Apprentice Tajay Suckoo, fresh from triple success 24 hours earlier, for the first of another three-timer, extended his good form with victory aboard 1-2 favourite Delta Gamma, trained by Richard Azan, to win the 6½-furlong opening event for maiden three-year-old fillies by a margin of two and a half lengths.

As many of the 2024 graduates of the Jamaica Racing Commission Riding School (JRCRS) continue to perform with distinction, Jaheim Anderson was extremely confident in guiding 8-5 favourite Cryptogirl to score by just over two lengths in race two, over the straight course, for trainer Byron Davis.

To underscore the JRCRS success, for three straight wins it was Suckoo time again in race three with Design Diva (3-2) scoring from in front by 2¼ lengths for trainer Michael Spencer’s first of two trips to the winners’ enclosure on the 10-race programme. Apprentice Eric Haughton made it win number four for the JRCRS cohort, with trainer Omar Williams’ Lucky Papa(4-1), a 2½-length winner of the 5½-furlong fourth event. Blood Moon (Tevin Foster) made all the running to win race five, run on the five-furlong round course, by a margin of 2½ lengths for conditioner Christopher Pierre.

In race six, restricted to three-year-old maiden fillies, for his second trip to the winners’ enclosure this season from 29 rides, jockey Chalwick Budhai got Gulfstream Cat (7-1) home by a half-length winning distance at the end of the 6½-furlong gallop of race six for long-serving and knowledgeable breeder/owner/trainer Carl Anderson. Trainer Michael Spencer closed his stable double with Stein (7-2), always clear over the five-furlong straight dash of race seven with 2023 champion Reyan Lewis at the reins.

For the third of three on the day and the sixth of the two-day end of June meet Suckoo was at his best. Race eight was Division One of the featured seven-furlong Restricted Overnight Allowance Hubert “Chinna” Bartley Trophy. Following up on a three-timer 24 hours earlier, this was the opener of a double for the Anthony Nunes outfit.

Connections pose with Gulfstream Cat (Chalrick Buhdai) in the winners’ enclosure. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)

Tasked with bettering a tough opponent in 1-2 favourite and game front-runner American Aviator (USA), Suckoo, aboard the Nunes-conditioned Canadian-bred four-year-old filly Miss Grove (9-2), stalked from three furlongs out before delivering the successful challenge inside the last 100 yards.

The Nunes stable double was confirmed in race nine with 9-5 favourite Dutchess, partnered by former six-time champion Omar Walker, scoring in the Restricted Allowance event for horses with less than three wins at four years old and upwards.

The four-year-old filly, who was drawn at post position one, saved ground approaching the final bend as the battling front-runners left a gap on the far rails, which the experienced reinsman exploited. Dutchess, with an irresistible burst of finishing speed, eventually won the six-furlong contest by 3¼ lengths. The filly looked exceptionally well in the post-parade and ran accordingly.

In the closing event, Division Two of the featured Hubert Bartley, third-generation trainer Peter-John Parsard presented Boss Man (6-5) in career-best form for the four-year-old colt to dominate proceedings all the way in a runaway of over nine lengths. Ridden by 2022 champion Dane Dawkins, this progeny of Bern Identity looks capable of improvement and could be winning again soon.

The Training Feat Award is presented to Michael Spencer for his double success with two horses, Design Diva and
Stein, renowned for inconsistency and who are not easy to train. The Best Winning gallop came from Gulfstream Cat, who only secured a passage on the far rails, less than 50 yards out, having encountered problems in the stretch run. Chalrick Budhai gets his first Jockeyship Award for his skills in winning a hugely competitive race.