Roman clocks five for the second Saturday in a row

RADDESH ROMAN yesterday booted home consecutive Saturday five-timers including an armchair ride aboard Gary Subratie’s American mare, DESERT OF MALIBU, in the Clovis Metcalfe for open-allowance runners at seven and a half furlongs.

Roman, whose lead atop the jockeys’ standings already doubled closest rival Shane Ellis’ 29 wins, won his 12th race in three meets aboard DESERT OF MALIBU, moving to 67 winners, a possible threat to five-time champion Trevor Simpson’s 2002 record of 172, should he maintain his phenomenal strike rate.

Always the horse to beat in a race devoid of matching speed, six-year-old DESERT OF MALIBU, a proven grade-one horse, who placed eighth in December’s Mouttet Mile, toyed with last year’s Jamaica Derby runner-up, RUN JULIE RUN, before sprinting clear in the stretch run.

No match for the American, who improved her record to 11 wins from 15 starts locally, RUN JULIE RUN’s vain attempt, more so only four pounds lighter than the far-superior foreigner, again highlighted the iniquitous turnstile of condition races, which allows grade-one winners to lower class based on the calendar, not performances, on condition of having not won a race at the level within a specific period.

DESERT OF MALIBU won four consecutive grade-one races last season, the Saint Cecelia, Lady Geeta, None Such Sprint, and Port Royal Sprint before placing eighth in December’s US$250,000 Mouttet Mile, despite encountering traffic problems down the backstretch.

Roman’s lonely march towards a second consecutive jockeys’ title, a stark contrast to last season when his battle with Tevin Foster was decided in the final race of the year, opened the 10-race card with four consecutive winners, all favourites, bar 2-1 chance NUCLEAR JET in the third.

Having survived a stewards’ inquiry aboard 3-5 favourite SIR JOHN in the opening event, Roman was a mere passenger astride United States-bred SUPERNATURAL POWER, a money-back favourite making a mockery of non-winners of four races for her third win from five starts.

Roman’s fourth winner, STRIKE SMART, had to rally against the rail to outfinish MANNY SLKAM and HERECOMESDOC in a three-way photo at seven furlongs after falling back to fourth approaching the home turn.

Subratie closed the late double, DESERT OF MALIBU and BOLD MOVE, who made all in the nightpan, franking the form he showed last Sunday, caught at the wire by stablemate THE GENERAL when trying to steal a march at six furlongs in the Errol A Subratie Trophy.

Racing continues this afternoon with Carl Anderson’s 1000 Guineas winner and champion two-year-old of last season, BURNING HEDGE, tackling Subratie’s 2000 Guineas champion, SENSATIONAL SOUL, and BOB THE BUILDER in a battle of the sexes for the Jamaica St Leger at 10 furlongs.