Sun | May 5, 2024

Walker stars with Seeking My Dream

Published:Saturday | March 11, 2017 | 6:53 PMOrville Clarke
Gladstone Taylor
Seeking My Dream is steered to victory by Omar Walker in the Chairmans Trophy over 1500 metres at Caymanas Park yesterday. Walker rode five winners on the card.

Five-time champion jockey Omar Walker rather fittingly enjoyed a supreme day at Caymanas Park with five winners on yesterday's 11-race programme, the first meet under the umbrella of Supreme Ventures Racing and Entertainment Limited, the new owners of the racing complex.

Walker, the reigning champion jockey, was in his element as he dominated the programme from the very first race aboard 7-5 favourite UNBREAKABLE proceeding to ride consecutive winners from six mounts on the card. The 'Birthday Boy' closed out the five-timer with reigning "Horse of the Year' SEEKING MY DREAM, who romped the grade one Chairman's Trophy feature over 1500 metres by seven lengths in near track record time of 1:30.0, behind splits of 46.4 for the half mile and a brisk 1:10.3 for the first 1200 metres.

Trained by 16-time champion trainer Wayne DaCosta for Member of Parliament Derrick Smith, who was off the island, SEEKING MY DREAM, who was racing for the first time since his impressive victory in the $13.9 million Diamond Mile on December 10 last year, raced prominently in third as stable-companion MR. AMBASSADOR (99-1) led from last year's winner FRANFIELD (7-5) in a field of six. The race, however, was all but over passing the 600-metre marker as SEEKING MY DREAM surged into the lead and was merely racing the clock up the lane, stopping it three-fifths of a second outside the long-standing track record held by SKY TRAIN since May, 1983.

FRANFIELD, who beat SEEKING MY DREAM by a length in this race a year ago, held on well for second, a length ahead of late-closing HOVER CRAFT, one of four horses saddled by DaCosta in the six-horse field.

MAJOR OBJECTIVE

According to DaCosta, SEEKING MY DREAM's major objective is the SVL-sponsored Diamond Mile, a race he won in 2015 and 2016.

In addition to SEEKING MY DREAM and UNBREAKABLE, Walker also won aboard 6-1 chance LOTTERY TICKET for DaCosta in the third race over 1200 metres; even-money favourite CRAFTY STAR in the sixth then had to survive a stewards' inquiry and objection from the second, and the front running grey gelding NO MONEY FRIEND, who staged a tremendous rally on the inside after being caught by the favourite MONEYNEVERSLEEP to win by a head.

As a result, he leads the standings with 20 wins - five clear of Dane Nelson, who failed to ride a winner on the afternoon.