Champions, trainer John O’Brien and jockey Dillon Khelawan, both maintained their stranglehold on the local racing scene when they won three of the six races which were contested at Santa Rosa Park in Arima on Labour Day, observed on Friday.
The first to get into the winner’s enclosure was the well-backed favourite Bourbon Blitz who made it look easy as he quickened away from his rivals in the second event to win eased down by 1 1/4 lengths.
Three-year-old Sydney another from the O’Brien’s barn made it two wins from two races with an impressive victory in the third event. She pulled well clear of Red Alert to win by 7 1/2 lengths. She will now go for the second jewel of local racing Triple Crown, the Midsummer Classic.
Better was yet to come and the performance of Soca Ecstacy was impressive. She made virtually all the running in the fourth event and hammered a good field by 16 1/4 lengths. She was well thought of and has continued to improve. Her next mandate will be taking on the “King” and unbeaten three-year-old Headliner in the Midsummer Classic.
However, in the fifth event, the talented Have A Great Day was stopped by the 2024 Midsummer Classic winner Forever Grand. Have A Great Day looked set to win but once Tristan Phillips got Forever Grand going on the sloppy main track, he motored past Have A Great Day for a superb success. Last year, he was trained by O’Brien and is now trained by Ramesh Ramroop. That was Phillips’ second winner of the day.
The feature event was robbed of much interest when the Glenn Mendez-trained Kitten With A Whip was pulled out of the event. This made the event an easy assignment for the Striking Chrome but C’est La Vie had other ideas. Phillip quickly took the lead and though favourite, Striking Chrome challenged he could get to the winner who stayed on strongly to the end.
The day’s best performers were Khelawan and O’Brien, who each had three winners.
Racing takes a break and returns on August 1 (Emancipation Day), for the second jewel of local racing’s Triple Crown the Midsummer Classic over 1,900 metres on the turf course.
ARC DAY 6 RESULTS
R1: MODIFIED BENCHMARK HANDICAP - 3 YO AND OVER HORSE RATED 30-0 - 1,200M - $16,837
1 3 Twitter King J Stephen 57
2 5 Mona Lisa D Khelawan 58
3 2 Dreamcatcher T Phillips 57.5
4 1 Pure Strike J Boodramsingh 50.0
TIME: 1:17.2.2 DISTANCES: 1/2, 6 1/2, 12 3/4, 8
$1 PARI WIN: (3) $5.00
EXACTA: $5.55
TRIFECTA: $16.10
Winner: 8 yo BH Adore The Gold/Kisilano (Tapit)
OWNER: Keith Lucas TRAINER: Keith Lucas
BREEDER: Poon Tip Stud Farm Limited
ALSO RAN: 5. Capital Tee S Sooknan 52
R2: NATIVE BRED 3 YO MAIDENS - 1,200M - $16,837
1 (1) Bourbon Blitz D Khelawan 57.5
2 (4) Valiante R Jadoo 57
3 (2) Free Pass N Abrego 57.5
4 (3) Crystal Alert N Mohammed 54
TIME: 1:23.4 DISTANCES: 1 1/4, 4 1/4, 2 3/4, 10 1/4
$1 PARI:(1) $1.90; $1.05; (4)$1.10
EXACTA:$3.70
TRIFECTA:$4.25
SUPERFECTA:$7.70
WINNER: 3 yo CH C J’ouvert/Blue Bayou (Blue Pepsi Lodge)
OWNER: Goodfellow Stable TRAINER: John O’Brien
BREEDER: John O’Brien, Neil Poon Tip and Gerry Harding
R3: MODIFIED BENCHMARK HANDICAP - 3 YO AND OVER HORSES RATED 35-0 - 1,100M - $16,837
1 (6) Sydney D Khelawan 55
2 (1) Red Alert R Jadoo 58.5
3 (5) Miss Sunak R Jadoo 56.5
4 (3) Uncle Ben N Abrego 57
TIME: 1:08.19 DISTANCES: 7 1/2, 3/4, 6 3/4, 5, 5
$1 PARI: (6) $1.55; $1.25; (1) $1.15
EXACTA:$4.60
TRIFECTA:$4.40
SUPERFECTA:$12.40
WINNER: 3 yo DK B F J’ouvert/Blind Date (Gold Market)
OWNER: Therbhuman Jagdeo TRAINER:John O’Brien
BREEDER: Paradise Farms Limited
ALSO RAN: 5. Dusty Rose S Sookhan 49; 6. Unbelievable J Boodramsingh 55.
R4: MODIFIED BENCHMARK HANDICAP - 3 YO AND OVER HORSES RATED 40-25 - 1,350M $16,837
1 (4) Soca Ecstacy D Khelawan 55.5
2 (3) The Falcon T Phillips 57
3 (1) Prince Connor J Stephen 58.5
4 (2) Creme De La Creme R Jadoo 57.5
TIME: 1:24.0 DISTANCES: 16 1/4, 1/2, 4 3/4, 2,
$1 PARI: (4) $1.45; $1.30; (3) $2.40
EXACTA:$40.20
TRIFECTA:$35.50
SUPERFECTA:$106.70
WINNER: 3 yo DK B F - Saint Vigeur/Soca Rhapsody (Market Rally)
OWNER: Lester Moore TRAINER: J O’Brien
BREEDER: Lester Moore
R5: MODIFIED BENCHMARK HANDICAP - 3 YO AND OVER HORSES RATED 40-25 - 1,350M $16,837
1 (3) Forever Grand T Phillips 58.5
2 (4) Have A Great Day R Jadoo 49.5
4 (1) Supreme Leader N Mohammed 49.5
3 (6) Little Lady D Khelawan 58.5
TIME:1:14.44 DISTANCES: 1, 1 1/4, 3/4, 7 1/4
$1 PARI: (4) $4.05; $1.00 (3) $1.00
EXACTA:$7.55
TRIFECTA:$21.55
SUPERFECTA:$30.45
WINNER: 4 yo CH C Saint Viguer/Grand Riviere (A Great Team)
OWNER: The Stranger TRAINER: Ramesh Ramroop
BREEDER: Poon Tip Stud Farm
ALSO RAN: 5. Showtime J Stephen 49.5; NON-RUNNER:(3) Schwarzenegger
R6: MODIFIED BENCHMARK HANDICAP - 3 YO & OVER HORSES RATED 70 - 55 - 1,350M $21.429
1 2 C’est La Vie T Phillips 55.0
2 4 Striking Chrome J Stephen 57.5
3 5 Princess Royal N Mohammed 52.0
4 1 Uncle Rog R Jadoo 52.0
TIME: 1:24.1 DISTANCES: 2 1/2, 3, 6
Win Only: (2) $2.45
WINNER: 7 yo M- Signal Alert/Sound Barrier (Private Banker)
OWNER: D & Dr Stable TRAINER: Jimmy Rampersad
BREEDER: Paradise Farms Limited
ALSO RAN: NON-RUNNER: (3) Kitten With A Whip
