Claiming apprentice rider Prince ‘Dagger Man’ Holder went ‘a smokin’ at Caymanas Park yesterday and opened his winning account with a double.

Possibly the shortest man in history to be given the opportunity to become a jockey got off the mark in fine style with a double strike and created what could possibly be a race riding historical fact.

Holder aged 22 who stands at four feet, one inch, had been riding with a fair amount of success and garnered three second-placed finishes, but no winners from 17 career rides, which began on September 8.

He broke the jinx yesterday by winning the two major races on the 10-race card. Holder first booted home the 17-1 chance No Smoking in the $438,000 Monica Todd Memorial Cup fourth race feature then returned later to upset the 6-5 favourite Ministerofjustice in the penultimate $715,000 Overnight Allowance ninth race with the Raymond Townsend-owned and trained Smokin Man at odds of 2-1.

In both instances the stands rose to applaud Holder, who is popular among racing fans, probably because of his uniqueness in height for a jockey. And probably overawed by his double success and left with little time to prepare for his next race made no comment, but the ‘Dagger Man’ promise an interview at some later date.

Also scoring a double, back-to-back, was batchmate Samaree Muir, who scored with The Valedictorian at odds of 5-1 in the second race and in the third with the even money favourite Lovetta Jones for owner/trainer Norman Rose.

Four-time champion jockey Omar Walker continued his good recent form by also posting a double. He opened the programme with the first-time runner and 3-5 favourite Uncle Taf for Owen and Solomon Sharpe and the 9-5 favourite Flutist in the fifth for trainer Patrick Lynch, who was the leading trainer on the programme with two wins. His other win was Perfect Flyer in the sixth ridden by Aaron ‘Ice Man’ Chatrie.