Bridgmohan stays ahead at Fair Grounds
NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (CMC) — Jamaican jockey Shaun Bridgmohan picked up one victory Monday and restored a three-win lead in the Fair Grounds jockeys’ championship standings.
Bridgmohan won the US$39,000 eighth race astride the 2-1 favourite Berberis for his 60th win of the season.
With just under four weeks remaining in the season, Bridgmohan leads James Graham (57), Jamie Theriot (50) and Shane Sellers (46) in the tussle for the 2009/2010 Fair Grounds jockeys’ title.
Held off the early pace by Bridgmohan, Berberis improved from sixth position down the backstretch and was challenging in third — just under two lengths off the lead — entering the homestretch.
Berberis quickened past the front-runners approaching the eighth pole and won by 1 3/4 lengths, clocking one minute, 42.42 seconds for the mile and 40-yard trip.
The three-year-old colt won ahead of the second favourite Capote Ruler, with the 13-2 bet Elkhorn Creek a further half-length behind in third.
Bridgmohan, who won Saturday’s Allen LaCombe Memorial Stakes aboard the favourite Tizaqueena, is well positioned for championship honours in spite of missing the first four weeks of the Fair Grounds meet. He was completing his Churchill Downs assignments in Kentucky last November and only arrived here in December.
The Fair Grounds season, which began on November 6, ends on March 28.
Top Fair Grounds Jockeys
1 Shaun Bridgmohan (JAM) 60 wins
2 James Graham 57
3 Jamie Theriot 50
4 Shane Sellers 46
5 John Jacinto 44
6 Corey Lanerie 40
7 Robby Albarado 39
8 Miguel Mena 38
9 Francisco Torres 35
10 Brian Hernandez, Jr 34