Breeder and owner of A Gift From Ben, Desmond Lewis, said he was confident his horse would win Division Two of the $1.25-million James B Dawes Memorial Trophy feature and give jockey Raddesh Roman his fifth or sixth victory on Sunday, January 28, 2024.

A Gift From Ben (Here Comes Ben—Sage’s Giftbox) made one move to win the Overnight Allowance contest for three-year-olds and upward over 5 ½ furlongs (1,100m) by 4 lengths in a time of 1:06.4 (23.2 x 46.2).
Milos (Tevin Foster) finished second and God of Love (Christopher Mamdeen) was third.

“The jockey is a very good rider, and he has been riding with a lot of confidence, so I decided to give him the ride because this horse is a pace horse and he [Roman] understands pace. The horse is a front-running horse, and we gave him the chance because we believe and have confidence in him to rate this horse properly.

“I was confident in A Gift From Ben; I wasn’t confident in Roman winning five races at the time, but when he had four winners, I was confident that he was going to win five races. He is a very skilled jockey, and he understands how to follow instructions,” Lewis told the Jamaica Observer’s The Supreme Racing Guide.