Two in a row for Is That A Fact
THREE-YEAR-OLD American-bred bay colt Is That A Fact made it two wins on the trot since coming off a six-month break when he easily brushed aside rivals in an imported three-year-old and upwards (non-winners of three) and native-bred three-year-old and four-year-old (non-winners of four) on Saturday, July 22, 2023.
Owned by champion Carlton Watson, trained by champion conditioner Jason DaCosta, and ridden by leading jockey Reyan Lewis, Is That A Fact, who was coming off a 6½-length win on July 8 over 5½ furlongs (1,100m), defeated rivals by six lengths in the 6½-furlong (1300m) contest. He has won three races in total from five starts on local soil, having made his debut in November of last year.
Most of the runners in the race got off to an even start and many of them competed for the early lead. Volatility (Omar Simpson) emerged as the lone leader approaching the five-furlong (1,000m) pole, with Is That A Fact chasing from second. Acknowledgeme (Ramon Nepare) and Legit Boss (Tevin Foster) were nearby as well.
Is That A Fact pursued Volatility through the half-mile (800m) turn before hitting the front full of running as the distance approached. Acknowledgeme drew near Is That A Fact as they approached the home turn, but the bay colt found extra and broke away in the last furlong (200m) for an easy triumph.
Acknowledgeme hung on for second place, with Royal Ash (Matthew Bennett) coming in third in the last stride. The race ended in a time of 1:22.1 (23.2 x 47.1 x 1:14.0).
“It was a good performance by Is That A Fact to win, and I’m just happy with the win. He’s making good progress, and we’ll see how he comes out of the race before deciding where we go next,” DaCosta told the Jamaica Observer’s The Supreme Racing Guide.
