ETOBICOKE, Ontario, CMC – Four Barbadian horsemen – including former western Canada stand-out Rico Walcott – had a hand in three wins on Friday’s race card at the Woodbine racetrack in Canada.
Walcott moved his tally of wins for the season to 10, and fellow jockey Dasean Bynoe landed his fifth. At the same time, trainers Tedston Holder and Austin Hinds saddled their fifth and third winners for the season on the eight-race card at Canada’s main racing facility.
Bynoe and Holder were the first to show when they combined to produce a win by a head with the 3-1 chance Wicked Miah in the CAN $29 700, claiming the third race over 1 700 meters on the inner turf course.
Wicked Miah hopped at the start, but Bynoe put his mount to track leader Trish the Dish, under ace Barbadian reinsman Patrick Husbands, four wide into the first turn before the six-year-old bay mare pulled the rider outside to the lead, entering the back straight.
Bynoe nudged Wicked Miah on for a little more in the final turn, and she had just enough left in the tank to win by a diminishing margin at the wire from Trish the Dish in a time of one minute, 45.21 seconds.
The Hinds-owned and trained 24-1 outsider Mad Dog N Joe, under Alexis Sanchez, took the CAN $54 500, claiming the fifth race over 1 500 meters on the inner turf by a neck.
Mad Dog N Joe broke sharply, and nearly a length on top sped clear into the first turn, shifted in to set the pace, and extended the advantage up the backstretch before Sanchez put the five-year-old bay gelding to urging in the lane, and he was in search of the wire late and last to clock 1 min, 31.15 secs.
Walcott had to wait until he mounted 4-1 choice Luv to Win for the CAN $40 200, claiming the seventh race over seven furlongs on the inner turf to log a win by 1-1/2 lengths.
Luv to Win had a slim lead while pressured from the outside down the backside. He dictated the pace on the rail into the final turn before the four-year-old, dark bay gelding edged away from his chaser, and Walcott coaxed him for a run in the upper stretch and kept him to task to hold safe to the finish for a time of 57.84 secs.
and then 