Trainer Dalton Sirjue was certain that his charge Green Gold Rush would win the $1.25-million Ash Wednesday Trophy feature race on Wednesday, February 14, 2024 despite the seven-year-old bay gelding having to come from a difficult second-to-last position in the 14-horse field down the backstretch.

Green Gold Rush (Adore The Gold – Princess Lorna) won the Overnight Allowance contest for three-year-olds and upward by a neck in a driving finish to the wire.
Green Gold Rush covered the distance in 1:21.2 (24.0 x 48.0 x 1:14.0).

“I wasn’t worried at any point during the race. It is just his style of running. He broke off well, but he is that type of horse that doesn’t like to go too early,” Sirjue told the
Jamaica Observer’s The Supreme Racing Guide.

“I just told the jockey to just stay on the outside of the runners and take his time to come down, and he did just that. When he left the three-and-a-half-furlong marker, he got rolling, and although he had to go wide at the top of the lane, he caught them just in time for the win. All in all, it was a good win, and I am happy,” he further said.

Green Gold Rush, with Dane Dawkins in the saddle, was outpaced in the early stages of the race as She’s My Friend (Abigail Able) led the field down the backstretch ahead of Taurus Boy (Delroy Beharie) and Power (Christopher Mamdeen). As the field approached the half-mile marker, Green Gold Rush continued to labour around the back and only began to move near the home turn.

When all seemed lost in the stretch, Dawkins summoned his mount for an effort, and Green Gold Rush exploded like a cannonball on fire, defeating Get A Pepsi (Paul Francis) on the line.Taurus Boy came in third, half a length behind.

“The last time I rode this horse I got a lot of stops in the straight, which may have caused us a better placing than fourth. This time he drew on the outside of runners, and that was good. He had speed, so I let him break on his own, and when I reached the four-furlong marker, I asked him to pick it up, and he responded.

“Turning for home, I got him to change his lead, and I asked him again, and he responded again, and he went straight to the wire. I know the type of horse that I am riding, so I just waited and asked him to run at the right time, and he responded well. I am very pleased with the performance,” Dawkins said.