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Jamaica's Stephenson, T&T's Samaroo split feature races

Published:Wednesday | September 22, 2010 | 12:00 AM
FREEDOM PRINCE, running as the 6-5 favourite with Dane Nelson aboard, goes past 11-1 shot ROLL THE DICE with champion jockey Omar Walker aboard in the fifth race over 1300 metres at Caymanas Park on Saturday. - Colin Hamilton/Feelance Photographer

SASKATOON, Canada (CMC):

Caribbean jockeys, led by Jamaica's Neville Stephenson and Trinidad & Tobago's Naim Samaroo, continued their dominance of Marquis Downs racing on Saturday.

Stephenson and Samaroo split the feature events and completed doubles on the 10-race card at the premier race track in the mid-western Canadian province of Saskatchewan.

Also winning on the card were T&T's Shastri Singh and Kurt Ragbirsingh, as well as the Jamaican Garfield Gordon.

Samaroo leads the colony of jockeys at Marquis Downs with 50 wins, Stephenson is third on 30, Singh is seventh with nine, Gordon is tied for ninth with three others on six, and Ragbirsingh is 12th with five.

Stephenson won the CAN $25,000 feature Prairie Lily Sales Stakes - the second race - aboard the 2-5 favourite Striking Time by 33/4 lengths for his sixth stakes victory for the season.

Gordon's win came late in the programme, when he propelled the 12-1 chance Thehawkkeptflying to a half-length victory in the CAN $3,200 ninth and penultimate race. The five-year-old, bay gelding posted a winning time of 1:42.53 over 1,600m.

Good position

Striking Time, a two-year-old, grey gelding, settled into a good position just off the pace, chased the leaders and finally caught them in the upper stretch before running on to complete 1,300 metres on the dirt track in one minute, 21.79 seconds.

Samaroo captured the CAN $7,500 co-feature Prairieland Park Handicap - the eighth race - astride the 6-1 chance Northern Missile by one length for his eighth stakes victory for the season.

Northern Missile, a six-year-old, dark bay gelding, got away alertly, duelled with the front-runner before getting up in the final strides to finish 1,700m in 1 min, 48.36 seconds.

Samaroo had opened the programme with a two-length victory on the 1-2 favourite Hawk de Diamond in the CAN $3,200 first race. The four-year-old, dark bay filly went 1,400m in 1:28.20.

Stephenson followed up his feature victory with a half-length win on the 2-1 chance Shot of Charm in the CAN $3,900 third race, when the five-year-old, dark bay gelding did 1,600m in 1:43.20.

Singh won the CAN $3,200 fourth race with the 4-5 favourite Ourbuddyjer by one length. The four-year-old, bay gelding clocked 1:14.69 over 1,200m.

Ragbirsingh clinched the CAN $3,000 fifth race with the 9-1 chance Flying Gas by 2 1/2 lengths, after the four-year-old, dark bay gelding dashed 1,200m in 1:15.60.