A blessing in disguise was how jockey Javaniel Patterson described the win aboard American bred Choo Choo Blue as he brought the four-year-old filly with a crunching run to topple rivals in the 13th running of the Betting Gaming and Lotteries Commission (BGLC) feature on the 10-race Emancipation Day card at Caymanas Park yesterday.

After being given instructions to challenge last year’s Gold Cup winner Buzz Nightmare (Ian Spence up) for the lead, one thing led to another and the young apprentice had to improvise in the 1,100-metre event. Patterson, who was the pick of the jockeys with two winners on the day, brought home the Peter McMaster-trained filly to a half-length win in a tight finish in a good time of 1:06.1 minutes behind splits of 22.2 and 45.1 seconds.

With the talented Buzz Nightmare making his seasonal bow, the anticipation was that the Phillip Feanny-trained charge would immediately return to winning ways despite carrying top weight of 57.0 kg.

However, Patterson, after suffering a setback shortly after an even start, defied the instructions of trainer McMaster and bided his time off the pace, while Buzz Nightmare and Sir Budget (Anthony Thomas up) went at it on the headline leaving the three-furlong marker.

While the leaders locked horns leaving the furlong pole, it was anybody’s guess where the winner would come from. But while they consistently bumped into each other, Choo Choo Blue and Another Bullet (Odeen Edwards astride) came with a late burst on the inside rails to gobble the leaders.

Buzz Nightmare had initially finished third, but was later relegated to fourth behind Sir Budget for intimidation and interference after an inquiry.