The decades of the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s were golden years for stayers in T&T. As a result of the significant investments made by individuals such as the late Nazir Ahamad, the Scott Family, and the late Roland Khan the racing public was gifted with the likes of Call to Account, Teufel, Windy Hill, Native Idol, Ackstatic, Sonata, and Handy Sinner.
Most of these top stayers were sent to trainer Eric Colt Durant, although his arch-rival Joe Hadeed was never totally undone in the staying events. Over the years 1970 to 1993, Durant and Hadeed won 13 of 23 Gold Cups with Hadeed just shading Durant, seven wins to six. Durant's winners were Penny Opera, Carpetmonger, Windy Hill, Ackstatic, Sonata and Panama Pete. Hadeed won the event with Traveller, Madness, Frisky Wharf, Jarrovian, Haber, the creole Tune in Time and Native Idol.
Durant's stayers virtually dominated the mid-season top class staying events. These events were mostly handicaps and so the A class stayers usually had to give out weight to their lower weighted rivals in the biggest race of them all, the Gold Cup. This phenomenon, allied to a trend of importing high class animals into the island in the latter part of the year with resultant lower ratings (B and C class), handed a significant weight advantage to some horses, a weight advantage that was exploited by many winners of the Cup.
This advantage was facilitated by the presence of many lightweight but excellent riders, the most successful of whom was Hasim Rasul, a jockey who secured a hattrick of Gold Cup wins from 1975 to 1977 for three different trainers including Durant (Carpetmonger) and Hadeed (Madness), his other winner was aboard Roche Noire for Elton Harper. Each of these horses carried less than 49k. Khan's striking grey Teufel, an American bred colt, burst onto the scene with some devastating performances over a distance of ground. Injury prevented this colt from fulfilling his potential on the local track, but his name still conjures images of grandeur.
The other runner I would put into this category is Conrad Awai's Ubique. Another American bred, he was wonderfully consistent with a number of top class staying wins to his name and a few placed efforts in Gold Cups during a period spanning 1984 to 1987. We must also add Daring Dan, who began his Caribbean career in Barbados and was exported to T&T. Daring Dan was an out and out stayer and one of the staying races that I will always remember was the stretch battle between himself and another great who never won a Gold Cup, Qui Va La, in Marabella.
These two battled for the entire length of the straight and Qui Va La prevailed by a short head. Greys such as Quain, Deadly Sin, Madness, Please Yourself, and Druimfada also brought joy to turfites. Deadly Sin would sit at the rear of the field before coming with a withering run. Madness, on her day was a match for any stayer in the country with her stalking style. The 1978 Gold Cup in which she was bidding to follow up her 1977 victory will always be one of the sadder moments on the track.
After thinking she had won, having seen a big grey flash past me in the straight at the Savannah, the agony of learning that she had in fact fallen fatally was tragic. That big grey was in fact Please Yourself. Jarrovian's spectacular finish to nail Call to Account on the line in 1987 Gold Cup was phenomenal. Call to Account's runaway win the previous year, and Native Idol's runaway win in 1993 exceeded anything either had done before or after their Gold Cup successes.
Both runners were owned by Roland Khan. Windy Hill's longevity and versatility that saw him competing successfully at the highest level also stands out.
One horse who would rival Windy Hill, but who never won a Gold Cup, was Sir Ellis Clarke's wonderful grey Clown Prince. He could be relied upon to run his race over a variety of distances and was second to Please Yourself under top weight in Madness' ill fated Gold Cup and third in that year's Steward's Cup having been second in the Steward's Cup in the previous year. The 1984 Gold Cup winner Splendid Peak was also a crowd favourite and very versatile having been narrowly denied a Stewards Cup/Gold Cup double by a short head. Also falling into the Sprinter/Stayer category was Bold Lewis.
Twice second in the Stewards Cup in the early 1980s, Bold Lewis became the first Trinidad owned runner to win the Cockspur Gold Cup in Barbados, when he scored a resounding victory in its first ever running in 1982. Trinidad runners would only win the event on two other occasions with Gold Cup winners Frisky Wharf (1985) and Call to Account (1988) adding this country's name to its roll of honour.
