Seeking My Dream — winner of the first two Diamond Mile races
The first staging of the US$115,000 Diamond Mile took place at Caymanas Park in 2015. The first winner of the Graded Stakes event for three-year-olds and upward was Seeking My Dream ( Seeking The Glory – Alsafra ), owned by Derrick Smith, trained by Wayne DaCosta, ridden by Omar Walker, and groomed by Linval McFarlane.
The win by Seeking My Dream was achieved by a scintillating surge of speed, leaving the three-furlong (600m) marker after Walker waited as Fortuneonehundred (Orlando Foster) and Uppa Tune (Dane Nelson) were engaged in a blistering duel on the headlines, setting almost suicidal splits of 23.1 seconds for the first quarter, and 44.3 seconds for the half mile.
Unperturbed, Walker waited. And when he made his move it was clinical, it was pure class, as Seeking My Dream responded, and after making a perfect turn, went by rivals with disdain, to establish an unassailable lead, in the end defeating Typewriter by two and a half lengths in a fast 1:36.2 minutes. Another DaCosta horse, Perfect Neighbour, was third. The time of 1:36.2 minutes remains as the Stakes Record for the event since.
There might have been doubts ahead of the second staging of the Diamond Mile at Caymanas Park in 2016 for Seeking My Dream, who was plagued with injuries, but he again struck ‘diamonds’, making it a perfect two for two for Smith, DaCosta, Walker, and McFarlane.
When the 16 runners got out of the gates on that Saturday, Buzz Nightmare went for the lead with stable companion Campesino nearby along with Jamai Raja. Seeking My Dream was held off the fractions by Walker in mid pack.
The tempo quickened leaving the five-furlong marker as Buzz Nightmare (Shane Ellis) accelerated as Campesino kept tracking with Jamai Raja looking ominously good. Walker kept Seeking My Dream off the pace, inching ever closer without making that final move.
Two and a half furlongs (500m) out, Seeking My Dream moved to the outside as Buzz Nightmare, Campesino, and Jamai Raja entered the straight fighting for ‘diamond’ supremacy. Then in one fell swoop, Seeking My Dream exploded and went by pulling away in emphatic fashion to win going away by five lengths.
Bigdaddykool, who was never with the front-runners, ended in second with Houdini’s Magic third. With splits of 23.4 seconds, 47.0 seconds, and 1:10.4 minutes for a final time of 1:36.2 minutes, Seeking My Dream was able to equal his own Stakes record.
—Ruddy Allen
