While Anthony Nunes is pleased with last Saturday’s performance of his first-time runner Patriarch, he is expressing strong concerns about the handling of his two-year-old bay colt by the starting gate crew after his charge got injured in the starting gates.

Ridden by Dick Cardenas, Patriarch ( Casual Trick – Electrifying) trounced his maiden native-bred two-year-old rivals over the five-furlong (1000m) straight course, winning by 10 lengths over Alexandra (Oneil Mullings) and So Smooth (Odeen Edwards). The final time done for the race was an impressive 58.3 seconds after Patriarch ran blistering splits of 22.3 and 45.3 seconds.

“I am very pleased with the performance by Patriarch. The win was expected and he certainly delivered. However, I am not pleased that he [ Patriarch] was almost crushed in the starting gates over foolishness.

“Why do we have the babies [two-year-olds] in the starting gates for so long? That makes no sense to me. Hopefully he comes out of this race alright, but I don’t know how badly he has hurt his mouth. He is bleeding right now,” an angry Nunes told The Supreme Racing Guide.

Despite the starting gate injury, Patriarch went straight to the lead under a tight hold from Cardenas. He stayed with rivals for the first two furlongs (400m) before taking control of the race, when he began to open up on the field passing the dummy rails.

Guided by the jockey’s hands and knees, Patriarch continued to accelerate, increasing his stride to the winning post to open his win account.

Although the opposition that Patriarch faced was not the best of the juvenile crop thus far, it was a victory which was indicative of a talented horse with much more scope for improvement. Only time will tell, but racing fans should keep their eyes firmly fixed and follow the progress of Patriarch.

“Yeah, time will tell. To be honest, Patriarch didn’t run against any real threat today. He is a nice colt, but we still have a long way to go. Hopefully he will be around for the Supreme Ventures races when they start next month,” Nunes said.

Cardenas, who was merely a pilot aboard Patriarch, said that he really had nothing else to do but steer the far-striding colt to victory.

“This is really a very nice horse in the making. He has been working really good going into the race and has lived up to expectations. In my view, based on how he felt and the performance, he is going to be a stakes horse,” Cardenas declared.