Barbadians combine to produce three winners
ETOBICOKE, Canada (CMC) — Four Barbadian horsemen — including former western Canada standout Rico Walcott — had a hand in three wins on Friday’s race card at the Woodbine racetrack in Canada.
Walcott moved his tally of wins for the season to 10 and fellow jockey Dasean Bynoe landed his fifth win, while trainers Tedston Holder and Austin Hinds saddled their fifth and third winners for the season, respectively, on the eight-race card at Canada’s main racing facility.
Bynoe and Holder were the first to show when they combined to produce a win by a head with 3-1 chance Wicked Miah in the CAN$29,700 claiming third race over 1,700 metres on the inner turf course.
Wicked Miah hopped at the start, but Bynoe had his mount track leader Trish the Dish, under ace Barbadian reinsman Patrick Husbands, four wide into the first turn before the six-year-old bay mare pulled the rider outside to the lead entering the back straight.
Bynoe nudged Wicked Miah on for a little more in the final turn and she had just enough left in the tank to win by a diminishing margin at the wire from Trish the Dish in a time of 1 minute, 45.21 seconds.
The Hinds-owned and trained 24-1 outsider Mad Dog N Joe, under Alexis Sanchez, took the CAN$54,500 claiming fifth race over 1,500 metres on the inner turf by a neck.
Mad Dog N Joe broke sharply and, nearly a length on top, sped clear into the first turn, shifted in to set the pace, and extended the advantage all the way up the backstretch before Sanchez put the five-year-old bay gelding to urging in the lane as he went in search of the wire late and was last to clock 1 minute, 31.15 seconds.
Walcott had to wait until he mounted 4-1 choice Luv to Win for the CAN$40,200 claiming seventh race over seven furlongs on the inner turf to log a win, by a length and a half.
Luv to Win had a slim lead while being pressured from the outside down the back side, and dictated the pace on the rail into the final turn before the four-year-old dark bay gelding edged away from his chaser. Walcott coaxed him for a run in the upper stretch and kept him to task to hold safe to the finish for a time of 57.84 seconds.
