Stroke of Luck prevails in rainy Santa Rosa feature

STROKE OF Luck prevailed in Saturday’s feature race, under rainy conditions, at the Santa Rosa Park, Arima.

The four-year-old, trained by John O’Brien and ridden by Andrew Poon, was not fazed by the sloppy track as he triumphed in the race for three-year-olds and over, rated 70-and-over.

Leonardo Angel, with Ridge Balgobin aboard, was the fastest out of the gates, but Affirmative, ridden by Tristan Phillips, moved ahead on the first bend.

It was a neck-and-neck battle between Leonardo Angel and Affirmative, with pre-race favourite Wise Guy struggling to keep pace.

Leonardo Angel started to fade as Stroke of Luck, on the inside, quietly moved up to keep within touching distance of Affirmative.

After the final bend, Affirmative was in front, but Stroke of Luck forged ahead for good. Affirmative followed three-quarter lengths behind in second spot, followed by Memories (with Kimal Santo aboard), Leonardo Angel, Wise Guy (ridden by Brian Boodramsingh) and Desert Dancer (ridden by Dillon Khelawan) trailing.

Poon was the top jockey on Saturday with three wins, one more than Ricardo Jadoo, while Shaffique Khan was the most successful trainer with two victories.

Race Day 10 of the Arima Race Club (ARC) 2022 season will be contested on May 30.