WINNIPEG, Manitoba – Jockey Renaldo Cumberbatch captured the feature CAN$40,250 CTHS Sales Stakes with favourite Justlemmeatem for fellow Barbadian, trainer Devon Gittens, but was forced to share honours with T&T’s Sven Balroop who won twice on the seven race card at Assiniboia Downs.
In a six furlong sprint in race three on Monday, the 44-year-old Cumberbatch produced a gate-to-wire effort aboard the bay gelding to edge the two-year-olds by half-length in a time of one minute, 14.52 seconds.
Justlemmeatem was away well from the gates but was always under pressure from 7-1 chance Vindictive Miss, with 19-1 outsider Daisydadoozy and 2-1 bet Commandoslastdance chasing.
Cumberbatch got Justlemmeatem to open at the eighth pole but was then forced to hold off a late charge from Vindictive Miss, ridden by Jamaican Arthur Budhu.
Meanwhile, the 24-year-old Balroop made his mark when he took race one over six furlongs with 8-1 chance Sugar Daddy Jack and race seven over 7-½ furlongs with 10-1 bet Deano.
In the day’s opener, 13-1 bet All Terrain Jane, with Cumberbatch aboard, led through the early fractions before Balroop brought his three-year-old gelding with a strong late run to take up the running at the sixteenth pole and carve out a 1-½ length score over the three-year-olds and upward.
Also up against the three-year-olds and upward in the day’s finale, Balroop stalked pacesetter Rollin Sevens before bringing the seven-year-old gelding Deano to challenge in the stretch, easily getting by to storm to the wire three lengths clear.
(CMC)
