How often do we see this happening? A change of racing equipment doing the trick. There were four instances on last Saturday’s (January 24, 2025) 11-race programme when changes in equipment seemed to have made the difference between winning and losing.

Bricose, after finishing second behind Newland Links at four furlongs (800m) on November 22, returned with the tongue-tie on and made one move to win the opening event over 5 ½ furlongs (1,100m). Trained by Andre Adams and ridden by Evertte Clunis, Briscoe won by 5 lengths ahead of Lady Katghara (Emelio McLean) and Blinding Light (Anthony Allen) in 1:09.3.0. The race was Division One of a five-year-old and upward Optional Claiming ($200,000) contest for native-bred six-year-olds and upward (non-winners of two) and native-bred five-year-old and upward (maidens). The victory by Briscoe provided both Adams and Clunis with their first wins of the 2026 racing season.

In the case of third race winner, Abreathoffreshair, the removal of the blinkers and the visor on made all the difference on this occasion. With Jaheim Anderson riding for owner/trainer Phillip Lee, Abreathoffresh led from start to finish in a dominating four-length win in the Restricted Allowance II contest for native-bred five-year-olds and upward (non-winners of four) and imported five-year-olds and upward (non-winners of three) over 5 furlongs (1,000m) straight. Abreathoffreshair clocked 0:59.4 for the distance, while beating Indestructible (Raddesh Roman) and My Sunshine (Paul Francis).

In the fourth race, a Restricted Allowance V contest for native-bred four-year-olds (non-winners of two) and imported four-year-olds and upward (maidens) over 7 furlongs (1,400m), the Lesra Thompson-bred/owned/trained CutOut got the job done in a bold front-running effort with both the visor and figure-8 off. CutOut, ridden by Dane Dawkins, won by 3 lengths ahead of Feeling Free (Shaheem Gordon) and Legal Fight (Shavon Townsend) in a time of 1:28.2.

Running with the figure-8 off, Miss Lynton, owned/trained by Robert Ffrench, easily beat rivals in the ninth race, Division Two of a five-year-old and upward Optional Claiming ($200,000) event that included six-year-olds and upward (non-winners of two) and native-bred five-year-old (maidens) over 5 ½ furlongs. Miss Lynton won ahead of Tappinin (Romane Gordon) and God of Thunder (Phillip Parchment) by 2 ½ lengths in 1:09.4.

The trend is continuing as astute changes of equipment are making the difference with the performances of many horses. Punters are, therefore, advised to notice and follow these changes.

Owner/trainer Robert Ffrench with his winning charge Miss Lynton (Richie Shakes) in the winners’ enclosure on Saturday, January 24, 2026. (Photo: Joseph Wellington)