Racehorse owner/breeder Michael Gayle followed his gut feeling and bought Blue Vinyl for his M N M Racing Stable and turned the colt over to the safe hands of trainer Patrick “Wacky” Lynch.

Blue Vinyl (Raddesh Roman), under the care of Lynch, repaid the confidence of his owner with a scintillating victory in the 2022 Jamaica 2000 Guineas Classic over a mile at Caymanas Park on Sunday, June 5.

Gayle, an ardent horseracing lover for the last 20 years, was winning his first Classic along with jockey Lewis and expressed his appreciation for the work done by Lynch in securing his first Classic victory.

“I am overjoyed with the success of Blue Vinyl in the 2000 Guineas but disappointed that my father Edgar Gayle could not be present, having passed away in 2019. It was my father who got me to fall in love with racing, moving from a petty gambler, to an owner and now to the winner of the Jamaica 2000 Guineas Classic.

“I would go to the betting shops and bet on the horses. One day, though, in 2008, I decided I would get into horse racing as an owner and I claimed a horse. The first horse I claimed was Spanish Town, that horse won and from then on, I began to buy horses and started go to the Yearling Sale to buy horses. As to the training of my horses, I do not get involved with that, that is the job of the trainer, and I allow him to do his job. I do not come to the track often and if there are are any concerns, my trainer will always call and inform me of the situation,” Gayle shared.

Gayle then explained how he purchased Blue Vinyl at the sale.

“Normally, I go to the Yearling Sale to purchase horse(s) with the hope that one day, one of them will become a Classic winner.

“When Blue Vinyl came into the ring, and I started to bid, but there was someone next to me who was also bidding. The price started to go up, but finally, I made the purchase for $900,000.

“I made this purchase without informing the trainer, so afterwards, I went to him and told him. ‘Wacky’ looked at the horse, was silent, even after seeing a bump on the horse’s knee, and said, ‘don’t worry, we will have to just deal with it.’

“The trainer took the horse and I did not interfere, as even when Blue Vinyl was ready to race, I did not know.

“Lynch called me and told me to get the horse registered, but I did not even have a name for the horse. While driving to the Racing Commission to get the horse registered, I thought of vinyl, because I am in the sign business and frequently use vinyl in my work. Then Blue Vinyl came into being,” Gayle said.

Commenting further on winning the Classic 2000 Guineas Gayle said: “I am happy, that I am now the winner of a Classic race, but most of all, I dedicate this first Classic victory to my son Nathan, who has developed a strong love for horses, and right now, he is probably the happiest person in the world, and that pleases me.”