Bootylicious started her racing career with great expectations. After her third-consecutive victory, connections were confident they had discovered a unique one.

Bootylicious never recovered from her early exploits and her performances in The Portmore on May 6 and 1000 Guineas Classic on June 3 left connections sceptical of her ability.

After that, the three-year-old bay filly skipped the remaining Classic races and took a two-month rest. The Peter-John-conditioned Bootylicious returned to the track on August 26 and finished second to Milos over 6 furlongs (1,200m).

However, Bootylicious ignited some sparks on Saturday, September 9, 2023, when she scored an encouraging win in an imported three-year-olds and upwards (non-winners of three) and a native-bred three-year-olds and four-year-olds (non-winners of four) over 5 furlongs (round).

Ridden by Dane Dawkins, Bootylicious defeated rivals by a length and a half in a time of 59.3 (23.0 x 48.4).

“The jockey rode a very good race aboard Bootylicious. We knew that Lady Abhimala was going to be the horse to beat as it was the rage at the track but we knew that we had the horse to do it.

“Bootylicious had a very tough prep coming into this race but obviously she was the class of the race and so we are happy to be able to get the job done,” Parsard told the Jamaica Observer‘s The Supreme Racing Guide.

Bootylicious broke well at the start of the race and settled in second position behind Lady Abhimala (Paul Francis) going into the half-mile (800m) turn. Bootylicious bided her time well and took over proceedings inside the final furlong (200m) of the race to win easily ahead of Lady Abhimala and Bazinga (Oneil Mullings).

“She [Bootylicious] now gets a little break. She came out of a tough Classic campaign; she had a hard prep into this race with a lot of challenges, a lot of stone squeezes and bruises. Just a lot of work we had to do to get her into this race and she deserves rest. She will next go to the Overnight Allowance level and just see what she can do there,” Parsard said.

Parsard, who had previously saddled Neo Star (Ricardo Duhaney) for a double, expressed satisfaction with his stable’s success. “We are pleased with the victory, and as a stable, we are pleased with two wins from two today.

“Everyone in our camp, I believe, was aware that we were running a good programme. So, despite a rocky start, it wasn’t surprising to see us turning the round and actually getting the job done. “We have really good horses, and we’re trying to make sure they’re well cared for,” he explained.