An announcement by champion trainer Jason DaCosta
After being quiet since the beginning of the season, two-time and defending champion trainer Jason DaCosta made a big announcement when he saddled three winners to highlight the nine-race card on Sunday, January 21, 2024.
DaCosta’s celebration started in the fourth race when
Fly Messenger Fly won a native-bred five-year-old and upward (non-winners of four) and imported five-year-old and upward (non-winners of three) at 7 ½ furlongs.
Ridden by Abigail Able,
Fly Messenger Fly won by a length and a quarter ahead of
Prissie (Oshane Nugent) in a time of 1:35.4 (24.1 x 47.3 x 1:13.2).
His second win came in the next race when veteran jockey Trevor Simpson made one move aboard
She’s Myhedgefund to reap success in a contest for native-bred four-year-old and upward (non-winners of three) and imported four-year-old (non-winners of two) over 7 furlongs.
She’s Myhedgefund was ¾ length ahead of stablemate
Life Is Life (Phillip Parchment) and
Slam Dunk (Tevin Foster). The winning time was 1:28.3 (24.0 x 47.2 x 1:13.2).
The cap came in the following race when
Fred The Great (Robert Halledeen) won a native-bred four-year-old and upward (non-winners of three) and imported four-year-old (non-winners of two) call going 6 furlongs.
Fred The Great was 3 lengths in front of
Huntsman (Christopher Mamdeen) in a time of 1:14.3 (22.4 x 47.1).
“I feel good about the three winners. I couldn’t have achieved this success without the horses performing. It was hard work, and good work was done by the staff. Everybody is doing their part, everybody is doing their job, and we are seeing the results,” DaCosta told the
Jamaica Observer’s
The Supreme Racing Guide.
Commenting specifically on the performance of
Fred The Great, DaCosta said: “It’s good to see Halledeen [Robert] winning. He is one of the best riders here, so it was only a matter of time before he got rolling, and hopefully, this will start him off.
“This horse always had potential. He was injured last year, and we had to do surgery. We gave him a lot of time to heal and recoup. We took our time to prepare him for this race, and I am happy with the performance. He should only improve from here on.”
