'Bruce' wins again in Trinidad

ARIMA, Trinidad (CMC):

Bruceontheloose underlined his class again, when he captured the US$42,000 feature Stewards Cup on Saturday's eight-race card at Santa Rosa Park.

The odds-on favourite earned his seventh victory for the season with an almost six-length victory that gave Ronald Ali his 60th win, and allowed him to trade in his apprentice papers, becoming a fully-licensed jockey.

Bruceontheloose, a four-year-old, roan colt, sprinted 1,200 metres in one minute, 10.31 seconds to smash his own Stewards Cup record by seven hundredths-of-a-second.

Horse-of-the-Year

The 2009 Trinidad & Tobago Horse-of-the-Year was tracking the early pace set by Sweet Alex, his stablemate, and Storm Street.

Ali moved him up to challenge at the half mark, and he put the race to bed in a matter of strides.

Big City Diva, under Ricky Jadoo, was second, with Filcher, under Christopher Jadoo, finished third.

The Jamaica-bred Bruceontheloose has now boosted his career earnings to close to US $315,000 - including US $130,000 this season - which should make him a shoe-in for the Horse-of-the-Year label again.

Bruceontheloose will now attempt to win the Stewards Cup/Gold Cup double on December 27, which was last accomplished a few years ago by Sugar Mike.

Elsewhere, Santa Rosa Boy, last year's Guineas winner, ridden by Stanley Chadee, maintained his form by winning the optional US $6,000 claimer from Jack Pot Delight, under Ricardo Perez, and Silent Reproach, ridden by Brian Harding, to give former T&T cricketer Michael Carew Jr his third career win as a trainer.

Carew is also the son of former T&T cricket icon and chairman of West Indies cricket selectors, Joey Carew.