POKER Star returned the smiles to his trainer Wayne DaCosta and his jockey Robert Halledeen after a narrow loss in the Invitational Mile by winning the six-furlong Glen Mills Caribbean Sprint in a devastating sprinting performance.

Halledeen allowed Buzz Nightmare (Ian Spence up) to dominate the early part of the race before asking Poker Star to go in front just after leaving the three-furlong marker. Buzz Nightmare could not keep up with the acceleration of Poker Star, and it was left to Campesino with Winston Griffiths to provide competition for Poker Star.

Campesino did challenge in mid-stretch, but on the day it was not enough as Poker Star was actually moving away to score an emphatic victory in, by far, his most prestigious win to date. Campesino ended in second place with another DaCosta-trained stablemate, All Correct, third.

Poker Star recorded a fast 1:11.0 minutes for six furlongs, winning by three and a quarter lengths and is a three-year-old by Liquidity – Buyabook. He was bred by the YS (1955) Ltd. By winning the Glen Mills Caribbean Sprint, Poker Star became the first of the present three-year-old lot to win at the highest level of racing. He is owned by Alexander Haber.

“Poker Star is a good horse. He is just beginning to really show his ability and this performance allied with a good time is a demonstration of his class,” trainer DaCosta said in his post-race interview.

For Halledeen it was redemption.

“Really good to win after losing in the Invitational Mile, and I was very confident of victory. Poker Star is improving and he ran a superb race today,” the winning jockey said.