Barbados' Welch still inhunt for seventh title
Published:Friday | July 16, 2010 | 12:00 AM
EDMONTON, Alberta (CMC):
Barbadian jockey Quincy Welch landed a double on Wednesday to maintain his lead in the jockey standings at Northlands Park.
Welch, gunning for his seventh title at the western Canada racetrack, captured race two with Bond James Bond and the final event on the eight-race card with Wood B Nice.
The brace took him to 42 wins for the season and across the CAN$400,000 threshold in earnings. He is two wins clear of Anthony Salgado in second with Barbadian Rico Walcott back in third on 25 wins.
His first triumph of the day came in the CAN$13,800, second race over 51/2 furlongs when he made all the running with the two-year-old bay gelding Bond James Bond.
Welch set the pace on the rail with the odds-on favourite before distancing himself from his tracker Benjamin Britten, to get home 11/4 lengths clear in a time of one minute, 8.6 seconds.
For his second success, the Barbadian reinsman narrowly took the 61/2 furlong race eight with another favourite, the four-year-old brown gelding Wood B Nice.
Welch positioned his mount three wide early and challenged Salgado and A.K.'s Dancer for the lead entering the stretch, winning the bid to cross the wire by three-quarters of a length in 1:19.4 minutes.
Welch is a multiple Northlands Park champion, having won the title in 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2008.
His compatriot Rickey Walcott captured the championship between 2005 and 2007 but is not campaigning at the venue this season.
Welch is a multiple Northlands Park champion, having won the title in 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2008.