Race Day Analysis — Sunday, April 14, 2024
Featured on the 10-race Sunday card was the 30th renewal of the Prince Consort Stakes programmed for second-season three-year-old colts and geldings to compete over 1,400 metres in preparation for the 1,600-metre 2000 Guineas, 2,000-metre St Leger and the 2,400-metre Derby.
Hero of the important 1,600-metre 2023 Jamaica Two-Year-Stakes, Interstntimesahead, was bet at 2-5, not only based on superiority in the premier juvenile event, but his exercise gallops suggest he has trained on.
Declared with leading and title-chasing reinsman Tevin Foster, who has seemingly supplanted both 2023 champion Reyan Lewis and the accomplished Phillip Parchment as the preferred rider for the champion barn of Jason DaCosta.
Interstntimesahead, broadsided on both flanks to lose ground as soon as the gates opened, was settled quickly behind rivals. Allowed to develop his early momentum promptly once in top stride, he mended steadily throughout and overpowered 5-2 wagered, front-running
Crown Chaser (Raddesh Roman) inside the final 200 metres to coast in by three lengths easing down.
This was the third on the card for DaCosta and the fourth for Foster, who rode the stable’s
Dancing Aviator (2-5) to score by one and a half lengths in the opener which was a divided three-year-old maiden event run at 1,100 metres.
The second for DaCosta came in Division II run as race eight, with Abigail Able riding
Hit N Run (8-5) to secure victory by five and a half lengths. It was a nice touch that both
Interstntimesahead and Hit N Run are owned by Elizabeth DaCosta, the trainer’s mom.
Trained by Ryan Darby, Cotterwood Kathy (2-1) romped the day’s second, a 1,400-metre event for four-year-olds up non-winners of two races, by nearly 10 lengths for Foster’s second of his five-timer.
Ridden by Lewis for trainer Ricardo Mathie, AKA Storm (5-2) was a game short-head winner of the 1,400-metre third event to delay Foster’s assault.
However, the Foster attack was back on track in race four with the victory of Spencer Chung’s debutant US-bred colt Commander Z (1-5), scoring by three and a half lengths over 1,000 metres straight but was again paused for the 1,400-metre race five.
Owned and trained by Errol Subratie, nine-year-old gelding JamalJames (Omar Walker) on its 42nd racecourse appearance remarkably won for the 13th occasion while Foster had to settle for third on 6-5 favourite Kingswood at the end of this 1,400-metre gallop. To further delay Foster’s journey to his fifth success, race six, run at 1,300 metres, was won by 4-1 shot
Grey Commander (Ramon Nepare) to give conditioner Keffin Murray his first success of the season from nine declarations.
Then there was 14-½ victory by One Like It (Oniel Scott) over the 1,000 metres round race seven at odds of 4-1 for veteran trainer Louis Richards and then race eight won by the aforementioned Hit N Run to delay Foster’s journey even more.
With ninth race hero Interestntimesahead being Foster’s fourth, the in-form rider was now more than ready to confirm his five-timer in the 1,000-metre straight10th event.
It was odds of 3-1 against the Philip Feanny-trained Taurus Boy (USA), a temperamental, inconsistent sort and winner of only five of his 50 racecourse appearances.
With the confident execution of his above-average skill set, Foster made it look a lot easier than it was to induce a comfortable winning margin of two and a half lengths.
The Training Feat Award is presented to Philip Feanny for the performance of
Taurus Boy (USA) in delivering the Best Winning Gallop.
The Jockeyship Award goes to Reyan Lewis for his balance, composure, and skill in his handling of AKA Storm in a desperate three-way battle for the winning purse of race three.