Horse racing is the bread and butter of most youngsters who live in the Portmore area of St Catherine, mainly Waterford and Gregory Park, which are both a stone’s throw away from the Caymanas Park Racing Complex.

It is therefore not surprising that most of the exercise riders, jockeys, and caregivers for horses such as grooms and stable hands hail from these neighbouring communities.

The real glamour of the sport, however, is in becoming a jockey. Three of today’s leading riders at the Park – Omar Walker, Shane Ellis, and Dane Nelson – live in Portmore in close proximity to Caymanas Park.

Most courageous young lads whose weight ranges between 75 and 120 lb cherish the ambition of becoming a jockey.

One such is exercise rider Anthony Radcliffe, who has visions of making it into the racing industry as a jockey.

With just his first ride in the Supreme Ventures Racing and Entertainment Limited (SVREL) Exercise Riders’ race, Radcliffe showed his skill when he piloted Warrior Princess to victory by a neck over Awesome Cat, under Christopher Mamdeen, who had a nose on Court Call with Oshane Nugent up. Warrior Princess is trained by Marlon Anderson.

When asked how he felt to have won his first race in a profession that he loves and one to which he has devoted most of his time, Radcliffe was initially at a loss for words. After regaining his composure, the young rider summed up his feelings as follows:

“Frankly, I have never done this before, and to describe my feelings would be a bit difficult. This is the first time I am getting this experience. I know that I am pleased with the result, but I will have to do this again to get a true measure of what I am capable of if I want to become a jockey.

“Most of what I feel is an encouragement to pursue my dream of becoming a capable rider,” said the former student of White Marl Junior High School.

Having been in the game for a while, Radcliffe said that this opportunity is just the beginning of his dream to become a racehorse jockey.

“I am from Waterford, St Catherine, and my dream is to become a rider. I made every effort to try to get the connections of this horse to give me this ride to show my talent…[to show] that I needed this ride more than anything else because I have been in this game for more than five years now, and this is the first time I was given the opportunity to ride in a race. So what I did was an example to show what I can do, and I thank the connections for this opportunity,” he told the Supreme Racing Guide .