Sergeon's peach ride makes 'Chief' a winner

Orville Clarke, Gleaner Writer

The 8-5 second favourite, ODIN, and 9-1 outsider, THE CHIEF, emerged easy winners of the respective co-feature races at Caymanas Park yesterday.

ODIN romped the Jamaica Racehorse Trainers' Association Trophy race over 1200 metres and THE CHIEF went wire-to-wire in the Gladiator Trophy Open Allowance race over 1400 metres.

Female apprentice Georgina Sergeon rode a peach of a race from in front aboard THE CHIEF, slowing down the pace approaching the home turn and allowing champion jockey Omar Walker aboard 3-5 favourite, BURNING CIELO, to draw alongside entering the straight.

But when Walker mounted his challenge with BURNING CIELO, Sergeon had a ton in hand and THE CHIEF soon

Quickened to win by 2 ¹/_² lengths.

A beaten favourite on November 12 when claimed by trainer Gary Subratie for $550,000, THE CHIEF was reprogrammed for this trophy, stepped up in class and surprised even Subratie by winning easily over a distance considered just out of his depth. But Subratie conceded that Sergeon rode a perfect race.

"The whole idea was to get him to relax in the backstretch and in the end he found a lot extra in the straight to win at good odds," said the second-generation trainer.

Trainers' association trophy

Later in the afternoon, highly fancied ODIN, from the stables of Norman Palmer, stormed through early in the straight to win the Jamaica Racehorse Trainers' Associa-tion Trophy for native-bred three-year-olds (non-winners of two) by all of six lengths, from 10-1 chance TOPLESS ANGEL (Walker up) and 3-4 favourite SQUASHI, who led at a fast clip for the first 800 metres with Winston Griffiths aboard.

ODIN is owned by M.S. Stables, trained by Norman Palmer and bred by Dr Paul Wright. The lightly raced 3-y-o colt by Traditional out of Zig's Quiet Lady completed a double on the card for in-form jockey Dane Nelson.

The annual Jamaica Racehorse Trainers' Association Day programme, which saw 14-time champion trainer Philip Feanny, Noel Ennevor and Morris Powell being honoured by the association for their sterling contribution, produced five winning favourites, among them the Welsh Soutar-trained POWER GLITZ at 8-5 in the fourth race over 400 metres straight, confined to Exercise Riders.

Significantly, POWER GLITZ was ridden by former champion apprentice, Steve Rowe, who graduated from the Jockeys' School in 1991 with Clive Lynch, Azel Cowie and Paul Ramsay, but his very promising career was derailed owing to substance abuse.

Now 37 and a father of three, Rowe said he would like to become a full-fledged jockey once again, but the Jamaica Racing Commission has resisted his efforts.