Another CLICO $1m for Triple/Champion feat

CONNECTIONS of the horse to win the local triple crown and go on to capture the Champion Stakes, will again receive $1 million. This commitment was announced by sponsors CLICO through chief executive officer Claudius Dacon on Friday night at his company’s head office, St Vincent Street, as owners of last year’s winner Top Of The Class received the $1 million cheque. Top Of The Class became the first horse to achieve the feat, and it was proud joint owners Merlin Samlalsingh and Rupert Leong Poi who collected the $1 million prize.

Samlalsingh thanked trainer Glenn Mendez, who in three years saddled the triple crown winner, first with Carnival Messiah in 2001, the only man to do so. He said, when he and his partner Leong Poi wanted to race Top Of The Class as a two-year-old, it was Mendez who urged them to be patient. Top Of The Class was bought as a yearling for $61,000 from breeder Myrna Hadeed, who was also honoured on Friday, along with jockey Ricardo Jadoo and groom Charles “Ben Ali” Halley. Arima Race Club president Gerard Ferreira commended CLICO on their leadership in giving the $1 million incentive and hoped they continue to be the “flagship” in the industry.