LIGHTNING MCQUEEN STRIKES

Lightning McQueen has been plagued with injuries in recent times but the five-year-old bay horse showed up at the races in impeccable condition to register his third win from five career starts in Sunday’s first over 6 ½ furlongs.

With Orlando Foster riding for owner/trainer Fernando Geddes, Lightning McQueen surged to the lead from the off and never looked back.

Approaching the home bend and despite Foster losing his whip, Lightning McQueen fought off the challenge of Cohete del Exito (Anthony Allen) to win the event by three-parts-of-a length.

Acapella (Christopher Mamdeen), who was outpaced, came with a strong run in deep stretch for third. The final time for the event was 1:22.1 with splits 23.1 x 47.2 x 1:13.3. The win was the first for Geddes and the second for 2020 for Foster.

INNOVATOR COMES GOOD AFTER REST, CHANGE OF EQUIPMENT

The Patrick Lynch-trained Innovator, owned by Oakridge Farms and ridden by Omar Walker, easily won the Optional Claiming ($550,000-$500,000) event over 6 ½ furlongs —his first start in nine months.

Innovator had an equipment change, racing without the tongue tie and figure 8.

The five-year-old grey colt got a good break in third position behind Eddie’s Princess (Samantha Fletcher) and Biblical Legend (Dane Dawkins). Innovator slipped down into second at the half-mile (800m) before taking over from Eddie’s Princess at the top of the lane.

Despite the long break, Innovator showed no sign of being tired, cruising home for the win. Eddie’s Princess finished second and Awesome Aviator (Tevin Foster) third. The final was 1:19.4.

KINGSWOOD IN 15-LENGTH ROMP

Running with the blinkers off and the visor on, Kingswood, trained by Errol Waugh, dramatically turned around his form with a 15-length spanking of rivals in a Restricted Allowance call travelling 6 ½ furlongs.

After two dismal efforts, Kingswood returned a completely different animal, making one move, winning comfortably in a time of 1:20.1.

Jockey Anthony Thomas put Kingswood in front early and the five-year-old grey horse continued to open up of the field as The Nextbigting (Daniel Satchell), Alexa’s Star (Robert Halledeen) and Isinbayeva (Ruja Lahoe) chased for most of the way.

In the lane, Kingswood wasted no time, skittering clear of Tradition (Samantha Fletcher) in second and Strikinglygorgeous (Tevin Foster) in third.

SEVEN HORSES CLAIMED

Seven horses were claimed on the 10-race programme.

Donovan Russell claimed Biblical Legend for owner Barrington Bernard from Borris McIntosh; Gary Griffiths claimed Key Witness for owner Noril Atkins from Leroy Tomlinson and Byron Davis claimed Eddie’s Princess for himself from Paul Smith from the third race. All claims were made for $550,000 each.

In the fifth race, Leroy Tomlinson claimed Rundazzle for owner Busy Racing Stable from Carl Anderson; Ryan Darby claimed General Report for owner Raphael Gordon from Johnny Wilmot; Phillip Lee claimed winner El Cliente for owner Rohan Daley from Welsh Soutar and Donovan Russell claimed Prince Sammo for owner Theodore Thompson from Tyrone Prince. All horses went for $250,000 each.