Despite a no-show effort from the top-rated Oneofakind , the Eros Trophy feature was not short of a thrilling finish as Eagle One , under another brilliant ride from jockey Dick Cardenas, just held off rivals to post a mild upset in the $1.5-million Open Allowance/Graded Stakes event over seven furlong (1,400m) at Caymanas Park yesterday.

Sent off at odds of 9-1, Eagle One, racing at this level for the first time, was positioned well in second place behind Father Patrick (Oshane Nugent) down the backstretch.

When Cardenas opened up Eagle One entering the straight, the four-year-old American-bred bay gelding produced a terrific stretch run to win by a length in a time of 1:27.0 for distance.

King Arthur (Anthony Thomas), who was always prominent throughout the race, outbattled Father Patrick for second place, giving owner Carlton Watson and trainer Jason DaCosta a one-two finish in the feature event.

Oneofakind was expected to produce another strong effort in the Eros, seeking a fifth-consecutive win, but the Anthony Nunes trainee walked out of the starting gates and never recovered, finishing dead last in the eight-horse race under apprentice Romario Spencer.

Also creating an upset on the day was the Gary Subratie-conditioned One Don, who defeated rivals to win a four-year-old and upward Restricted Stakes over 5½ furlongs (1,100m) at odds of 13-1.

Ridden by Robert Halledeen, One Don won by a length and a quarter ahead of Secret Identity (Oshane Nugent) and Hoist The Mast (Dick Cardenas) in a time of 1:08.3.

Ian Parsard was the only trainer on the day to saddle two winners, while sharing the jockey’s honours were Oshane Nugent, Jordan Barrett, and Christopher Mamdeen with two wins apiece.

Parsard saddled Dejae’s Boy (Oshane Nugent) in the opening event and Ajit (Jordan Barrett) in the closing and ninth event. Nugent rode Talented Tony K to victory in the fifth race for trainer Winchester McIntosh for the double, while Barret had earlier booted home Adwa in the second race for trainer Roy Mathews.

Mamdeen’s winners were Great Britt in the fourth race for breeder/owner/trainer Carl Anderson and Heiroffire in the sixth race for trainer Michael Marlowe. The co-champion jockeys Dane Nelson and Anthony Thomas failed to ride a winner on a nine-race programme.

Racing continues tomorrow with 10 races.

— Ruddy Allen