Slevin wins Triple Crown first leg [Photoslide Included]
Slevin proved to be a demon on the track as it won by some 5 lengths in a time of 1:45 3/5.
East End Tap was second and Political Reporter third. Fourth was Good Prospecting and 5th Diablo's Fire.
Winning jockey Emanuel Cosme said Slevin just likes to run and he really has no need to use his whip. He also boasted that no horse was going to beat Slevin in the Triple Crown.
Meanwhile, Spirit on Fire ensured a first win for the Virgin Islands as it sprinted to victory in the opening race of the day.
The local horse, ridden, by Jockey Carlos Lopez won by half a length from Paul's Gift of St. Croix in a time of 1:36 1/3.
Third was Power Ten of Tortola.
Thanks McGiven of St. Croix won the second race, which saw some controversy. Second was local horse Mick G while, Mr. Gold Prospect was third. The latter horse was penalised for an alleged infringement.
Race 3 was supposed to be between Eastern Seaboard and Northern Pike, however, only Eastern Seaboard came out of the gates.
Race 4 has been won by Glorious Memory ahead of Tiger’s Mischief in a two- horse, all Tortola affair.
The 5th race, which went a distance of 6 1/2 furlongs and fetched a purse of $5, 500 was keenly contested, however, Really Uptown won by a nose in a time of 1: 23 4/5. Second was Broken Home and third was Aircraft-Intercept of St. Thomas.
Really Uptown's owner, Letty Hodge said she was very happy with the win but not surprised as her horse is simply unbeatable while winning jockey Robert Rosado said it was a tough race and when he saw his chance on the inside he took it and the horses responded fantastically.
The final race of the day was just won by Berberis of St. Croix, second was Square One, while Lake Texoma, who held the lead for most of the race was third. Sweet Sight came in 4th.
Meanwhile, President of the Virgin Islands Horseowners’ Association, Lesmore Smith, had sent out a strong appeal to horse racing fans and supporters to come out in their numbers today Sunday January 15, 2012 to show support for their respective islands, but more so, for Virgin Islanders to root for their homeland.
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“We are asking the supporters to come out root for your country, but more so, hey Bvislanders get out here and lets kick some butts,” Smith had appealed through an exclusive interview with Virgin Islands News Online.The local horseracing president had said everything was in place for today’s big races and it should be a great day for the Virgin Islands but noted the importance of the support of fans to make it a reality.
“We are asking the fans to come down to give us that support because that support we will need in order to make the day a success for everybody. Government being one of our biggest contributor we understand that it’s still us the people who have to pay back for it, so if we come out and contribute and support at the gate and help to make this a reality then it will help us a bit to deal with the expenses.”
He also asked for their support for the after party at La Piazza Prospect Reef to raise additional funds to defer the cost.
The VI and USVI are be making horse racing history with its first Triple Crown, which will also see races in St. Thomas and St. Croix.
The much anticipated Triple Crown is a race where horses compete on all three islands for a big prize similar to that of the Triple Crown in the United States.
The Triple Crown will place the greater Virgin Islands on the map, as it will be in line with the American Triple Crown run each year. This is the Kentucky Derby run over 1-1/4 miles at Churchill Downs in Louisville, followed by the Preakness Stakes, run over 1-3/16 miles at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland and the Belmont Stakes, run over 1-1/2 miles at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Most of the developed countries, where horse racing is a major part of the culture, has a Triple Crown such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, Germany, Canada, Puerto Rico, Japan, Hong Kong and many Latin American countries.
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