Fireworks expected in 97th Jamaica St Leger

TWELVE thoroughbreds will capture the eyes of horse racing lovers as the highly anticipated 97th running of the Jamaica St Leger will grace the sands of Caymanas Park tomorrow.

Denzil Miller, the racing secretary, believes the event will be nothing short of amazing with the likes of Richard Azan’s MOJITO, the 2000 Guineas winner, and Jason DaCosta’s MAMMA MIA, winner of the 1000 Guineas hunting the second leg of the Triple Crown. Miller told The Gleaner yesterday that he expects a big ‘showdown’.

“We have 12 contestants in the line-up for the 97th Jamaica St Leger, the distance is 2000 metres with a purse of 4.5 million dollars. We expect it to be a great showdown of speed and stamina as we have two horses, MAMMA MIA and MOJITO, in the line-up vying for Triple Crown honours. So we expect it to be a very hotly contested race with some talented three-year-olds on show this weekend,” Miller said.

According to Miller, the excitement in and around Caymanas Park is high as the two front-runners for the race have been going great guns in their morning exercise.

“The energy is growing with the two horses that would have won the first leg (1000 and 2000 Guineas) of the Triple Crown training well and looking comfortable in the mornings. Fans and horsemen alike are looking forward to seeing this grand clash in the St Leger,” he added.

After heading back to the boardroom to restructure the format of the Jamaica St Leger by changing it from the final leg to the second leg of the Triple Crown along with more ‘prep’ races, Miller believes the change in format added more value and suspense to what was already a must-see event.

“A few years ago, we restructured how the Triple Crown series was set up and it has so far been very positive. In years gone by, prior to COVID-19, the St Leger would have been the final leg, now we have changed it and added more value to the Triple Crown series. We’ve added two additional prep races in ‘The Kingston’ and ‘The Portmore’ prior to the 1000 and 2000 Guineas and it has created a lot of expectations and purse money for horsemen and additional value to our punters,” Miller said.

The experienced racing secretary also stated that while racing is a family-oriented event, there are many ways in which racing lovers could enjoy Saturday’s event.

“We’re inviting everyone to come out to the track or to one of our many OTB (off-track betting parlours) or just simply log on to caymanasracing.com and sit and watch in the comfort of your home,” Miller said.