Ja's Ziadie, Simpson among winners in US

Simpson

MIAMI, CANA:

TOP trainer Ralph Ziadie was among three Jamaican winners in United States' horse racing Tuesday.

Ziadie saddled second race winner Hind at Florida's Calder racetrack, while jockeys Trevor Simpson and Clive Beech were winners at New York's Finger Lakes, after a good weekend for Jamaicans in the USA.

Ziadie, champion trainer at the early season Hialeah meet, staged a huge upset when his three-year-old Hind (33-1) won the US$23,000 second race over one mile by 1/2 length.

The victory moved Ziadie's tally to 18 wins and third in the 2001 Calder season, behind leading trainer William White (32) and Larry Pilotti (19).

On Monday, there were three Jamaican wins at Calder - trainers Robert Hale and Colin Maragh, and jockey Andrew Ramgeet.

The 5-1 chance My Katie Too, trained by Maragh, captured Monday's first by 4 3/4 lengths, and Ramgeet followed quickly with a 1 1/2 length success in the second astride 19-1 outsider Gearjammer.

Hale, fifth in the trainers' standings, landed his 15th win of the season, when his two-year-old colt Forgotten Hero registered a 1/2 length win in the fifth race.

At Finger Lakes, Beech moved up to 13th in the jockeys' standings with 22 wins when he guided 2-1 favourite Cross Morant to a 1 1/4 length win in the third race.

Simpson, 20th in the standings, emerged with a narrow win in the thrilling fifth race which had a tight six-horse finish.

A mere half-length separated the top six finishers, as Simpson pushed little-fancied 9-1 chance Mintage to victory by a neck, beating Buy the Four N Ten (8-1) and Beech's mount Biogio's Spirit (3-1), who both finished in a dead-heat for second.

At New Hampshire's Rockingham Park, Jamaica's Winston Thompson rode nine winners between Friday and Monday, and with 64 wins, is now challenging meet leader Taylor Hole (65).

Thompson was the most successful Caribbean rider in wins in North American horse racing last year, scoring 210 victories to be 29th on the overall list of winning jockeys in the United States and Canada.

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