Leading claimer Richie Shakes continued his good form, as fresh from double success 24 hours earlier, he won the opening event on the 11-race card over six and a half furlongs. Deploying front-running tactics aboard Nakamura (2-1) for jockey-turned-trainer Errol Burke was all of four and a half lengths ahead when the winning post signalled the end of the gallop. Former two-time champion Shane Ellis, a second-generation reinsman who equalled the feat of his dad Winston, was aboard I Am Interested (2-1). Declared by another jockey-turned-trainer Joseph Thomas, this winner of race two over the straight course was the first of two on the day for Ellis.

To close his double, the charismatic Ellis, a former president of the Jockeys’ Guild and labelled “The Canter Man” by his fans for his exceptional ability to get horses to relax,won aboard Provident (5-2) for the third time this season. The four-year-old colt, who finished third in the 2024 Two Thousand Guineas, came home 12½ clear of the nearest of his four rivals in the seven-furlong seventh race. Champion and leading conditioner Jason DaCosta saddled all five to open a stable double. To answer the obvious question, this is unusual but not new and is permissible by the 1977 JRC Racing Rules.

Starting at odds of 2-1, Miss Marabella (USA), saddled by Peter-John Scully, slowly into stride on her first appearance on June 14, did nothing wrong on this occasion. Prominent from early, she led two furlongs out, ran well inside the last furlong to score by three parts of a length over Brompton Boy with promising 2-5 debutant and favourite Rocket Fire Zeb (USA) just over one length adrift in third. This was the first of two successes for champion and runaway leading rider Raddesh Roman.

Hard-knocking four-year-old maiden Spragga (9-2) was presented in good and competitive condition to give claimer Romario Spencer his second winner from 29 rides this season. It was 9-2 against the Leroy Tomlinson declared colt, who scored by two-and-a-half lengths over the seven furlongs of race four. Hickory Slim (1-2), full brother of champion Mahogany, disappointed for the sixth occasion as he only managed to be third in failing to see out the distance.

Roman closed his double aboard 2-5 bet Midnight Runner, entered by trainer Adrian Prince in race five over the five furlongs straight trip for the first of his stable double. Midnight Runner had to be hard driven to score by a half a length, but the closing leg of the Prince double came in exaggerated contrasting style in race eight. Favoured at odds of 4-5, Zulu Warrior won the six-furlong sprint by seventeen and a half lengths with no intervention from Shane Richardson in the saddle.

Whilst Phillip Parchment had the first of his two winning mounts with Dodge This Link (5-1) dominating the six-furlong exertion of race six by five lengths for trainer Greg Fennell’s seventh trip to the winners’ enclosure this season. Parchment’s closing leg of his double was Gary Subratie’s The General (9-1), who, from well off the early pace, arrived in the final stride of the six-furlong contest to beat stablemate
Bold Move.

The featured seven-furlong Hubert “Chinna” Bartley Memorial Trophy was contested in two Divisions. The first, run as race nine, was won by Girvano (1-5) for the second leg of the Jason DaCosta stable double. Ridden by Robert Halledeen, the progressive three-year-old US-bred imported Girvano did not have the best start but ran on strongly in the last 150 yards and took the lead in the final stride to beat
Supremasi (Raddesh Roman), the leader from the half mile.

Division II of the feature event, run as the nightcap, was won with a return to form by Immeasurable Joy (4-1), whose last two efforts prior were forgettable. Conditioned by former three-time titlist Anthony Nunes and piloted by former champion Wesley Henry, the four-year-old bay filly, imported in utero, responded to patient tactical control, found a clear run against the far rails and stayed strongly to thwart the post-to-post attempt of Antarctica by just under one length.

The Training Feat Award is presented to Anthony Nunes for the return to form of Immeasurable Joy to deliver the Best Winning Gallop. The patience, judgement of pace, positioning and tactical game plan of Wesley Henry aboard the four-year-old bay filly earns him the Jockeyship Award.