Juice Man, General JN star on Derby Day

JUICE MAN and General JN were the stars of the show yesterday on Derby Day, at the Santa Rosa Park, Arima.

Under humid conditions, on the Arima Race Club (ARC) Race Day 30, Juice Man romped to victory in the Carib Brewery Derby and General JN prevailed in the Carib Diamond Stakes.

Juice Man, a Jamaican-bred three year-old who is trained by Glenn Mendez, was in top form entering the Derby, having won all three of his starts in 2019.

After a late start to the race – it began 23 minutes later than the 4.20 scheduled start time – Regal Intension, ridden by Wilmer Galviz, made the early running, trading the lead with Marengo (with jockey Keishan Balgobin), but Juice Man, with Ricardo Jadoo aboard, and La Reine, marshalled by Kimal Santo, kept pace with the main bunch.

With 600 metres to go, Juice Man and the Brian Boodramsingh-ridden Apocalypse surged to the front and it was a neck-and-neck battle between the two.

Making Headlines, with Keron Khelawan aboard, put some pressure on the top two, but Juice Man, who was the 2-5 odds-on favourite, did enough to earn a half-length win over Apocalypse, with Making Headlines and Regal Intension trailing.

Rowden Kanta Persad, father of Juice Man’s owner Justyn Kanta Persad, said in a post-race interview, “(Juice Man) was an average horse in Jamaica. We thought we’ll bring him to Trinidad and he’ll like the conditions. He seems to prefer soca to reggae.”

Commenting on the battle between the top two, during the final 300 metres, Rowden mentioned, “I thought we got beat close to home. (I guess) he heard the footsteps and dug in for home.”

Mendez, who trained the 2018 Derby winner Cape Canaveral (which was ridden by Jadoo), stated, “He did everything he needed to do and we asked of him. He ran hard (but Apocalypse) really stretched him.

“Good horses will run fast,” he added. “I’m happy that he got the job done.”

About Jadoo’s ride, Mendez said, “I think it was a perfect ride. All I told him was ‘don’t let them carry you on a suicide pace’. I want to say thanks to the owners, the whole team. Ricky Jadoo is 53 and I hope to have him for a few years.”

General JN, ridden by Rico Hernandez and trained by John O’Brien, got the better of Master of War to claim the Diamond Stakes.

Master of War, with Yosenyer Serrano aboard, led for most of this 1350-metre race but General JN made his move with 200 metres to go. It was a tussle between the top two but General JN kept his nerves to prevail.

Jadoo was the top jockey yesterday with three wins while, among the trainers, Mendez had three winners and O’Brien two.

Race Day 31 is scheduled for October 5.