AFTER some exciting spins at exercise in the mornings, the debut of Mamma Mia, a two-year-old chestnut filly bred by Soul Warrior out of the Royal Minister mare Princess Geeta, was talked about and anticipated, not only by her connections but also by racing fans.

The Jason DaCosta trainee didn’t disappoint as the far-striding runner made it all in the $1.01-million Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Commission (BGLC)/TOBA Heroes’ Sprint over 5 furlongs (1,000m) on the round course on Sunday, October 16, 2022, at Caymanas Park.

“I am pleased with the performance of Mamma Mia. I mean, she was working well coming into the race and so we were expecting her to do well,” trainer of the filly Jason DaCosta said after the event.

“We were keeping our fingers crossed for her to behave herself as she is kind of a [high-strung] filly and we were hoping that she would behave herself — and she did. The time really doesn’t matter. The important thing was the manner in which she won, and that was good,” he continued.

DaCosta said he is now left with the task of deciding where to race Mamma Mia next.

“We will see how she comes out of the race and then we will decide which race we go to next — whether the Cash Pot (six furlongs), which is the first leg in the Triple Crown series, or the second leg, which is the Pick3 Super Challenger Trophy,” DaCosta said.

Ridden by Anthony Thomas, Mamma Mia showed runners the way into the half-mile (800m) turn as Acknowledgeme (Omar Walker) and Kissmet (Shane Ellis) chased in her wake. Coming into the lane with no real challengers, Mamma Mia accelerated and powered home to win convincingly by 4 lengths.

Mijoto (Dane Dawkins) came from far behind to finish second, ¼ lengths ahead of Kissmet in third place. After splits of 23.3 x 46.4, the final time was recorded at 1:01.0.