The score is one each, and the return ’bout’ of the Jumbo Jet Thoroughbred Racing Committee’s Race of Champions will be the ‘Rumble at the Sun.’
This exciting one-day horse race meeting would take centre stage at the Rising Sun Turf Club (RSTC) on the West Coast of Berbice on Sunday April 28, 2024. It will be the revenge showdown between heroine Bossalina, who will represent Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara, and Spankhurst from Armadale in West Berbice.
Bossalina has inflicted the lone defeat on 2023 Horse of the Year, Spankhurst, in the feature event of the New Year’s Day meet at Rising Sun. Spankhurst bounced back in beating her in the rematch at Rising Sun one month later. Thus, the scoreline has been levelled.
Spankhurst is set to return to the Rising Sun ‘fortress’ on April 28
However, Deleep Esreepersaud owner/trainer of Bossalina, revealed that, prior to that clash, his Canadian-bred mare had a setback and was not supposed to race. He admitted he had made a mistake in racing her on that occasion, and says he has made amends by purposely missing the Easter Cup at Port Mourant on Sunday. He says the time out has given him the time to prepare Bossalina for her return clash with Spankhurst, on Sunday April 28 at Rising Sun.
Owned by the Jumbo Jet Racing Stables, Spankhurst produced an unchallenged performance in winning his race in gate-to-wire fashion in the Easter Cup at Port Mourant, defeating Jessica’s Pride and Stolen Money, both of whom produced a dead-heat performance for the runner-up slot.
On the other hand, Stolen Money, a recent Canadian-bred import owned by Simply Royal Racing Stables, built his confidence in recording his first career success at the Port Mourant Turf Club last month.
That success installed Stolen Money as the considered biggest threat to Spankhurst heading into the Easter Cup. And although the roan/grey gelding met with interferences in the race, he still managed to finish in eye catching fashion to share the runner-up slot with Jessica’s Pride.
The gelding came from last, because of his troubled run, and finished joint second.
Ronaldo Appadu, the rider of Stolen Money in the Easter Cup meet, claimed he was fouled by Youvin Cheefoon, who rode Beckman James, in coming out of the gates. He added that passing the first turn, he was kept back, and only midway up the backstretch he got his mount in the clear, but the race was over.
Cheefoon admitted that in coming out of the gates, his mount did contact Stolen Money, but he said it was not intentional, while Appadu claimed he was also fouled at the first turn by Cheefoon in passing the finish line.
Cheefon explained, “The horses on my outside (were) coming down on me at the corner. I could not do anything other than try and remain on my horse, and Stolen Money got tightened. I suffered a cut on my foot from the rail also.”
With this hard luck in running, Stolen Money will also get his chance to avenge that defeat to Spankhurst on Sunday, April 28, 2024 at Rising Sun.
The organisers of the day’s event, Jumbo Jet Thoroughbred Racing Committee (JJTRC), have revealed that a seven-race card has been drafted, and is supposed to be advertised very shortly. They have promised to honour their commitment, but are tentatively looking at making the programme an eight-race card.
The feature event of this card will be contested over 1,600 metres for a rich purse of $3.7 million, and purses for all the races would amount to a total of $10 million in local currency.
