Flash Back Wednesday brings you a blast from the past!! Forty glorious years of racing at Caymanas Park TWO OF THE BEST: Many-time champion jockeys George HoSang (left) and Winston Griffiths exchanging thoughts at Caymanas Park some years ago. The two are undoubtedly the most accomplished to ride at the 40-year-old track. CAYMANAS Park will celebrate its 40th anniversary on August 22 and to mark the occasion, there will be a commemorative race for top class horses on Saturday, August 21. The islands lone racing plant was declared open on Saturday, August 22, 1959 by the then Governor of Jamaica, Sir Kenneth Blackburn to herald the modern era of racing in Jamaica. ROMAN ROAD, ridden by Barrington Smith for trainer Owen Silvera, won the first race on opening day. To date close to 30,000 races have been run. It has been 40 glorious years of racing at the St. Catherine track. Following its construction in the late 50s, Caymanas Park was hailed as the most modern in the Caribbean. But a lot has changed over the years. In the old days it stood out like a phoenix on what was then prime sugar cane lands on the Caymanas Estate. As the years progressed, particularly from the 70s onward, tremendous housing development came to Portmore and Caymanas Park was soon encompassed by this growing trend. If the 1960s were the formative years at Caymanas, the 70s could be described as the boom years. Personally speaking, I was not intimately involved with horseracing during the first 10 years of the Caymanas experience. Still, I remember reading about the great horses of that era way back then, horses such as Rameses, None Such, Ska, Saumarez, Kandahar, Rumpelstiltskin, Qualitex and of course, Bonnie Blue Flag who won the first two Horse of the Year awards in 1964 and 65; jockeys such as Arthur Jones, Kenneth Mattis, Trevor McKenzie, Winston Ellis and Neville Cousley and trainers such as Allan Billy Williams, Laurie Silvera, Gerry Skelton, Aston Commock and Eileen Cliggott, among others. The 70s brought an influx of imported horses from England to the island and this served to enhance the racing on the track. One of the best performances during this decade, and perhaps in the entire history of Caymanas Park, was turned in by an American horse, MONTES STITCH in the 1972 Benson & Hedges 0old Cup over 1400 metres. Toting topweight of 140lb in a star-studded field of 18 (the maximum number allowed to start in those days), MONTES STITCH, a towering one-eyed horse from the stables of Arthur Sharpe, produced a devastating late run to win what was then the most popular handicap race on the calendar at odds of 10-1. That unique performance enabled MONTES STITCH to be crowned Horse of the Year. He was ridden by Glenford Coon Walker for the Shelter Rock Stables, a syndicate headed by the then American Ambassador, Vincent deRoulet. The 70s also saw George HoSang, the finest jockey this country as produced. After being booed disgracefully at Caymanas Park on January 2, 1971 when losing the Sir Winston Churchill Stakes aboard the favourite CREATION, HoSang chalked up his first win aboard the Tony McKenzie-trained SHORT CIRCUIT in the third race on Saturday, February 27, 1971. And in the very next race, the then 15-year-old jockey completed a quick double aboard stable-companion WELSH DARLING. The following year he won his first championship with 99 winners, thanks to several five-timers. He emerged champion again in 1974, this time with a record 167 from 478 rides for a 34.9 percent strike rate. Significantly, that record still stands today. After winning his fourth consecutive championship with 131 winners in 1975, HoSang sought greener pastures in Canada and went on to be crowned champion of that country. HoSang, who continues to ply his trade on the Florida circuit, is no stranger to racing fans of the 90s. From time to time he has returned to ride on specific occasions at Caymanas Park, notably his 1995 Derby success aboard the Richard Azan-trained DORVAL. Other products of the 70s who made their mark on racing were jockeys Richard Depass and Charles Hussey, both of whom excelled aboard, as well as Emilio Bimbo Rodriquez and Winston Fanna Griffiths who along with Hussey are many-time champions that are still with us. Among trainers, the names of Allan Billy Williams, Bobby Hale, Ren Gonzales, Arthur Sharpe, Kenneth Mattis, Nigel Nunes, Ossie Lee, Michael Silvera and Laurie Hussey were masters of their craft. It was they who paved the way for others such as Wayne DaCosta and Philip Feanny who with 10 championships under his belt is undoubtedly the finest trainer since the great Abbie Grannum. The 70s also saw the emergence of the regulatory arm of racing, the Jamaica Racing Commission which came on stream in 1972, taking over many of the functions of the Jockey Club in the process. Sir John Mordecai was the first chairman of the JRC, followed by Dennis Lalor and current chairman, former champion trainer Ren Gonsalves. One of the most spectacular feats at Caymanas Park was turned in by jockey Andrew Ramgeet on Saturday, November 20, 1993. Ramgeet rode eight winners on a single programme, a feat that could well withstand the test of time. Jockey Winston Griffiths and trainer Philip Feanny also teamed up to win eight consecutive classic races, all in 1992 and the first three in 1993. Thats a world record. Over the years, as a racing writer, the question I am most frequently asked is who in my opinion is the best horse I have seen at Caymanas Park. I have my favourites, but here is a list of 20 from the Caymanas Park era who I consider to be among the best: EROS, BLUMENTHAL, LEGAL LIGHT, TEMPERENCE OAKS, THE VICEROY, SHES ON WHEELS, HARLEQUIN, ROYAL DAD, SIR HOWARD, THORNBIRD, NONE SUCH, RAMESES, RIMSKY, BONNIE BLUE FLAG, RUMPELSTILTSKIN, EIGHT THIRTY, HOT LINE, DYE JOB, KAZ HOSHAY and DINTINCTIVE BINGO. My favourite is LEGAL LIGHT.
Posted on: Wed, 09 Apr 2014 22:37:34 +0000
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