races to go for the Triple Crown,” he added.

Meanwhile, leading rider Reyan Lewis topped his peers with three wins on the 10-race card. He won the opening event aboard Carl Anderson’s Tocatbetheglory, the fourth aboard the Phillip Feanny-conditioned Inspire Force and the seventh race with Life Is Life, trained by Jason DaCosta.

Carl Anderson's Emperorofthecats produced a stunning performance to upset his more fancied rival in a three-year-old and upwards Open Allowance contest for the Harlequin Cup over five furlongs (1,000m) straight at Caymanas Park on Saturday.

Bred, owned and trained by Anderson, Emperorofthecats, piloted by Richard Henry, came home at odds of 16-1, finishing 3 3/4 lengths ahead of his closest rival to secure the lion's share of the $1.29-million purse for his connections. 

The four-year-old bay gelding by Emperor Hall-Laws of the Cat, won in a flat 59.0 seconds, after splits of 23.1 and 45.3 seconds.

The contest was expected to be a romp for Dale Murphy's in-form imported Runaway Algo, who was coming off a 13 1/2 lengths in the Seeking My Dream Trophy over seven and a half furlongs (1,500m), where he recorded a new Stakes record time of 1:30.4.

But, with this being Runaway Algo's first race over the straight course in 16 starts on local soil, there were a few doubts about how he would navigate the event, which included more fleet-footed rivals.

It was a pretty even start with Madelyn's Sunshine (Reyan Lewis), Runaway Algo (Linton Steadman) and Emperorofthecats, hooked up on the headlines, before the latter gradually separated himself from the pack and maintained his gallop to the end.

Though Runaway Algo attempted a rally at the furlong pole, he had no response to Emperorofthecats turn of foot.

Yellowstone (Anthony Thomas) closed well to take second ahead of Runaway Algo, while Duke (Dane Dawkins), completed the frame.

Meanwhile, Linton Steadman and Roger Hewitt topped all riders with two wins apiece.

Steadman won aboard Patrick Lynch's California Gold in the second event and the Fernando Geddes-conditioned Thalos in the fourth event.

Hewitt's winners came in the sixth and 10th events aboard Market Place and Ultimate Machine for trainers Robert Pearson and Robert Ffrench, respectively. 

PROVEN Wealth and Supreme Ventures Limited on November 22 announced a partnership for the staging of the Caribbean’s single richest horse-racing event, the Mouttet Mile, at Caymanas Park on December 3.

The announcement was made in a ceremony at PROVEN Wealth Limited’s headquarters.  

“We are very proud for Supreme Ventures to be associated with Proven Wealth. The Mouttet Mile is the pre-eminent celebration of horse racing in Jamaica,” said Executive Chairman of Supreme Ventures Limited, Gary Peart.

“It is the richest horse race in the Caribbean. The purse is over US $100,000 both for the Mouttet Mile and an ancillary race we call the Chairman’s Cup. The beautiful thing about the Mouttet Mile and where you see the best of Caymanas is the infield experience that our partners, PROVEN, have decided to come on board with. It will be a wonderful experience,” he added.

“It is our pleasure to partner with the team from Mouttet Mile,” said Assistant Vice President-Wealth Management at Proven Wealth, Miguel Walker. 

“We believe that this prestigious sporting event is a game changer in the racing arena and here at PROVEN we are believers in innovation and performance, levers that once put in play, can lead to fundamental successes. We take this opportunity to congratulate our Partners, Supreme Ventures and Caymans Park and we wish them the very best on this execution,” Walker added.

The Oakridge Farms’ unbeaten chestnut filly Atomica delivered one of the most smashing performances ever in Caymanas Park Classic racing history with a 20-length victory in Saturday’s Jamaica 1000 Guineas.

Ridden by Dane Dawkins for trainer Gary Subratie, Atomica crippled the eight-horse field with an acceleration in the final furlong that landed her a stakes record one minute 37.00 for the one-mile trip, erasing a 38-year-old mark by the brilliant 1984 horse of the year Thornbird.

“She got a really easy race today and she still broke the stakes record,” a completely satisfied Subratie said post-race.

The 30-1 outsider Our Angel was second and Silent Mission (14-1) third in the JA$3.75 million (US$24,500) event that opened Jamaica’s Triple Crown Series.

Dawkins, aboard his first ever Classic winner, cruised to the front aboard the big 1-9 favourite shortly after the start, with 8-1 second favourite Golden Whattle, last year’s champion two-year-old, in pursuit.

Heading down the backstretch to the far turn, Atomica was coasting on a two-length lead with Silent Mission, Golden Whattle and 30-1 bet Our Angel stalking the pace.

