Champion trainer Anthony Nunes will go into this year’s Jamaica Derby encounter without a recognisable competitor to campaign purposefully in the premier native-bred three-year-old event. The 12-furlong Jamaica Derby is set for Saturday, August 6, at Caymanas Park.

Notwithstanding, Nunes pins his hope on his sole entry Morimoto, bred for the Derby distance, though yet to show positive signs that he does possess the class of the leading contenders.

His latest run over 1,820 metres clearly showed that Morimoto is bred to go long, but does he have the class? With the many times, Derby-winning jockey Shane Ellis called to the saddle, anything can happen.

Talking with jockey Ellis about his chances he sounded as though he can make a race of it.

“Riding in a Derby is no child’s play or picnic on a beach. So riding in the Derby, let me take you back through history. Riding in the Derby you have to be focused. I got my first Derby riding experience in 2001. At that time I was asked by Carl Anderson, then the owner to come home and ride the horse for him in the event.

“I was at the time riding in Canada at Woodbine and I came home and won the Jamaica Derby on Awesome Power for him. From my experience, winning a Derby is always easy except on an exceptional horse. Even so, sometimes, you may be on the best horse in the race but you would have to ride a good race throughout to get the desired result. At times, being on the best horse you can still lose for this is how things go at times. The foundation of your success has to be mounted upon a solid platform of conscious attention with the continuous will to succeed. Therefore, you must be fully aware of the colossal task before you and be focused and be mentally aware and, physically sharp strategically [and] in every possible way be on the alert for the good governance of the task at hand.

“When I won my first Derby on Awesome Power it was one of the best times in my racing career. To me, winning a Derby made me aware that winning is much more than just a horse. A jockey’s presence of mind is of paramount importance and is dependent on the jockey pulling all the strings to put the selected pieces in their respective slots.

“After winning my first Derby and from the experience gained I wanted to win lots more Derby races. It is not only an event to wish for luck but to learn from critical observation.

“Grasping this idea came from my first Derby win. I then went on to perfect it to win with Typewriter (2012), with Relampago (2014), and in 2016 with Orpheus laying another stepping stone to further the success that led to my crowning and fruitful association with Triple Crown winner Supreme Soul (2019). To date, I have won five Derbys: three with Mr Nunes, who asked me to ride Morimoto in this race. He and I come from far back and won several Classic races. You are aware that Morimoto was beaten up by many a horse before, in his preparation, but this is a Derby event in the year 2022 and Shane Ellis is on the promising colt now and you can look out for improved performance,” the jockey known as the ‘Canterman’ said.