All roads lead to the Rising Sun Turf Club on the West Coast of Berbice today as the 14th edition of the Guyana Cup horseracing mega-event commandeers all sporting activities along the Coastal Belt.
With high stakes, several international horses contesting, and a packed entertainment segment after the races, the Jumbo Jet Thoroughbred Racing Committee (JJTRC) has promised “something for all” in the running of Guyana Cup 2022.
JJTRC’s Nasrudeen Mohamed Jr
Following a pandemic-induced hiatus of two years, the Guyana Cup is back in the ancient county with 8 races to proverbially water the mouths of avid horseracing fans across the length and breadth of Guyana.
The three feature races are testimonials to the amount of thought and planning that the Jumbo Jet Thoroughbred Racing Committee (JJTRC) has put into this unmatchable event this year.
JJTRC’s Nasrudeen Mohamed Jr, in speaking with this newscast, shared aspects of what to expect today. “You can expect a lot of exciting races. We have 8 races carded for the day, then we have the concert starting at 6,” he said. “A lot of horses came into the country; over 45 horses from the US, Canada, Trinidad and Jamaica came. We have a lot of new faces, international faces, in the sport for the first time this year.”
In the high-stakes races, the Banks DIH Guyana Cup is slated to be contested over a mile for a winner’s purse of US$35,880. Animals in contention are “Calibogue Sound” of the Slingerz Stables in stall one, Master Z’s “Everesting” in stall 2, “Alado” in stall 3, Shaun Mohammed’s “Memories” in stall 4, Night Eyes’ “Jessica’s Pride” in stall 5, “Detroit Steel” of Simply Royal in stall 6, Queen Domina of Slingerz Stables in stall 7, Jagdeo’s “Our Stuie” in stall 8, Asif Kahdeer’s “Settling Star” in stall 9, Jumbo Jet’s “Vera’s Finally” in stall 10, and Jagdeo’s “Wild Texas Tom” in stall 11.
Flashback! A glimpse of the Guyana Cup 2019 action (Brandon Corlette Photo)
The Associated Construction Services Derby Stakes would also be contested over a mile, but for a winner’s purse of US$17,940. Last Sunday’s first-of-its-kind draw for the Guyana Cup landed Jumbo Jet’s “Like A Million” in stall one, and N. Dookie’s “Irish Princes” in stall 2. The horses occupying stalls 3 to 8 have been listed as: A Rampersad’s “Glamorous Star”, “Amazing Grace” of PHVH Stables, “Black Time” of Shocking Stables, Bronson Cheefoon’s “Heartland”, Martin Pestano’s “Judge Not”, and Shaun Mohammed’s “Colour of Sacrifice”.
And the Val’s Construction Sprint Classic, being contested over 5.5 furlongs, has a winner’s purse of US$10,765. The draw saw “Looking to Heaven” of the Jumbo Jet Stables being drafted in stall 1, “Lady Bird” of Ephraim’s Thoroughbred Stables in stall 2, R&R Syndicate’s “Early Bird” in stall 3, Rising Sun’s “Signal Note” in stall 4, Jagdeo’s “Nuclear Fire” in stall 5, Jumbo Jet’s “Regal Intention” in stall 6, and “Convertor” of the Singerz Stables in stall 7.
The after-races entertainment segment would feature Jamaican Dancehall Artiste Skillibeng, supported by Nadia Batson, Yung Bredda, Vicadi, Savita Singh and Raymond Ramnarine, among others.
Mohamed is confident the lineup would attract fans in their thousands. He related to this publication, “Well, the entertainment, we started in 2019 for the first time. COVID came, we couldn’t do it again, so this will be our second event with the entertainment after. The head artiste Skillibeng, he will be performing live, and the concert starts at 6 o’clock.
“Guyana Cup, in a whole, this is the 14th running of the Guyana Cup. We usually have 14-15,000 fans out there, so we know we will have the crowd; and with this artiste, we’ll definitely tap over that for sure,” the JJTRC Committee Head went on to share.
There are more than Gy$20M in cash and prizes to be won at today’s races. (Jemima Holmes)