Atomica, who had won the Guineas “prep” races – the Thornbird Stakes and Portmore – in April and May, respectively, by a combined total of almost 20 lengths, quickened effortlessly into a three-length lead leaving the half-mile.

She was five lengths clear coming off the final bend and it was approaching the final furlong that Dawkins roused her for the first time in the race. He never used the whip once and hinted in the winners’ enclosure that we have not yet seen the best of the filly.

“From I left the starting gate I was very comfortable. She has a lot more (in the tank),” said the 28-year-old Dawkins, whose previous best finish in a Classic was second in the 2000 Guineas two years ago aboard Mahogany.

Atomica’s eight-furlong clocking shaved 2/5ths of a second off Thornbird’s 1984 mark of 1:37 and 2/5ths.

The win was Subratie’s third in the 1000 Guineas after Niphal in 2011 and Nuclear Affair in 2016 and he appeared to embrace the Triple Crown bid with the longer St Leger (10 furlongs) and Derby (12 furlongs) to come. “Every distance she goes she wins further away, so it is showing she will go the distance,” Subratie said, supported by owner Don Wehby.

“Based on what I saw today, I would love to go in the Derby,” Wehby said.

By Nuclear Wayne out of the Reparations mare Honkeytonkville, Atomica was winning her fifth race in a row and the champion filly’s breeder Karl Samuda, a current Government minister, believes they have hit the jackpot with her breeding.

“Her mother, the dam line is both speed and journey. Now we combine that with Nuclear Wayne, who also has speed and distance so it’s two great factors that collide in one animal and that’s why she is so great,” said Samuda, Jamaica’s Minister of Labour and Social Security.

Supreme Ventures Racing and Entertainment Limited (SVREL), operators of Caymanas Park, is in mourning at the passing of industry stalwart Christopher Armond. The iconic former commentator turned administrator died on Wednesday after a short illness at the age of 67.

SVREL Chairman Solomon Sharpe was naturally saddened by the passing of the man whom he considered a dear friend.

 “I have many fond memories of working with Chris from the early days and was always impressed by his vast knowledge,” Sharpe said.

“He has done so much for Caymanas Park and the horseracing industry in general. I offer my condolences to his family and friends. He will be greatly missed.”  

Armond, who was the Director of Racing at Supreme Ventures Racing and Entertainment Limited (SVREL) enjoyed an illustrious career spanning more than 40 years and was held as the standard for horse race commentary throughout the region.

In 1984, he was awarded the Press Association of Jamaica (PAJ) Golden Microphone Award for his commentary. Armond also commentated in Detroit, Michigan and served as an administrator in Trinidad & Tobago and Barbados.

“For many Jamaicans, Armond is the voice of horseracing,” SVREL said in a statement Wednesday.

“From 1975 to 1985, Chris Armond established a new level of excitement and accuracy in race commentary with his distinguished vocal delivery. He provided colourful commentary in his distinctive voice, bringing horseracing into homes across the island.

“Even today, he remains the gold standard of commentating in the industry, not just locally but also for fans overseas.”

In addition to Armond’s iconic commentary, he also served as an administrator in the industry for many years and was inducted into the Hall of Fame of Thoroughbred Racing in June 2017 under the category of “Other Racing Personalities”.

It was seemingly natural for Christopher Joseph Armond to have a professional life as part of the racing industry. His father, Joseph, a Hall of Fame inductee, was co-managing director of Caymanas Park Limited, and his grandfather Altamont was the founder of the promoting company, Jamaica Turf Club. Armond carried on this family legacy and served as Director of Racing until his retirement on Sunday, December 27, 2020.

“Armond has left an indelible legacy in the sport of horseracing. His accomplishments are insurmountable and his contribution to the sport will never be diminished,” SVREL’s statement said.

“Our thoughts are with his family and dear friends during this difficult time.”

Noted racing administrator and commentator Chris Armond has died after an extended battle with illness.

Armond, who was 67, was one of regional horse racing’s premier executives and served the sport in various capacities for some 40 years before retiring in 2020.

Armond, who followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather as a racing administrator, first shot to prominence as a commentator in the late 1970s.  Rated as one of the best in the business he was awarded the Press Association of Jamaica (PAJ) Golden Microphone award in 1984.

Armond went on to have a commentary stint in Detroit, Michigan before heading into administration.  During his time as an administrator, Armond served as Director of Racing at Supreme Ventures Racing and Entertainment Limited (SVREL), in his home country Jamaica, Executive Officer of the Arima Race Club in Trinidad, and a chief executive at the Barbados Turf club for eight years.  Armond was celebrated for longstanding service at a ceremony, at Jamaica’s Caymanas Park in December 2020.

Supreme Ventures Racing and Entertainment Limited today signed a historic agreement establishing themselves, along with Trinidad’s Arima Racetrack, as the first two Caribbean Track and Pool Operators to participate in The Caribbean Pool. 

