Jason DaCosta has Nunes in his sights

Robert Bailey/Gleaner WriterWith just over $7 million separating him from reigning champion Anthony Nunes in the trainers' standings, Jason DaCosta says the title is now well within his reach for this season.

Jason, who took over the stables of his father when the latter died earlier this year, started training in Jamaica at the end of March. He is currently third in the trainers' championships with 24 wins and stakes earnings of $18,058,995. Nunes leads the standings with 31 wins and earnings of $25,839,150. Gary Subratie is second with 21 wins and stakes earnings of $21,483,425.

However, with six months to go in the season and a number of big races to come including this weekend’s Jamaica St Leger and the Jamaica Derby and the Jamaica Oaks in August as well as the Two-Year-Old Series which begins in October, there is still a lot of purse money that will be up for grabs before the season closes in December.

“This is going to be a tall task but we will just continue to do what we are doing and try to win races and if it comes, it comes,” said DaCosta.

“So far everything has been going well. I can’t complain. The horses have been running well and I have been getting support from the owners and all the employees,” he said.

Jason, a licensed trainer in the United States where he has won more than 350 races, pointed out that he will be stationed in Jamaica while still maintaining his barn in America.

“I will be based here and I am going to keep the stable over there operational and I will go up there from time to time,” said DaCosta. “I have a good crew over there in America and so everything is going according to plan. I still have to do the programmes every night for them and keeping in contact with video calls and pictures. So that's how I basically oversee everything from here and so far so good, the horses are still running well.”