Saturday, February 3, 2024, will forever be etched in the mind and heart of America-based Jamaican-born jockey Shaun Bridgmohan.

Bridgmohan was able to not only gain his first win on local soil piloting Fearless Soul to victory, but it was also his 3,400th career success.

Bridgmohan, who was born in Central Village, St Catherine, had recorded 3,399 winners, 3,129 second-place finishes, and 2,853 thirds from 22,322 mounts with earnings of US$143,715,470 in North America before Saturday.

In a display of prowess in the saddle, Bridgmohan brought the Philip Feanny-conditioned
Fearless Soul from behind horses to win Division One of the George HoSang Trophy going five-and a-half furlongs by four-and-a-quarter lengths.

“Winning my first race from my first mount here and completing my 3,400th career victory was great because this is my hometown and I did it in front of these people,” Bridgmohan said.

It wasn’t a good start for Bridgmohan aboard Fearless Soul, being crowded out early after the start when Strike Smart (Phillip Parchment) and Loyal Action (Tevin Foster) led the way.

Bridgmohan took his time getting Fearless Soul into stride, but once he did, the four-year-old chestnut colt came up to the pack, going off the turn for the home bend, and surging clear for an easy victory at the wire.
Strike Smart finished second, as Royal Ash (Raddesh Roman) came in third with a final time of 1:07.2.

“The race was pretty straightforward. I got squeezed out, but it was okay because I was never going to take the lead. I had a plan going out there; I was always going to come from the back and get him to the outside.

“I had watched some replays of Fearless Soul and he seemed more comfortable running outside, so I wasn’t going to try and reinvent the wheel, just to get him back on the right path.

“This track is very safe. I got to say, you know, the first time riding on it, I never at any point felt uncomfortable. I always thought it was very safe and I was comfortable on it,” explained Bridgmohan.

Bridgmohan said that given another opportunity, he would surely be back here to ride.

“If the right opportunity presents itself, I will definitely be back. I know about the Mouttet Mile, and I watched Julien Leparoux win it for Rohan Crichton, and like I said, if the right opportunity presents itself, then absolutely I will be back,” he said.

Bridgmohan’s family immigrated to the United States when he was 13 years old, settling in South Florida, where he became interested in horse racing. Before becoming a jockey, while still in school, he worked as a hot walker, groom, and exercise rider at a Florida racecourse. He pursued a riding career after graduating from high school, and his first win came in August 1997 at the Calder race track.

On February 15, 1998, he won six races on a single card at Aqueduct in Queens, New York, marking his breakthrough year as the Eclipse Award winner for Outstanding Apprentice Jockey.

On December 22, 2007, he again won six races on the same card, this time at Fair Grounds in New Orleans, Louisiana.