Jockeys strike denies Sugar Mike prep

SUGAR MIKE was denied his preparatory race before the Sandy Lane Gold on March 6, when racing at the Garrison Savannah, Bridgetown, Barbados, yesterday was cancelled. The nine-race card was called off after jockeys decided the course was unfit and dangerous for racing. Information from Barbados where Sugar Mike and Carnival Messiah were down to compete in separate races, was that the small clockwise track experienced heavy rainfall during the week and was left very soggy.

The jockeys walked the course yesterday morning before deciding they were not riding on the grass course. Efforts were made to contact Barbados Turf Club officials, but this proved unsuccessful. But a female worker contacted by telephone, refused to give any information, claiming she was “not in a position” to do so. She took the Newsday telephone number and promised to pass it on to chief executive officer Chris Armond, but up to press time there was no response.

An informant from the Barbados Nation newspaper claimed a fax was received from the BTC, apologising to stakeholders for the loss of racing but did not indicate a replacemant date for the card. Sugar Mike who chose to use yesterday’s event en-route to the Sandy Lane Gold Cup in early March graced the course after the decision was made to call off racing. And he was reported to have made two circuits of the soggy course with trainer Grant Lourenco in his saddle.