Dane Dawkins sets sights on first jockey’s championship
Published:Tuesday | February 8, 2022 | 12:10 AMRobert Bailey/Gleaner Writer
IN-FORM RIDER Dane Dawkins has set his sights on winning his first jockey’s championship at Caymanas Park this year.
Dawkins, 28, has been in excellent form at the track this year, with an impressive 15 wins so far in 2022.
In fact, he won five races last weekend, which includes a four-timer on Saturday and one on Sunday.
“I am going for the championships and so all I have to do is to stay focused and I hope I continue to get the rides,” said Dawkins.
“I have been getting a lot of good rides now, and I have been training a lot harder and that is giving me the results whenever I go out there to win this championship,” he said.
Dawkins is five wins ahead of Tevin Foster in the standings, who is on 10 wins followed by Robert Halledeen on nine and Dane Nelson on six.
According to Dawkins, the championship is going to be a lot more competitive this year because a number of very good riders want to win it.
“Dane Nelson is here and the other jockeys are also riding for it, and so it is going to be very exciting this year,” he said.
Dawkins, who has been riding at Caymanas Park for the past seven years, underscored that he is hoping to surpass his career high of 42 wins for a season this year.
“I am feeling very good at the moment because it is the first time that I have had so many wins at the start of the year,” he said.
“The trainers have always been confident in me, especially Gary Subratie and Ian Parsard, and so I am just getting better rides than I am used to getting and I am making full use of them,” Dawkins said.
The soft-spoken Dawkins, who is a former student of the Greater Portmore High School in St Catherine, has won over 200 races in his career. He usually plies his trade on the North American circuit, but has no intentions of going overseas this year.
“I am staying home this year because I need to win my first jockey’s championship,” he said.