Hello World is the answer; Khelawan, O'Brien star at First Citizens Gold Cup

CHAMPION trainer John O'Brien and jockey Dillon Khelawan were a hard combo to stop at the Santa Rosa Park, Arima on Boxing Day as they teamed up for four wins on the six-race Boxing Day card, including the coveted First Citizens Gold Cup feature race.

With three wins already under his belt, Khelawan saw reigning champ Hello World over the line by at least six lengths in the Gold Cup to earn a convincing victory to stun the rest of the field.

With a quality eight-horse field in the Gold Cup, inclusive of the US-bred Sneaky Cheeky, Hello World was expected to have a fight on its hands.

Hello World was roughly three lengths back of the leaders with about 1,000 metres to go in the 2,000-metre course, when Khelawan made a decisive move. He swiftly ushered his horse to the front, leaving the competition in the dust.

As Hello World crossed the line in a winning time of two minutes, 08.47 seconds (2:08.47), Khelawan celebrated with a fist bump towards the crowd as he marked his fourth win of the day.

The emphatic win also saw Hello World maintain its perfect record for 2024 and added to its win in the feature race at the Independence Cup.

O'Brien was delighted with Hello World's performance, as well as the efforts of Khelawan, who provided yeoman's service with victory after victory.

"It was a nice day, the weather treated us well. We had a quite good crowd...We had a lot of people in and the racing was really nice," O'Brien told Newsday.

"He (Hello World) ran really well. He was going through the bit at the end. Running, running, running at the end," O'Brien said, with a chuckle. "It was a lovely performance. Dillon works hard, he deserves what he gets and I was very proud of him."

It was O'Brien's ninth Gold Cup triumph.

The first-place prize for the Gold Cup was over $72,000, with the overall purse over $120,000.

Jockey Brian Boodramsingh steered the US-bred The Goddess Nike to second in the Gold Cup, with Princess Aruna placing third and one of the pre-race favourites, Sneaky Cheeky, finishing fourth.

In the co-feature event, the Juvenile Championship, Khelawan again showed off his form when he guided Headliner to victory ahead of Marmalade by two lengths.

The winning prize for the Juvenile Championship was $39,468.

The fourth race on the day, which was for horses two years old and over and those rated 50-35, was arguably the most exciting as Khelawan saw Princess Royal over the line in first place with a dramatic comeback in the last 50 metres. After the nine-horse field was lessened to seven with the scratches of Forever Grand and Pawan Putra, Little Lady appeared to be a clear winner after leading for most of the 1,500m course.

With jockey Richard Balgobin in control, Little Lady was stunned when Princess Royal emerged from the chasing pack and made up several lengths before pipping its competitor near the finish line as Khelawan kept his winning habit.

Trainer Lester Alexis and jockey Tristan Phillips were also in winners' row when Midnight Lover won the first race on the day's card ahead of Arsalan and Headlines Again.

Phillips also returned to claim victory in the final race of the day when Prince Connor, who was saddled by Clyde Rambaran, galloped to victory ahead of Hot Rod Kashton.

The next day on the racing calendar is scheduled for January 25, 2025.