Decorated jockey Rasheed Hughes grabbed a double win, including the Gordon Lewis Memorial Handicap with ease aboard favourite The Goddess Nike, on the Honouring Former Barbados Turf Club Employees race day on Saturday.
The Goddess Nike faced a tame challenge from her only rival, Sir Jimmy, under Devante Prescod, in the $17 000 feature race on a card of seven for three-year-olds and older rated 115-97 and three-year-old rated 96 below contested over nine furlongs around the Garrison Savannah.
This followed the late withdrawal of heavy favourites and the Trinidad & Tobago-owned pair of Hello World and Princess Aruna, and the Barbados-owned Undisputed in what was to be a five-horse field.
Sir Jimmy took the lead in the race, the final for the day, and Hughes put The Goddess Nike, who was unplaced in the Sandy Lane Gold Cup earlier this year, into a stalking position.
Hughes then got The Goddess Nike to sweept past Sir Jimmy when the race returned to the starting point, and the four-year-old bay filly, owned by Chevan Maharaj of T&T and trained by Romaine Lovell, remained in command.
The Goddess Nike trotted past the finish line in a time of one minute, 56 seconds flat, and Hughes rubbed salt in the wounds when he posed for the camera while his mount took care of business.
The win for The Goddess Nike meant that horse out of T&T have dominated most of the major races for the season with Hello World winning the Tanglewood Stakes and Princess Aruna taking The Garrison Savannah Handicap on the previous race day.
It was the 10th win of the season for Hughes after he earlier drove 5-1 choice, Run Bayou to a 1 ¾-lengths win in the $17 000 Claire Melville Memorial Handicap for three-year-olds and older rated 60 to 40 and also rated 39 and below over 1 100 metres.
Run Bayou, also trained by Lovell, came from the middle of the pack to finish with a winning time of 1 min, 8 secs flat in the fifth race on the card, which also featured double wins for two other handlers, Richard Deane and Edward Walcott Jr.
Walcott saddled the 7-2 bet, Gayzed, under Kadeem Mohammed, that won the $15 000 second race, the Sheila McKenzie Memorial Handicap for four-year-olds and older non-winners of two rated 55 and below over 1 570 metres.
He followed up with the 8-1 chance, Elegant, under Antonio Bishop, that won the $13 500 sixth race, the Charles “Smally” Small Memorial Handicap for four-year-olds and older maidens rated 55 and below over 1 100 metres.
Deane prepared the 9-1 chance, Ollivander, under Jarelle Beckles, that won the $13 500 third race, the Antonia Corbin Memorial Handicap for three-year-olds and older rated 35 to 15 over 1 100 metres.
The long-standing trainer also produced 8-5 favourite, Josiah, under leading jockey Rickey Walcott, that won the $17 000 fourth race, the Radcliffe Hewitt Memorial Handicap over nine furlongs that was open to three-year-olds and older rated 65 to 47 and rated 46 and below.
Next race day will be on April 12.
(KL/BT)
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