If ever there were doubts about Blue Vinyl’s readiness for the major events at the backend of the season, those would have been erased, as the four-year-old colt threw down the gauntlet with an impressive 21-length win in the Mark My Word trophy feature at Caymanas Park on Saturday.

Piloted by Javaniel Patterson, Blue Vinyl, last year’s 2000 Guineas and St Leger winner, demonstrated his usual class in a bold front-running effort on this occasion which crippled rivals in the three-year-olds and upwards Open Allowance contest over nine furlongs and 25 yards (1,820m).

Now conditioned by Alford Brown, the Bern Identity -Bluefield progeny made it two wins in three starts for the trainer and third in four starts this season.

With the expected pacesetter I Realise scratched from the initial six-horse event, it was left for Blue Vinyl to dictate terms and the M.N.M Racing Stables-owned charge duly obliged.

Patterson got Blue Vinyl put well from the wide number six draw and the two comfortably laid the fractions with Outbidder (Phillip Parchment) in tow for most of the way.

However, when Blue Vinyl gradually injected some tempo leaving the half-mile and later powered home under a strong hand ride, it was D Head Cornerstone (Dane Dawkins) that finished best for the runner up spot. Miniature Man (Reyan Lewis) and Outbidder, completed the frame.

Blue Vinyl won in a decent 1:54.2 after splits of 27.1, 52.2, 1:17.2 and 1:41.1.

Brown expects nothing but the best from his charge going forward with the lucrative Mouttet Mile being his main target.

“It was very impressive and going forward now, the sky is the limit," Brown declared. 

"We are preparing for the Mouttet Mile, that is the main goal so from here on it is just about keeping him sound and healthy and then we will see what happens.

“It is a possibility we might run him in the Jamaica Cup, but we have to see how he comes out of this one first. But we want to take it one day at a time," the trainer added.

Meanwhile, trainer Gary Griffiths and jockeys Raddesh Roman and Tevin Foster all won two races each on the nine-race card.

Griffiths saddled Exotic Light ridden by Devon A Thomas in the fifth race and the Foster-partnered Digital Light in the eighth event. Foster also won aboard the Fitzgerald-conditioned Sir John in the last race.

Roman’s winners were Rohan Kabir in the opening event for trainer Oral Hayden and Dale Murphy's Bella Bella in the sixth.

Racing continues on Sunday.

 

Starting the day on 99 wins, jockey Raddesh Roman would have been brimming with confidence that his 100th career win would come on Saturday's 10-race card at Caymanas Park, and so it did, as he guided favourite Runaway Algo to an easy triumph in the She's A Maneater feature.

Perfectly placed in the early stages of the one-mile (1,600m) contest, the Dale Murphy-conditioned Runaway Algo surged through approaching the half-mile and later coasted to a comfortable eight-length win in the three-year-olds and upward Graded Stakes/Open Allowance event, at odds of 3-5.

While Roman, who started his riding career in 2018, celebrated the milestone, he also beamed about the fact that it was a third consecutive win aboard the Lanmark Farms-owned American-bred charge, who again demonstrated his class among his peers.

Running from the number one draw in the six-horse field, Runaway Algo, a four-year-old colt by Algorithms-Misunify, was uncharacteristically slow out the blocks, allowing the Jason DaCosta pair of Outbidder (Jordan Barrett) and joint favourite I am Fred (Reyan Lewis) to dictate terms in the early exchanges. 

In fact, at that point, it seemed the usual cat-mouse tactics of the DaCosta stables would again be on show, but it proved futile on this occasion, as Roman sensed the ploy and soon forced his way between the two to assume the ascendancy. 

So confident was the Roman that he even glanced across at Lewis aboard I am Fred, as he went through, almost indicating that the race was all but done and dusted from there, as he moved two lengths clear.

As they approached the homestretch, Lewis rallied with a challenge on the outside but by the time the straightened and Roman released the reins on Runaway Algo, the fleet-footed footed colt went about business to secure the lion's share of the $1.75 million purse for his connections.

He completed the distance in a time of 1:38.0, behind splits of 24.2, 46.4 and 1:11.3.

I Am Fred and stablemate Outbidder stayed on for second and third respectively, with D Head Cornerstone (Sadiki Blake) in fourth.

"I am pleased and very proud of myself, it took a lot of hard work to get here, and I am just hoping there will be many more wins to come. I am just going to remain focus and continue putting in the hard work hard," Roman said in a post-race interview.

Meanwhile, trainer Howard Jaghai also registered his 100th career win courtesy of Premier Identity in the sixth event.

Premier Identity was also one of three winners for jockey Tevin Foster, who was the pick of his peers on the day. Foster's other winners were Buckaluck in the third event for trainer Adrian Prince and the Anthony Nunes-trained Milos in the ninth race.

 

Racing continues on Sunday with another 10-race card.

 

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