The current top four trainers Anthony Nunes, Wayne DaCosta, Gary Subratie, and Patrick Lynch dominated proceedings on the opening day for the LASCO Distributors Limited-sponsored Superstakes weekend of racing, winning nine out of the 10 races.

Nunes and Lynch led the group with three winners each, while Subratie had two winners and DaCosta managed only one.

Nunes won the fourth, fifth, and sixth races with She’s Symbolic, Tricky One, and Reassurance, respectively, all groomed by Tamarley Bryan.

Lynch wrapped up the second race with Adoring Lady, the third race with Morning Star and the LASCO Food Drink Caribbean Sprint Championship with Another Bullet.

Subratie’s winners were Wow Wow in the Konka Energy Drink Juvenile Sprint, and Crimson in the very next race, the eighth race.

DaCosta had opened the programme with Radical.

The other trainer to have won a race was Wilfred Chin whose Mother Nature won the ninth event.

Reassurance by a nose

REASSURANCE, under leading rider Christopher Mamdeen, came with a late run in deep stretch and got up in the nick of time to nip Cue Three (Samantha Fletcher) on the wire in the iCool Water event among ($250,000- $200,000) claimers.

Both runners settled in midpack off the pace but Cue Three got the first run on Reassurance coming into the lane and looked all set for the win leaving the furlong (200m) pole when taking over the lead. But Mamdeen kept on riding and Reassurance responded and got up in time.

Concur (Jemar Jackson), who led for most of the way before giving way at the furlong pole, held on for third place with Court Call (Anthony Thomas) back in fourth. The winning time for the seven-furlong (1,400m) event was 1:31.0 minutes

Radical turns around form

AFTER six unplaced runs this season, five-year-old roan gelding Radical turned around his form and easily won the $735,000 LASCO Jack Mackerel Optional Claiming ($350,000-$300,000) event over the five-straight (1,000m) course.

Trained by Wayne DaCosta and ridden by Phillip Parchment, Radical (Fearless Vision – Nistel’s Annette) came running on in the closing stages of the race to win by a length and three quarters in a time of 59.4 seconds.

Smokey Topaz (Daniel Satchell) shot to the early lead at the off and carried the field across the dummy rails before giving way. With this, Sir Frederick (Christopher Mamdeen), Eddie’s Princess (Oneil Mullings) and Radical took up the running with Radical going on to win. Eddie’s Princess was second and Sly Stalloon (Dane Dawkins) in third place.

Rare winner for Douglas Badaloo

JOCKEY Douglas Badaloo scored his second winner for the season when he won aboard the Wilfred Chin-conditioned Mother Nature in the iCool Fruit Punch event for native- bred four-year-old and upward non-winners of two and imported four-year-old and upward maiden.

Going over the distance of six-and-a-half furlongs, Mother Nature (Dodgem – Aoki Lei) was unable to sprint with rivals early and raced among the backmarkers for most of the way, as Blusie (Daniel Satchell) led ahead of Dreamingofanna (Prince Holder) and company.

Mother Nature began to round horses navigating the half-turn turn and by the time the field entered the stretch drive, the four-yearold grey filly surrounded rivals and then had to battle with Treasure Train (Reyan Lewis) to win by a neck in the end. Blusie was third with a final time of 1:23.1 minutes.

Eight horses claimed

EIGHT horses were claimed on the 10-race programme on day one of the two-day Superstakes weekend of racing.

In the first race, Neville Peralto claimed Smokey Topaz for owner Karen Parsard for $350,000 from Anthony Nunes; Dennis Lee claimed Formal Justice for owner Faye Lee for $350,000 from Ryan Darby, and Fitzgerald Richards claimed Radical for owner Vincent Maine.

Stanislaus was claimed from Gregory Forsyth for $450,000 by Edward Hamilton for owner Denrick Chambers from the second race.

In the sixth race, Donovan Plummer claimed Court Call from Michael Francis for owner Deleta Brewster; Steadman Curtis claimed Concur from Steven Todd for owner Donovan Russell; Edward Hamilton claimed Reassurance from Anthony Nunes for owner Junior Golden; and Kingsley Davis claimed Samora from Donovan Plummer for owner Donovan Hutchinson. All horses were claimed for $250,000.