First start — first success for new trainer Damon Gayle
Damon Gayle, son of racehorse owner Rupert Gayle, saddled his first career winner from his first start as a licensed conditioner when his charge Contractor made all the running to win the fifth race at Caymanas Park on Saturday, July 8, 2023.
Gayle’s success came in a five-year-old and upwards Claiming ($180,000-$150,000) spread that included six-year-olds and upwards (non-winners of two) horse over five furlongs (1,000m) straight.
Gayle stated the fact that Contractor is owned by his father adds to the sweetness of his first career victory.
“It’s a great feeling to win my first career race as a trainer at Caymanas Park. I am overjoyed and grateful for the accomplishment. It’s even sweeter since my father owns the horse, and this is a really special event for me,” Gayle said.
“I look after three horses: Contractor [was claimed], Baltusrol, and Uncle Vinnie. It feels fantastic to get started, and we can now look forward. We’ll see how things go and use time as a yardstick,” Gayle added.
Ridden by Richard Henry, Contractor jumped to the front at the start of the race and held the lead ahead of Senor Kwanzi (Charlton Riley), Matriarch (Roger Hewitt), and Trulicity (Shamaree Muir) in the four-horse field.
Contractor stayed with rivals for the first half of the race before drawing off crossing the dumpy rails to win by 16 ½ lengths in a time of 1:05.0. Senor Kwanzi was second and Matriarch third.
“My father has been an owner for a long while, but he has been out of the game for a while. Horse racing is in our blood, so it’s no surprise that we became involved.
“We used to get a couple old horses like Pork Chops and Shuttle Lorraine, and one day the horse jumped the other horse and the horse ended up breeding but my father didn’t want to get back into the racing as yet.
“Then we got a horse named Lucky Lad, and that was the first time we went back to the track. I have a lot of cousins and uncles who are involved in the game; I even have an uncle who won the derby here, so it’s a bloodline thing,” Gayle said of his entry into the racing profession.
