LOCAL-BRED RUNNERS, MIGHTY GULLY and PRINCE AMAAN, yesterday turned back Americans, BULLETPROOFCOFFEE and CHAMPION BUBBLER, to win divisions one and two, respectively, of the Racehorse Aftercare feature event at five furlongs straight.
The native-breds made the best of the track bias, both drawn one stall from the outer rail, in nine and 10-horse fields of overnight-allowance runners.
MIGHTY GULLY, a three-year-old daughter of 2016 Gold Cup winner, Buzz Nightmare, made it three wins from her last four starts, the second time consecutively she was doing so three times in row, going gate to wire to hand Panamanian Dick Cardenas his second winner on the 10-race card.
A specialist at five and a half furlongs, having won three races at the trip this season, MIGHTY GULLY showed her versatility and sire’s speed by cruising the first three furlongs before opening up for a runaway win in 58.3, nine lengths clear of BULLETPROOFCOFFEE.
Bettors made MIGHTY GULLY the 8-5 favourite to reproduce the form she had shown on October 25 when winning easily in 1:05.3 with Cardenas at five and a half furlongs.
MIGHTY GULLY’s stroll was in stark contrast to Cardenas’ first winner, Anthony Nunes’ SMART TRICK, a 5-2 chance. SMART TRICK made all at five furlongs round in the second event, grimly holding on by a neck from INDESTRUCTIBLE, who was slowly into stride but came charging inside the final half-furlong at odds of 8-1.
PRINCE AMAAN, a four-year-old Sensational Slam-Fashionista colt claimed by Jason DaCosta from rival Nunes for $1.5 million back in May, finally got his overnight-allowance breakthrough on the 10th attempt under new management.
Breaking smartly with Robert Halledeen, PRINCE AMAAN stubbornly held off persistent 4-5 favourite CHAMPION BUBBLER by a short head, winning at odds of 2-1, closing a two-timer for the jockey-trainer combination, which had opened the programme with 1-5 favourite STARRAURA.
Champion jockey Raddesh Roman also rode a two-timer, back-to-back armchair winners, TIGRAY EXPRESS and TIGERAMEDAT, serial plunderers among claimers. Roman’s double moved him to 118 winners in a solo march for a second consecutive riders’ title.
TIGERAMEDAT handed Nunes his second winner on the card in his bid to stay within striking distance of DaCosta, who started the afternoon with stakes earnings of $69.5 million.
Nunes, who opened the day approximately $15m behind four-time and reigning champion DaCosta, has his chips on American NAUTICAL STAR in the US$300,000 Mouttet Mile set for Saturday, December 6.
Racing continues this afternoon with 10 events. First post is 11:30 a.m., with the Alsafra Trophy at seven and a half furlongs as the feature event for overnight-allowance runners.
