THE name of jockey Shane Ellis is now firmly enshrined in the annals of local racing after the winning of his sixth Jamaica Derby. Ellis achieved this feat on the Gary Subratie-trained Calculus on Saturday, August 7, 2021 at Caymanas Park.

In so doing, Calculus completed his second victory in the 2021 Classic races, having won the St Leger in July.

Sent off as the favourite in the event, racing from the number one draw, for the 2400-metre run jockey Ellis and Calculus soon found themselves boxed into a corner. Using his vast experience and his unquestionable mastery in the pigskin, Ellis was able to get Calculus out of that early predicament, settling down on the rails travelling on the backstretch.

Then, after vying for the lead rounding the half-mile turn, Calculus lost ground close to entering the lane for the final two furlongs as Further and Beyond (Dane Nelson), Billy Whizz (Dick Cardenas) and Big Jule (Omar Walker) all made their moves for Derby victory.

Calculus and Ellis eventually found room to come forward with a late run, splitting horses, in the closing moments of the race to nab Billy Whizz, with Further and Beyond finishing third and Big Jule fourth.

“During the race I got a sharp start but got hemmed in and endured a rough trip throughout; anyhow, I managed to pull it off.

“I was confident going into the race that I would win. I never realised, though, that I had to work overtime to get it done. I got a rough passage, especially in the earlier part of the race, from which I had to disentangle myself and then had to work really hard for the victory.

“It did not work out as I had planned it but I had to find a way out, and the final result is rich payment for the effort,” Ellis said.

Ellis’s other Derby winners are Awesome Power (2001), Typewriter (2012), Relampago (2015), Orpheus (2016) and Supreme Soul (2019).