Khelawan applied the finishing touch at Santa Rosa

JOCKEY DILLON Khelawan applied the finishing touch to a third successive win for the four-year-old at the Santa Rosa Park, Arima on Saturday.

In the sixth and final race, on the Arima Race Club (ARC) Race Day 12, Finishing Touch ended 1/5 odds-on favourite Crown Prince’s dream of a fourth win on the trot, with a nail-biting finish in the 1,750-metre race, for three-year-olds and over rated 60-45.

With seven starters in this race, Crown Prince, ridden by Brian Boodramsingh and trained by John O’Brien, moved past Finishing Touch to go to the front. But Coup D’Etat, with Ricardo Jadoo aboard, joind the pair with 900 metres to go, while the others (Just Exhale, Sunset Cloud, Star of Wonder and Fast ‘N’ Furious) kept pace.

Crown Prince and Finishing Touch opened up a distance on the rest, with 400 metres remaining, but Crown Prince slowly pushed ahead of his main rival, on the final bend.

However, Finishing Touch lived up to his name with an inspired burst of speed, in the final 100 metres, and got the better of Crown Prince by a short head, with Just Exhale, Fast ‘N’ Furious, Coup D’Etat, Sunset Cloud and Star of Wonder trailing.

Boodramsingh was the top jockey on Saturday with three wins, while Jadoo had two. And, in the trainers’ section, O’Brien registered three victories, one more than Michael Lutchman.

The ARC Race Day 13 is scheduled for July 16.