A spanking Sunday double for trainer Ryan Darby
CONSISTENT top 10 trainer Ryan Darby, who has been silent for a while, re-energised his form with a spanking double at the races on Sunday, August 21, 2022.
Darby, a winner of 443 races at Caymanas Park, saddled Nala’s Bushman in the second race, an Optional Claiming ($400,000-$300,000) contest for three-year-olds and upwards going a mile, and Shrewsbury Norm in the day’s fourth race, a Maiden Condition event for native-bred three-year-olds (fillies only) at 5½ furlongs (1,100m).
Ridden by Jemar Jackson, Nala’s Bushman came from well off the pace to win the event by a length and a quarter ahead of Miss Linda Wray (Roger Hewitt) and Silent Cat (Phillip Parchment) in a time of 1:44.0.
Promising galloper Shrewsbury Norm, with Omar Walker in the saddle, made one move to defeat rivals by a length and three quarters in a time of 1:08.3. Second place in the event went to She’s My Friend (Abigail Able) and third to Traditional Boy (Dane Dawkins).
Shrewsbury Norm is a three-year-old grey filly by Casual Trick out of the Fearless Vision mare Sweet Sugar. She is owned by Nadon and was winning for the first time from two career starts.
Darby said that he hopes to continue on the winning trail.
“I am very pleased with the two wins on Sunday. I mean, I have been out of form for a while and I have been putting in some work and not seeing the immediate results and so you have to appreciate when a day like this comes about.
“It is nice to have two winners in one day and I hope to continue the form for the rest of the season,” Darby said.
Commenting on the performance of Shrewsbury Norm, Darby said that the filly should improve into a noteworthy runner down the line.
“This is exactly what you want — for the horse [Shrewsbury Norm] to get a clean break and settle on the lead. So when the second favourite [She’s My Friend] comes with her challenge, you have already settled and relaxed on the lead, you can find overdrive. I have high expectations for her and hopefully, she [will] continue to improve — and the sky is the limit,” Darby said.
