As the trend of 2021-22’s annual average of less than ten races per day, with less than ten horses per race, continues in 2023 the Racing Office staff struggles unfairly to offer competitive betting races for 21 categories of horses. Given the horse population size due to the breeding industry’s 50 per cent decline over the three decades of claiming, there should be no more than eight to cater for sprinters, medium- and longer-distance racers effectively.

These days the frequency of bizarrely huge winning distances by the unavoidable overmatching of half the starters coming under orders in each race speaks to the general lack of quality and viability of the racing product. It was somewhat unusual, but over these nine races winning margins accumulated to 77 lengths on 78 declarations reduced by two late non-starters. To be fair though, there were three maiden races with a total of 23 runners that returned winning margins accounting for 39 lengths.

The 1100-metre opening event was won by the remarkable but infrequently raced eight-year-old gelding JamalJames (7-5). Saddled by Gregory Forsyth as his first starter this season, with joint leading reinsman Tevin Foster(27) engaged, JamalJames cantered home by eight lengths for victory number ten to go with nine second- and five third-place finishes in 36 career starts for $6 million in prize money.

In race three over 1500 metres, joint leading rider Reyan Lewis (27) had a response to Foster’s opening success. However, he had to wait an hour as debutant three-year-old maiden Sensational Move (4-5), from the Gary Subratie outfit, won race two. It was an eleven-and-half-length stroll for the attractive and promising colt, with champion Dane Dawkins (22) only having to ensure he stayed aboard for 1100 metres.

If Subratie’s débutante was impressive, then what can be said about Ian Parsard’s Huntsman (1-5) of similar status but over 1500 metres? Lewis (28), in joining Foster on 28, had less to do than Dawkins as this was a 17-length romp on the bridle in a 1:33.4 canter for the trip.

Following that, the three-cornered jockeys 2023 title race was put on pause until the final event when Foster (29) emerged with sole leadership aboard trainer Richard Azan’s Whisky (9-5) over the 1300 metres of the nightcap.

Race four was won by five-year-old maiden débutante Sherwood Forest (9-5) as owner/trainer Louis Richards’ first starter of the year, with three-kilogramme claiming Shavon Townsend riding his sixth winner this season.

Race five over 1400 metres was a thirteen-length runaway for Michael Marlowe’s Berlin (1-5) with former five-time champion Trevor Simpson.

Javaneil Patterson rode the first of two winners on the day, with Jaguar outpacing eleven rivals in a five-length blinding turn of speed at 4-1 for trainer Rohan Mathie, while Sadiki Blake was aboard Green Gold Rush (5-2) for his second success of the season and an exceedingly rare one for trainer Dalton Sirjue in race seven contested over 1400 metres.

The featured Temperence Oaks Trophy over 1300 metres was a renewal of the rivalry which ensued in the 2023 Classics between Brinks (2-5) and Blue Vinyl (9-5), the latter trained by Patrick Lynch and the former by Parsard.

Over the last Triple Crown series Blue Vinyl had Brinks beaten in winning the 2000 Guineas and St Leger, but was a half-length in third behind him in the Derby won by Atomica who also triumphed the Guineas and the Oaks. In today’s event Brinks found it impossible to concede 3.5 kilogrammes to Blue Vinyl and was just over four lengths inferior, thus confirming Patterson’s double riding success.

The Training Feat Award is presented to Patrick Lynch for the performance of Blue Vinyl, who failed to impress in his final two 2022 assignments. Although not looking as picture-perfect as he did in 2022 the colt still managed to display the Best Winning Gallop. Sadiki Blake gets the Jockeyship Award for his handling of Green Gold Rush in a race during which he was up against former three-time champion Anthony Thomas and pacesetters Foster and Lewis — all hugely competitive professionals.