THE combination of trainer Naz Issa, owners Melrose and Clifton Racing, and jockey Nobel Abrego once again proved unstoppable when they took the 35th running of the Midsummer Creole Classic – now sponsored by Hallway Feeds – with the bay filly Leave It To Me.Up the Ante led Gone Prospecting, Captain Sully, Leave It To Me, Sea Gypsy, Outeniqua, Local Speed, and Amanyara for the first five furlongs of the 1 800 metres race for West Indian-bred three-year-olds. Positions changed at the three-furlong marker as Leave It To Me, Sea Gypsy, Outeniqua, Tornade, Local Speed and Amanyara all made their run for home. Leave It To Me and Sea Gypsy then fought it out coming into the homestretch with Amanyara looming. Amanyara threatened with a good run, but Leave It To Me found extra and deep stretch and pulled away for the comfortable length victory. Amanyara made a good effort, but in the end had to settle for second, with Local Speed, running the race of his life in third, and Sea Gypsy back in fourth“I’m looking forward to the Derby. This horse felt really good and travelled smoothly. I could have pressed the button at any time,” Abrego said after the race. Sir David Seale-owned chestnut Preach To Me smartly went by Areyoutalkintome close to the line to hand jockey Anderson Trotman his third winner of the day in the Hallway Feeds Race 13 Trophy, going 1 100 metres.Azwa set out to make all the running but ran out of steam at the furlong pole, where Preach To Me, Areyoutalkintome, Peachful Envoy, and Pure Temptation all went by her to finish in that order.Trotman had two other wins on the day’s card. The first was on the Sir Charles Williams-owned two-year-old bay filly Slip Stream in the Hallway Feeds Foundation Cubes Trophy Condition Race for West Indian two-year-olds going 1 000 metres.The other was on Bocelli for trainer Richard Deane and The A Team in the Hallway Feeds Super 16 Trophy for three-year-olds-and-older, rated 0 to 60, going 1,800 metres.The combination of trainer Stephen Bynoe and apprentice jockey Reshaun Latchman scored a double on the card with Desert Orchid in the Hallway Northern Oats Trophy Handicap going 1 100 metres and No Spin Zone in the Hallway Feeds Super Trainer Trophy Condition Race for horses rated 0 to 75 going 1 100 metres.Hallway Feeds vice-president Lee Hall and his wife witnessed the day’s proceedings. “My company is very pleased and delighted to sponsor the day’s race card, in particular, the Hallway Feeds Midsummer Creole Classic,” Hall said. “We have sponsored big races all over the world and this is our first time sponsoring a Triple Crown race.”Barbados is a new market for Hallway Feeds, and the vice-president is looking forward to further fostering the ties between the company and the Barbados Turf Club (BTC).He also thanked the BTC for the hospitality showed to him and his wife.
