Derby winner Bandera Bella proved an important weapon in Andrew Nunes’ armoury as he captured the trainer’s title at the end of the just-concluded Barbados Turf Club’s second racing season.
Nunes finished with earnings of $222 830, after sending out 65 runners for a win percentage of 11.
His starters returned seven wins, eight seconds and 13 third places, giving Nunes a 43 percentage in the top three finishers.
Nunes’ greatest moment of the season clearly was Bandera Belle’s upset win in the final jewel of the Triple Crown, the United Insurance Barbados Derby, over 2 000 metres at the long odds of 35-1.
The Sir R. Buchanan, P. Isdell, S. Panter and U- Z. Hiltl-owned filly Lady Quill’s double strike last season would also have been pleasing.
She put the spin on Nunes’ performances by taking the final day’s feature – the Sale Graduates’ Champion Stakes for Barbadian-bred three- and four-year-olds over 1 570 metres.
It was a commendable performance by this veteran who skillfully utilized his other barn’s resources to get the job done as his main barn, Kendal, had a quiet season.
Anderson Ward went into the last day with a slender lead but failed to make any significant progress to hold on to that position. Finishing with the same win percentage as Nunes, Ward’s horses tallied $ 205 918 from 105 starters. He won 12 races, with 13 seconds and nine thirds for an in-the-money finish percentage of 32.
By the standards normally associated with the Blue Diamonds outfit, this was a season they will quickly want to put behind them as the second-placed finish failed to overshadow some of the problems they encountered.
Vitality’s victory in the BTBA Sprint Stakes & Trophy over 1 100 metres was the stable’s first Stakes win in eight months.
Richard Deane secured his best ever position as a trainer by finishing third with a win percentage of ten and an in-the-money finish percentage of 34.5. Deane sent out 133 starters and they returned 13 firsts and seconds and 20 thirds, with earnings of $168 381.
Headlining Deane’s feat was the A-Team trio of Just Jiving, Jamaica Moon and Boo, all scoring two victories.
Trainer Victor Cheeseman controlled the fourth position with earnings of $120 397, a winning percentage of four and in-the-money finish percentage of 31.
He sent out 74 starters of which four returned winners, ten finished second and nine captured third position. His main weapon was the Mark Armstrong-owned juvenile Vanity Affair, who won two races.
