Legacy Isle seeks revenge
…Jaramillo returns for Mouttet Mile rematch after last year’s neck defeat to Funcaandun
Trainer Rohan Crichton and international jockey Emisael Jaramillo share a quiet intensity as Legacy Isle prepares for tomorrow’s ultra-rich US$300,000 Mouttet Mile — both carry a “stone in their shoes” from last year’s defeat, fuelling their drive to rewrite the record books.
Legacy Isle narrowly missed Mouttet Mile glory last year, edged out by Funcaandun (Robert Halledeen) by a long neck in the 1,600m Graded Stakes contest.
“I think both of us have a little stone in our shoes from last year. Both of us having a little feeling from last year, and so I thought it was fair to ask him to come back. He loves riding here and I know he’s excited about coming back and trying to set the record books straight,” Crichton said.
Crichton said that Legacy Isle’s build up towards the Mouttet Mile has been great.
“He’s been doing really well. We took our time, built him up, hoping he’d run his best. He is going to need it because I think this year’s Mouttet Mile is probably the most competitive thus far, and it’s going to be a very great race,” he noted.
In his last gallop on November 29, Legacy Isle worked five furlongs straight in 58.3, with four furlongs coming in 46.0. Crichton admitted the horse went a little faster than planned.
“I think he went a little too fast, but Richie [the previous rider] wasn’t pushing hard, so I hope it didn’t take too much out of him. The plan was more of a sedate type of work…hard to tell a 1200-lb animal to slow down.”
“I think he went a little too fast, but Richie [the rider] wasn’t pushing hard, so I hope it didn’t take too much out of him. The plan was more of a sedate type of work, more comfortable. The week before he really worked very sharp and so the plan was to go a little easy, but racehorses do what racehorses do when they are feeling good. It’s hard to get a 130-lb guy to tell a 1,200-lb animal to slow down, but he’s feeling good,” Crichton explained.
Funcaandun (left-Robert Halledeen) and Legacy Isle (Emisael Jaramillo) battles for supremacy in deep stretch in the 2024 Mouttet Mile at Caymanas Park. Funcaandun won the race by a neck. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)
