EDMONTON, Alberta, CMC – Reigning champion Dane Nelson and fellow Jamaican Samantha Fletcher both logged braces to lead the Caribbean’s domination of Saturday’s eight-race card at Century Mile.
The 39-year-old Nelson captured race four over seven furlongs with 4-9 choice Midnight Garden before returning to nail race seven over a mile with favorite Little Chicago.
Fletcher, 31, won race six over six furlongs with a 6-1 chance Behind the Curtain and doubled up by taking race eight, also over six furlongs, with 31-1 longshot Classy Rose.
There was also success on the day’s card for Rasheed Hughes, who followed up his triple on Friday by winning a six-furlong sprint in race two aboard favorite Majestic Street, while fellow Barbadian N’Rico Prescod paired with 2-1 chance Charlie’s Copy to win a seven-furlong trip in race three.
Nelson, who narrowly missed out in race three aboard 2-1 bet Passage, opened his account in the next race when he edged the three-year-old and upward fillies and mares with nine-year-old chestnut mare Midnight Garden.
Five-to-one choice Chatty Gal – with veteran Barbadian Desmond Bryan in the saddle – led most of the way before Nelson brought Midnight Garden with a late run to win, driving by a neck.
Nelson’s second win was another narrow score, this time by a head, combining with eight-year-old chestnut gelding Little Chicago to collar the three-year-olds and upward.
Big Al’s Vision set the pace under pressure from Smart Cat before Nelson bid at the three-sixteenth, grabbed the lead, and held off Give Em Heck Beck in the stretch.
Until her first win, Fletcher had finished last in her two outings – in race two with a 3-1 chance Amusing Way and in race four with a 51-1 longshot Entitled Star.
She lifted herself, however, pairing with the five-year-old chestnut gelding Behind the Curtain to get the better of the three-year-olds and move upward by half a length.
And she returned to stun the field with four-year-old chestnut filly Classy Rose, trouncing the three-year-old and upward maiden fillies and mares by three-quarters of a length.
and then 