Forever Mine, The Diplomat star at Caymanas Park
With no sponsored race on the programme the $715,000 Overnight Allowance sprint over 1,000 metres round took centre stage and surprisingly top trainer Wayne DaCosta was shut out for the day.
The race was for three-year-olds and upward and six entered the gates with Forever Mine and The Guardian sharing top billing at odds of 6-5.
However, The Guardian, ridden by Omar Walker, was never in it as Forever Mine, the mount of top claiming apprentice Doushane Gordon, stayed in contention from early and then caught pacesetter and 5-2 shot First Time Lucky (Wesley Henry astride) with more than half of the race remaining to win by 2 1/4 lengths in 59.1 seconds.
It was another 3 3/4 lengths farther back to late closer New Kingston with Kirk Johnson in the saddle at odds of 5-1. The Guardian, who never raised a serious gallop, was third with the 14-1 chance Tobago completing the frame under Dane Nelson.
Winning trainer and part owner Neive Graham, who was winning his second race with the gelding, said: “With the weight in his favour and all that we were quite confident that he would have won. He performed well behind Ministerofjustice over the straight course on February 20 and with his natural speed he did not have to do much more to get the better of this field.”
A five-year-old dark bay gelding by Alisios out of Meant To Be (Corsicana) Forever Mine was bred by Winston Kong and Patrick Rousseau and was winning for the eighth time from 38 career starts and he earned $390,400 as the winner’s for earnings of $4,103,050 lifetime.
Elsewhere on the programme, the 4-1 chance The Diplomat ridden by Paul Francis won the lone three-year-old maiden special weight contest on the card for native-bred three-year-olds following the disqualification of first-past-the-post 4-5 favourite, Junior Minister, the mount of Shane Ellis.
The Diplomat, who past the post second, was handed the race by the stewards after Junior Minister was penalised and placed out of the frame behind Indy Queen who was deemed to have suffered interference approaching the quarter bend.
With the disqualification of the Junior Minister, third-past-the-post Topless Angel, a 51-1 bet with Wesley Henry aboard, was promoted to second, with third spot going to the 26-1 chance Big Red with Vassel Najair up. Little Link was awarded fourth spot and Mumbai Maestro fifth.
Trained by Philip Feanny for owners Clovis Hermine Metcalfe, The Diplomat is a three-year-old bay gelding by Traditional out of Tactful Persuasion (Wise Emissary) and bred by Ivanhoe Williams. It was his first winning purse from three career starts and he earned $390,400 as the winner’s share for earnings of $ 422,950 to date.