Jamaican newcomer Muir lands double at Northlands

EDMONTON (CMC):

Rookie Jamaican reinsman Shamaree Muir rode a handsome double to make his first real mark on the new Northlands Park season here Saturday.

In his first season at the western Canada racetrack, the 21-year-old won with favourite Big in the Game in race one, and returned to score with 7-1 chance Keene on Demand in the day's final race, to move to four wins from 29 rides this season.

Six-time former champion Barbadian Quincy Welch, leads with 10 wins, one clear of Jamaican Dane Nelson with four-time defending champion Rico Walcott fourth on seven wins.

Muir, a two-time former champion apprentice in Jamaica, opened his account when he made all the running with four-year-old filly Big in the Game, to beat the three-year-old and upward fillies and mares which have never won three races.

Going six furlongs, Muir broke the filly sharply and stormed through the half in 46.62 seconds to be a whopping seven lengths clear.

The pair was in total command in the stretch and reached the wire 4-1/2 lengths clear without a challenger in sight.

Muir pulled in his second win on the seven-race programme with another daring gate-to-wire effort as he trounced the three-year-old and upward maidens by 6-3/4 lengths.

He put the five-year-old bay gelding through fractions of 22.85 seconds for the quarter and 46.85 for the half before drawing away at the quarter pole to dominate the stretch run.