Campesino nabs rivals late
CAMPESINO MOTORED from last to first with veteran jockey Ian Spence to beat ARMAGEDDON by a head, scoring a mild 5-1 upset in yesterday’s 1000-metre straight open allowance at Caymanas Park.
Bumped at the start and tailed off for the first two furlongs, the down-in-class eight-year-old gelding produced a telling turn of foot inside the last furlong to reel in a wall of horses battling for the lead.
Closing fast along the inner rail with topweight 126lb, CAMPESINO rushed past ORPHEUS, POKER STAR, ANOTHER BULLET and WONG DON to lead a half-furlong out.
ARMAGEDDON, who was switched from behind horses a furlong out, came flying on the wide outside at odds of 7-1, forcing a photo, but arrived too late with Odean Edwards.
A top campaigner, who won three grade one events last year, CAMPESINO returned to open allowance a month ago, his first outing this season since finishing fourth in November’s Caribbean Sprint.
Female apprentice Natalie Berger and Panamanian Dick Cardenas each rode back-toback winners.
Cardenas won the second and third races aboard POLLY B and PECKING CRUZ, respectively.
Berger notched her double astride STRIKINGLY-GORGEOUS and CLASSY VISHALA in the sixth and seventh, respectively.
Racing continues at Caymanas Park on Saturday with the running of the season’s final three-year-old classic, the 10-furlong Jamaica St Leger.