Whitehall leads another Caribbean sweep at Assiniboia
WINNIPEG, Manitoba (CMC) — Champion jockey Antonio Whitehall of Barbados led another Caribbean clean sweep on Tuesday of the racing programme at the Assiniboia Downs racetrack in Canada.
Whitehall bagged a couple of wins on the seven-race card, including the CAN$25,500 featured Taboga Overnight Stakes, carrying his tally to four for the season — which opened on May 20 and closes on September 17 — and he is one of three Caribbean men tied for fourth in the jockeys’ standings.
The Trinidad & Tobago pair of Prayven Badrie and Ronald Ali both scored single wins on the card and continued to share the lead with eight apiece for the season, while the Barbadian duo of Damario Bynoe and Renaldo Cumberbatch, and Neville Stephenson of Jamaica also logged wins.
Whitehall captured the Taboga Stakes when he guided the 5-1 chance
Melisandre to win by 1-1/4 lengths against six other fillies and mares, three years old and upward going five furlongs on the dirt course.
Melisandra forced the pace on the outside before Whitehall got the six-year-old, chestnut mare to extend herself early in the final straight, and she held well to run to the finish in a time of 59 seconds flat — 2.60 off the 42-year-old track record of Northern Spike.
Whitehall had opened the card with victory by a neck on the 4-1 chance
Big and Bold in the CAN$10,000 maiden claiming first race for maidens three years old and upward going 1,100 metres on the dirt course.
Big and Bold got into a stalking position and forced the pace off the rail early, but Whitehall moved the three-year-old, chestnut gelding to the inside around the turn, rallied his mount to the outside, and got up in the final strides to finish in one minute, 06.97 seconds.
Ali got next when he drove the 2-1 favourite Will Is Chill to win by 3-1/4 lengths in the CAN$10,400 claiming second race for three-year-olds and upward that have not won a race since December 4 last year, or never won four races, over seven furlongs on the dirt course to clock 1 min, 26.61 secs.
Bynoe followed with a win by 1-1/4 lengths on the 2-1 favourite
Stylish Gent — trained by Barbadian Devon Gittens — in the CAN$13,200 claiming third race for three-year-olds and upward over seven furlongs on the dirt course in 1:27.14.
Badrie was aboard the 3-5 favourite Yola that won by 2-1/4 lengths in the CAN$13,200 claiming fourth race for three-year-olds and upward going 1,100 metres on the dirt course in a time of 1:05.77.
Cumberbatch drove the odds-on favourite Keepcalmncruiseon — trained by Gittens — to win by 1-1/2 lengths in the CAN$20,000 maiden special weight sixth race for maidens three years old over 1,100 metres on the dirt course to finish in 1:06.28.
The win gave Gittens his sixth win for the season and put him second in the trainers’ standing — three behind leader Jerry Gourneau.
And Stephenson closed the day’s card with a win aboard the 5-1 shot
Spire in the CAN$10,400 maiden claiming final race for three-year-olds and upward that have not won a race since December 4 last year, or never won four races, going 1,100 metres on the dirt course in 1:05.66 — 2.86 off the track record.