War of the Roses wins Vassell “Jolly Man” Najair Memorial Trophy.

War of the Roses, under the bustling Dane Nelson, surrounded horses at the top of the lane and carried his work through to the finishing line to win the Vassell “Jolly Man” Najair Memorial Trophy over 7 ½ furlongs (1,500m).

War of the Roses didn’t get a good start at the off and was settled among the backmarkers for the first two furlongs (400m) before coming into view to be in second place behind Lady Basitpur (Dane Dawkins) approaching the five-furlong (1,000m) point.

With the momentum carrying War of the Roses through the field, he surged to the front coming off the final bend and turned on the pressure in deep stretch to run out an easy 6 ½-length winner in the maiden condition race.

Gambler (Ramon Nepare), who was outpaced early in the race, came with a strong run to get second place ahead of the tiring Lady Basitpur in the third spot. The final time was 1:34.2.

War of the Roses, a three-year-old dark bay colt bred by Deputy Glitters out of the Silent Valour mare Mama Brown, is owned and trained by Adin Williams. 

Glitter Running goes one better

After finishing second to Trickster on last over 7 furlongs (1,400m), bay mare Glitter Running, owned and trained by Ralph Roberts, went one better when she got it right in a Restricted Allowance V event travelling 6 furlongs (1,200m).

Glitter Running broke well at the off in third place but was taken off the pace by apprentice Roger Hewitt, into fifth approaching the five-furlong point as April Spirit (Samantha Fletcher) took control of the contest ahead of Congrats Suckie (Dick Cardenas).

Coming into the lane, April Spirit continued to lead as Glitter Running finished with gusto, blowing by the leader at the furlong pole to win by 4 lengths in a time of 1:15.4.

General Mubaraak (Dane Nelson) came through on the inside rails to get second place. 

Supreme Authority makes one move over four furlongs straight

Supreme Authority, trained by Michael Francis and ridden by Anthony Thomas, made one get up to win an Optional Claiming ($250,000-$200,000) event over 4 furlongs (800m) straight.

Despite the poor number one draw, Supreme Authority (Kantharos – Key West Appeal) shot to the lead at the off and immediately drifted across to the outside, clearing all runners and continued to sprint away from rivals.

Supreme Authority finished 4 ½ lengths ahead of Prince Sammo (Reyan Lewis) and Schlesinger (Carlos Blake). The final time for the race was a decent 46.4. 

Change of equipment and Stanislaus is a winner

Running with the blinkers off and the tongue tie on, Stanislaus defeated rivals by a length and a quarter in an Optional Claiming ($450,000-$400,000) event over 5 furlongs straight.

Trained by Wilfred Chin, Stanislaus ( Traditional – Absolute Justice) showed good speed along with Cartel (Dane Dawkins) and Golden Destiny (Oshane Nugent) when released from the gates.

The top three runners in the nine-horse field continued to do battle inside the final half of the race before Stanislaus pulled away. Kappone (Matthew Bennett) came on for second place ahead of Cartel in third spot. The final time for the event was 1:00.0. 

Eleven horses claimed

The claiming box was in full swing as 11 horses went through on the 10-race programme.

In the third race, Michael Thomas claimed Synchronize for owner Jahlene Thomas from Paul Charlton for $180,000.

Paul Smith claimed Sweet Destiny for owner Lloyd Chong from Christopher Pierre; Steven Todd claimed Prince Sammo for owner Rohan Daley from Joseph Durrant and Randolph Scott claimed Princess Statistics for owner Zelpha Ricketts from Dennis Lee from the sixth race. All claims in the sixth event went for $250,000 each.

In the seventh race, Steven Todd claimed Thepowersthatbe for owner The Hustler from Carl Anderson, Donovan Plummer claimed Fabulosity for himself from Cashbert Khawlsingh, Anthony Nunes claimed Stanislaus for owner Stephan Narinesingh from Wilfred Chin and Dennis Pryce claimed Golden Destiny for owner Busy Racing Stable from Gresford Smith. All horses in the seventh even were claimed for $450,000 each.

Dennis Pryce claimed horse Bimini for owner Busy Racing Stable for $850,000 from Patrick Smellie; Ryan Darby claimed Nuclear Thunder for owner Alphonso Raymond for $850,000 from Phillip Elliott and Steven Todd claimed Corazon for owner Sparky Dollar Sign Stables, also for $850,000 from Anthony Nunes from the seventh race.

— Complied by Ruddy Allen