Orville Clarke, Freelance Writer
FIRE D TRAINER made amends for her recent near miss with an emphatic victory in the Jamaica Racehorse Trainers' Association (JRTA) Trophy restricted allowance II (non-winners of two) feature over 1200 metres at Caymanas Park yesterday.
Installed an even money favourite with the promising apprentice Harriston Lewis riding for 14-time champion trainer Philip Feanny, FIRE D TRAINER won by 2 3/4 lengths from highly fancied SUMMER WIND (2-1) under 'Hall of Fame' jockey Charles Hussey, with third going to the 17-1 shot GO DEM A RUN.
LIGHT MY FIRE (5-1), who made most in the 13-strong field, was fourth.
Held several lengths off the pace in sixth position as LIGHT MY FIRE led comfortably from FABULOUS P and ABENG, FIRE D TRAINER made smooth headway on the outside at the halfway stage to turn for home (wide) in second, then stormed through leaving the furlong pole to win going away from SUMMER WIND.
A chestnut filly by Royal Minister out of Sunny Terror, FIRE D TRAINER is owned by David Willers and bred by the Sun Valley Farms Limited. This was her second win from seven career starts.
Always confident
Lewis, who rode two winners on Wednesday's programme, said he was always confident of victory.
"The trainer told me to break her sharply and rate her just off the early pace. She glided down smoothy into second approaching the turn and although I was forced out wide coming into the straight and the jockey aboard the leader kept flashing his whip in her face, she just had too much legs for them a furlong out," said the 21-year-old who has now ridden 10 winners from 67 rides.
Lewis was overshadowed by fellow Jockeys' School graduate, Carlton Malcolm, who had the distinction of the being the first from the batch of 15 (which started riding on July 29) to notch a triple.
Malcolm, who celebrates his 27th birthday tomorrow, booted home 3-5 favourite ALL FIRED UP in the third race, 9-2 chance SANTA ANITA GIRL for in-form trainer Gary Subratie in the eighth and 3-5 favourite MALIKA for Feanny in the ninth race for the Earl Adams Memorial Trophy for maiden three-year-olds.
Leading claimer
Malcolm, popularly called 'Little Big Man', is apprenticed to Trainers' Association President Vin Edwards. The ace lightweight is now the leading claiming rider with 19 winners, only one ahead of Javour Simpson who rode two winners in CELEBRATION TIME (8-5) for Subratie and the 99-1 outsider TRACK STAR for trainer Robert Taylor in the fourth race for maiden two-year-olds.
On a day when Feanny and Subratie saddled two winners each, the Wayne DaCosta-trained American filly GIRL IN GOLD (5-1) stormed through in deep stretch under Wesley Henry to win the Gerry Skelton Memorial Cup overnight alowance race on the Trainers' Association Day 11-race programme, which saw eight-time champion Kenneth Mattis, O.D., veteran Ivan 'Bembe' Smith and lone female trainer Margaret Parchment being honoured by their association.
Each was presented with commemorative plaques by executive members of the JRTA.
