Last-minute buy, tough competition – Guyana Cup declared a success

Debutant Sand Pipes ran the mile of its life at the Rising Sun Turf Club, West Coast Berbice (WCB), on Sunday evening to grab the $12M grand prize in the Banks Beer Guyana Cup.
The premier race of Sunday’s packed, 14-race event, Sand Pipes beat out the experienced veterans like former champion Dataman, Olympic Kremlin, and Stat, in addition to similar newcomers.
Overcome by emotions following the comprehensive victory on Sunday, Jumbo Jet Racing Stables owner Nasrudeen Mohamed Jr told the story of Sand Pipes’ entry into the Guyana Cup, which was a last-minute decision.
“It was a last-minute purchase,” Mohamed Jr told media operatives. “We were running out of time, and we had to get a horse to back the team up, and the horses came up in a hurry, and we just got it right on time. The horse only arrived last week, and we were just hoping for the best.”
“I just want to thank everyone: all the supporters, the sponsors, the fans,” the Jumbo Jet owner added.

Meanwhile, following a day of exciting races on the turf, Sport Minister Charles Ramson Jr declared this year’s 18th running of the Guyana Cup a success.
The Sport Minister related, “This is evidence of another successful event, and you’ve seen how horse racing has grown over the last four years, and it’s significant. This is turning into one of the marquee events for the entire calendar, and the Government is making that commitment, that forming that partnership.”
“We want to congratulate Junior and his entire team and his dad, who started this many, many years ago.”
Referencing the Guyana Horse Racing Act, which was passed in 2025, and the subsequent installation of the Horse Racing Authority, the Sport Minister envisioned that the event will only grow from here on out.
“We’re really pleased to see that the event has turned into a huge success over the last four years, and now that we have the new Horse Racing Authority Act in place, horse racing is just going to grow from strength to strength, and it’s just going to become one of the big industries in Guyana,” Ramson Jr opined.
“This event has always had a big crowd, a big turnout. We’ve seen that here for the first time when there were a lot of persons who jammed up the road. Luckily, you’ve seen how we’ve learned from that, and luckily that didn’t happen in any of the events coming out from that.”
The Sport Minister continued, “But the fact that people come here from so early and stay and are so excited that they just want to be part of this event really shows that there’s a love for horse racing that is undefeatable. So, we’re very pleased to see that it’s growing, but it’s more importantly, we’re happy to see that the industry itself is getting the kind of recognition and development that is needed.”

The winners at the Guyana Cup 2026 included the following:

Heartland (Jonathan Cheefoon)
Daring Move (JS Racing Stables)
GT Boss (Perreira Racing Stable)
Bourbon Blitz (Dhanessar Rampersaud)
Republican II (Elcock Racing Stable)
Three D Movie (JS Racing Stables)
Theory of Colours (Jagdeo Racing Stable)
Barbara (Jumbo Jet Racing Stable)
Brilliant Bride (Brunson Cheeffoon)
Calypso Queen (Slingerz Racing Stable)
Torpedo Jet (Jumbo Jet Racing Stable)
Prototype (Jagdeo Racing Stable)
Sir London (Dave Chattergoon, Dillon Sooklall, Lenio Roberto Alves Viera)
Sand Pipes (Jumbo Jet Racing Stable)