Last Saturday, July 25, 2026, Tajay Suckoo piloted Phenomenal Power to win the $10-million Diamond Mile at Caymanas Park, giving the young jockey the biggest moment of his career thus far.

“Well, it is a happy moment. It is a great feeling,” Suckoo said, post-race. “I just have to give God thanks all the time.”

It was supposed to be a tactical race in the Graded Stakes contest for three-year-olds and upward, but Suckoo said trainer Adrian Prince’s instructions were very clear.

“The trainer told me the two speeds in the race, Legacy Isle and Pack Plays, and so the main thing for me was to get a good break at the off. If they are in front of me at the start, I must just sit back at least in third place and watch them,” he shared.

But Suckoo said the script was flipped in a blink.

“When the starting gates were opened, I was surprised because my horse took me right through to the lead and I just regulated and came right through the race. I didn’t ask him for much because he is so talented, he just took me right to the front and so I bridled up and let him pace,” he explained.

Phenomenal Power seized control and never gave it back as he came home by a length ahead of Girvano (Tevin Foster) in second and Barnaby (Eric Haughton) in third.

Phenomenal Power stopped the clock in 1:34.40 minutes — a stakes record for the Diamond Mile. The previous mark was 1:35.1, done by She’s A Maneater in 2019.

It was just one-fifth of a second outside the long-standing track record of 1:34.3 set by Wantin An Havin back in 1997. The win also gave Phenomenal Power an automatic entry to December’s ultra-rich US$300,000 Mouttet Mile.

“I knew I had won the race at the half-mile marker. At that point, Legacy Isle was beside me and I heard the jockey asking him and I was just sitting.

“Turning for home, I was confident that I was going to get home but Rideallday was in the race and he is a hard closer, and so I was just moving as fast as I can from the quarter to try to finish the race,” Suckoo ended.

— Ruddy Allen