Stroke of Luck claws Super Bird to win Independence Cup

STROKE OF Luck clawed his stablemate Super Bird to win the Independence Cup on Wednesday, as Race Day 15 of the Arima Race Club (ARC) 2022 season took place at the Santa Rosa Park, Arima.

On a sloppy track, due to persistent rain at the venue during the past few days, Super Bird, ridden by Nela Mohammed, trained by John O’Brien and owned by Raroma Stables, took the early lead in the 1,800-metre race, for horses three-year-old and over.

Leonardo Angel, trained by Terrance Thomas and ridden by Omar Mohammed, crept up and joined Super Bird atop the pack, and they had a two-and-a-half length lead over the rest, halfway into the race.

Stroke of Luck, also from the Raroma Stables, with O’Brien as his trainer, with Brian Boodramsingh aboard, was steady in third spot, but the pressure began to tell on Leonardo Angel, who started to struggle on the final bend.

Super Bird remained in front but Stroke of Luck, from the outside, gradually gained momentum and made his move, with less than 100 metres to go, and completed the distance in one minute 55.1 seconds.

On the day, Boodramsingh ran four out of the six winners, while O’Brien had two victories – races five and six.

Race Day 16 is scheduled for Republic Day (September 24), and the Trinidad Derby will be highlight of the day’s proceedings.