The Caribbean Pool is a Caribbean inter-island commingling platform that allows for Caribbean Tote operators to bet into each other, thereby creating bigger pools, bigger profits for its member partners, and most importantly, bigger payouts to its punters. 

The Pool will also facilitate greater cooperation and participation between the Caribbean Pool Operators with the aim of growing local racing both regionally and internationally.

 Chairman of SVL Gary Peart outlined what this agreement means for the company. 

“As we have been able to do for many of our other SVL brands, our goal for SVREL in 2022 is to continue our revenue growth through local, regional and international expansion. The Caribbean Pool aligns perfectly with our vision for the company and as such we are happy to participate as lead partner,” he said. 

With the two largest regional racetracks onboard and an expectation that the Barbados Turf Club will sign on as early as January 2022 and the Royal St Lucia Turf Club joining in as soon as they resume racing in 2022, the Caribbean Pool is set to delight Caribbean racing fans. 

Founder of The Caribbean Pool Kimani Robinson of the Kisero Group also reacted to the agreement.

 “Our vision was to create a new and exciting regional simulcast portal that would generate greater returns for the Caribbean track and pool operators as well as their punters,” Robinson added. 

Robinson, who noted that he first discussed the idea with SVL’s Chairman Peart where both men hammered out the constructs of the legal and technical structure required to make the platform a reality, added that regional merging is the future of horse racing in the Caribbean. 

“Regional commingling is the future of Caribbean horse racing. A regionally commingled platform will create greater relevance and awareness for the sport which means greater economic benefits for all. There is no reason why the Caribbean Pool shouldn’t replicate for horse racing what West Indies Cricket did for regional cricket,” he said. 

In terms of awareness, The Caribbean Pool has formed an alliance with the perfect regional media partners, the Caribbean's Home of Champions, SportsMax, who have agreed to become the home of all things Caribbean Pool and Caribbean Horse Racing.  

SportsMax CEO Nicolas Matthews confirmed that “racing fans will be in for a treat as SportsMax beefs up its Caribbean horse racing coverage via the Caribbean Pool. Given our regional strength, especially in the participating Caribbean Pool countries being contemplated and our ambition of providing our audiences with more of what they want, the Caribbean Pool is a perfect fit for us”. 

Along with coverage on their linear channels SportsMax and SportsMax2, SportsMax will include a dedicated channel within the SportsMax App called "SportsMax Racing" that will provide most of the Caribbean Pool’s racing content. 

“Our team has worked side by side with the Kisero Group for months in making the Caribbean Pool a reality,” commented SVREL CEO Lorna Gooden. 

“We are aggressively on a growth path for 2022 and though we have made significant headway in simulcasting our content internationally, we believe that regional growth for us will be faster and more responsive due to existing familiarity,” Gooden added, before expanding further on what the agreement demonstrates. 

“This agreement is a further demonstration of the commitment and drive of the Board and management at Caymanas Park to expand the product offering available to our punters, to promote and establish Caymanas Park as the horseracing mecca of the Caribbean,” she said. 

The Caribbean Pool is set to start in short order and is hoping to get all clearances and approvals granted for a soft launch over the Christmas holidays.

Veteran jockey Shane Ellis stylishly completed his 21st Classic triumph as the unfancied colt Calculus swept to a commanding upset win in Saturday’s Jamaica St Leger in his first run for trainer Gary Subratie.

The 4-5 favourite Miniature Man was a disappointing sixth as Calculus rebounded from a seventh-place finish in the early June 2000 Guineas to land the Betmakers JA$4.5 Million (US$30,126) St Leger by 6-3/4 lengths. He scored at 7-1 odds and handed Trinidadian owner Chevan Maharaj his second St Leger win at Caymanas Park in three years.

As Ellis surged to his fifth St Leger success and trainer Subratie his second in a row, the 3-2 second favourite Further and Beyond was second and the Fillies Guineas winner She’s a Wonder (9-2) third a further length and a quarter behind.

“Number five is very very sweet,” said Ellis after triumphantly reuniting with Maharaj, whose colt Supreme Soul had given the ex-champion jockey his first Triple Crown victory in 2019.

It was Ellis’s first race aboard Calculus as the colt, bred by Sensational Slam out of the Bernardini mare Trinket, recorded his third win from eight lifetime starts.

Out of the starting gates, the 2000 Guineas champion Miniature Man cruised out of the three-box to lead and went to the mile pole in front, chased by the 93-1 outsider Simba the Lion and last year’s champion two-year-old Further and Beyond.

Ellis made a sharp move forward leaving the six-furlong marker and in a flash had surged from seventh to fourth on the heels of the front running trio.

