Crawford grateful for successful event

– prepares for CARICOM Day Horse Meet

By Timothy Jaikarran

The annual Crawford Memorial Horse Racing Meet, held last Sunday at the club’s turf at Alness village on the Corentyne Coast in East Berbice, has been considered a huge success despite being threatened by ominous rain clouds throughout the day.
After a month of delays, President of the Crawford Memorial Turf Club, Marcel Crawford Jnr, was ecstatic that the event had been so successful, and that notable wins had come from Cat Ruler and Red Jet in their respective races.
The meet had had participation from more than 40 horses competing in six different categories, with millions of dollars at stake.
In an exclusive interview with <<Guyana Times Sport>> Crawford declared that his expectations were met at the culmination of the meet. He said, “I’m happy that I was able to run off an incident-free event, and I’m happy that there were no problems, as everyone remained law abiding.
“The races were exciting from the get-go, especially the feature event, even though my horse Orion got whipped. Nevertheless, I am happy for the support. I’m very grateful to the sponsors, and I’m looking forward to more sponsors coming on board, as we will be hosting our CARICOM Day Horse Meet, which will be a bigger and better card (being held) at the same venue.”
Crawford also indicated that he had expected a much better showing from Orion, who originates from the Crawford Stables. He said he had expected Orion to do much better, since he had passed the first fitness test with ease and had shown no sign of niggling injury. He noted that while Orion was a bit rusty, as he was returning to the track for the first time since his injury in 2018, he had hoped that the horse would have broken the trend and emerge victorious.
He, however, assured this publication that Orion would be back stronger than ever in the upcoming July event. He related that he would have Orion working on his finishing, as the horse had in last Sunday’s race been dominant until the last 100 metres, when he had somehow managed to get caught.
Crawford is confident that Orion is on track to again dominate races. Orion’s journey thus far will lay the platform for him to compete in the upcoming Guyana Cup, he said.
Crawford said, “I’d like to thank the fans for coming out, and the sponsors: Banks DIH Ltd, Jumbo Jet, Collin Elcock, NTN Television Station, Annirude Construction, Fazal Habbibula and Mr Hookumchand of GUYOIL.”