Orville Clarke, Gleaner Writer

THE HUNT is over! The massive Pick-9 which had eluded punters for 18 conse-cutive racedays was cornered by seven punters at Caymanas Park yesterday, each receiving a whopping $6.7 million.

Pick-9 fever intensified like never before the 1:00 p.m. post time. With a record carryover of $38.6 million from Wednesday's meet and the realisation of a $45 million payday, the activity was such that many prospective Pick-9 players were locked out at the betting windows at Caymanas Park and many off-track betting parlours when the first of the Pick-9 races, the second, was sent off at 1:30 p.m.

Indeed, the Caymanas Track Limited's (CTL) racing office strategically extended its usual post time by 30 minutes for this meet in an effort to maximise Pick-9 sales.

Great ride

And it worked. Pick-9 sales totalled an impressive $14.7 million. In the end, the jackpot reached a fantastic $46.9 million and this time it failed to survive after two and a half months of close scrutiny.

"It was a great ride," declared CTL's racing secretary, Denzil Miller Jr "Pick-9 activity over the past couple of weeks not only boosted sales tremendously, but public awareness of the sport was pretty high during the past two months. I take this opportunity to congratulate the seven winners and thank them for their support. To the losers, I say, try again."

The majority of Pick-9 players were jolted from the first race when the 15-1 outsider SECRET CAT won the 1200-metre maiden race for four-year-old and up in decisive fashion.

The lightly-raced four-year-old filly by Maverick out of Brenda's Secret, who had showed nothing in her only previous race in September of last year, was ridden by lightweight jockey Leo 'Twitch' Miller for owner, trainer and breeder Carl Anderson.

True to form

The horses ran true to form in the remaining races with the likes of DANIELLE MY GIRL, GUIDING LIGHT, MR. BLAIR and BACK POCKET emerging popular winning favourites.

However, in the 10th and final race there was a 12-1 upset by SHUTTLE, but that did not prevent the 'magnificent seven' from riding off into the sunset. Incidentally, SHUTTLE was a chance ride for in-form jockey Paul Francis, replacing veteran David 'Scorcher' McKenzie.

Meanwhile, AD INFINITUM (2-1) responded to a powerful ride from Dane Nelson to win the Joseph Ashenheim Memorial Bowl (overnight allowance feature) over 2000 metres in a driving finish from 9-2 chance GOOD COMPANY under five-time champion Trevor Simpson.

The winner, a six-year-old bay gelding by Pangur Ban out of Infinity, is trained by Anthony 'Baba' Nunes for leading owner Elias Haloute. AD INFINITUM was bred by the Orange Valley Estates Limited.