Calculus and Further and Beyond quickened away from a fading Miniature Man for a duel leaving the half-mile while She’s a Wonder accelerated into a challenging third position coming off the final bend.

Ellis was off the rail as he engaged reigning co-champion jockey Dane Nelson aboard Further and Beyond on his outside while She’s a Wonder darted to the rail for her homestretch challenge.

The battle was brief as Calculus responded to a few left-handed cracks of the whip and pulled clear for the big win that Ellis thinks makes him favourite for the August 6 Jamaica Derby.

“He’ll be the one to beat for sure,” said Ellis, who already has five Derby wins.

Calculus clocked two minutes 08 and 4/5ths of a second for the 10-furlong trip.

“It feels very good, I love my fans because they know when it comes to big races, Shane Ellis is the man,” added the 47-year-old who also won St Leger races aboard Typewriter (2012), Relampago (2014), Marquesas (2018) and Supreme Soul two years ago.

Subratie, who won last year’s St Leger with 31-1 outsider Nipster, only took charge of Calculus – coming from the Anthony Nunes stables -- in recent weeks. The colt arrived at his stables on June 7 when Maharaj purchased him from another T&T owner Shivam Maharaj.

In spite of Calculus’s failure to win from three starts since his Sir Howard Stakes Guineas prep victory in mid-March, Subratie said he anticipated a strong St Leger effort.

“I expected him to run very well because he has beaten those horses, some of them before. He had some issues, it took a couple of weeks to kind of figure it out,” Subratie said, adding that Calculus will be the horse to beat in the Derby. “Most definitely he just showed it.”

Jamaica’s Minister of Sports Olivia Grange and the State Minister Alando Terrelonge, have expressed sadness at the death of veteran racehorse trainer Wayne DaCosta who died today after battling the Covid-19 virus for the past few weeks.

He was admitted to the hospital in intensive care in February.

A major player in Jamaica’s horseracing industry for more than four decades, DaCosta won 18 trainer’s titles at Caymanas Park, the most ever by any trainer in Jamaica.

His death cast a pall over the country’s sporting fraternity including Minister Grange.

"I join with the family, the racehorse industry, and wider national sports family in mourning the passing of trainer, Wayne DaCosta. We had been praying for his full recovery and I had heard through his son, Jason, that Wayne was regaining his strength; so I was shocked to receive this very sad news today,” Jamaica’s Sports Minister said.

“Wayne DaCosta served horseracing with distinction. His contribution has been mammoth and his impact will continue to be felt for a long time.  Wayne DaCosta is simply one of the greatest trainers that Jamaica has produced and he quite rightly won the trainers’ title a record 18 times. If horseracing is indeed the sport of kings, then Wayne wore his crown with distinction.

“I offer deepest condolences to his widow, his children, and other members of the family.  I ask that we keep them in our prayers at this time.”

Terrelonge, the Member of Parliament for the constituency where Caymanas Park is located in St Catherine, was equally moved by the news.

“The King is dead. But long shall his legacy live,” he said.

“I am deeply saddened by the passing of stalwart trainer and 18-time champion racehorse trainer, Wayne DaCosta. My heartfelt condolences to his family and the racing community.

“The sport of kings will never be the same without the majestic contribution of this giant of a man. He gifted us the likes of the unforgettable She’s A Man Eater and Stranger Danger who have decorated and electrified horse-racing in Jamaica.

“The track at Caymanas, located in my constituency of East Central St Catherine, is where I had the privilege of meeting and getting to know Mr DaCosta. The constituency will be forever in his debt for helping to provide jobs and a livelihood to many residents.”

He continued: “We mourn this tremendous loss to the racing community but are encouraged that his legacy will endure for generations to come. I join with the family, the racehorse industry, and wider national sports family in mourning the passing of trainer, Wayne DaCosta.”

Veteran Jamaican racehorse trainer Wayne DaCosta, who was hospitalized in February, has died.

For an outsider looking in, it would appear top jockey George HoSang was living the dream, in the 1970s, dominating his sport at a young age had afforded him luxuries many at the time dared only dream of.

On the inside looking out, however, Hosang’s battle to hold steady reins during a tumultuous period, not only for Jamaica's top race track Caymanas Park, but the country on a whole, more closely resembled the stuff of vivid nightmares.

Unfortunately, in addition to being handsomely paid for booting home, at times, a seemingly endless caravan of winners, his rewards also included threats at gunpoint, verbal abuse from the stands, and even kidnapping, as part of painstaking efforts to navigate a system rife with corruption.  In the end, it simply proved too much.  This is his story.

#Editor’s note

The following podcast contains brief instances of explicit language.  We, however, felt it appropriate to give HoSang the opportunity to air an unfiltered account of the horrific instances of abuse he suffered during the period and found it to be an integral part of his story.