CLASSIC Beau went from gate to wire in heavy underfoot conditions to win the $715,000 Jamaica Racehorse Owners’ Association Trophy feature at Caymanas Park yesterday.

Earlier, Frankenstorm, a 1-2 favourite ridden by Omar Walker for trainer Anthony Nunes, won the secondary $715,000 Andrew HB Aguilar Memorial Cup.

A maiden special weight contest for native-bred two-year-olds upward, Frankenstorm ran 1,600 metres in 1:42.2 to beat the 7-1 bet, Nobody But Me, ridden by Muir for trainer Philip Feanny, by half-a-length.

Go Go Train, who dictated the early fractions, was third under Richard Mitchell, while the 4-1 betting option, Best Flyer, ridden by claiming apprentice Ruja Lahoe, completed the frame in the field of nine.

Eleven runners were declared, but the early favourite Agakhan and Summer Haze were scratched at the gate.

Classic Beau, a 14-1 chance, ridden by jockey Clive Lynch for trainer Joseph M Durrant, ran 2,000m in 2:09.3 to upset the 6-5 favourite, American-bred colt Mikenificent, ridden by leading jockey Dane Nelson, by five lengths. It was the fourth win of the season for the dark bay horse from 17 starts.

It was a victory most pleasing to Durrant.

“I got this horse as a claimer but saw that it had the ability to win Overnight Allowance and began to train him for this race.

“I then put him in a 1,200m race as a prep last week and he showed me signs that he will be cherry ripe for this race, so I put him in and asked the jockey to put him in front and let him run because I did not want to take the chance for fear that coming from behind he might not like mud in his face.

“The plan worked, for he did not disappoint. What was also pleasing is that this horse loves wet underfoot conditions and rain began to fall just before the race began,” Durrant said.

Prince Rohan, the 9-1 shot ridden by Aaron Chatrie, who was never worse than third as Mikenificent and Mucho Gusto, ridden by the claiming apprentice Marc Griffiths, dictated the early fraction of 24.2,49.2, 1:14.1, 1:41.3, finished in that position as he was run out of the runners-up slot close home by a short head as Mikenificent came calling with a rush in the final stages.

There Goes Justin, well supported as a 2-1 bet while on the hunt for consecutive wins, completed the frame under the claiming apprentice Shameree Muir in the field of nine in the penultimate race of the day.

Muir eventually won the $715,000 Track Price Plus “Dig-Out Handicap” Race #17 to join fellow claiming apprentice Renardo McNaughton at the top of the Apprentices’ Standings with 14 wins.

Owned by Evangeline Livingston, Classic Beau, a six-year-old dark bay horse by Western Classic out of She Knows Beau (Beau Genius) and bred by Paul Chen, was winning for the 10th time from 71 career starts and earned $390,400 as the winner’s share for earnings totalling $5,734,300 lifetime.