TT’s Pereira leads Mountaineer riders

CHESTER, West Virginia: Trinidadian jockey Ossie Pereira rode three winners Friday and surged to the top of the Mountaineer Park jockeys’ standings. Enjoying his best day in the saddle since the new season opened just under a month ago, Pereira won the fourth and fifth races ahead of other Caribbean jockeys, and then landed the 10th race to increase his tally of winners for the season to 19, one ahead of Dana Whitney and Scott Spieth, who are joint second. In the US$20,000 fourth race over 5-1/2 furlongs, Pereira pressed the pace with the speedy three-year-old filly Fly Flossie Fly and took command down the home-stretch to win by four lengths.

Fly Flossie Fly was a hot favourite at 6-to-5 and won by four lengths in one minute, 06.72 seconds, chased by the 12-1 chance Wild Day, with Jamaican Andrew Ramgeet riding. Pereira had to work harder for his second win, steering the seven-year-old gelding Five Star Award to a fighting victory in the US$9,300 fifth race. Five Star Award, kept off the early pace in the six-furlong sprint, was driven to lead by Pereira at the top of the home-stretch and repelled challenges from 25-1 outsider Regency’s Honour Choctaw Bid (22-1) and Airborne Shuttle (22-1). Five Star Award covered the trip in 1:12.45 and at the finish was two lengths in front of Airborne Shuttle, with Trinidadian jockey Ray Ganpath riding.

Pereira adeptly used the rails, the shortest route around the course, to score in the 10th race aboard the 9-1 chance Vinnie Babe. The six-year-old gelding raced in fifth spot early in the US$9,300 six-furlong sprint and gained gradually on the leaders, needing a bustling ride at the end from Pereira to get home by 1/2-length in 1:12.22. With 124 mounts so far in the season, Pereira has secured the second highest number of mounts - only multiple champion Deshawn Parker, with 143, has had more.

Ramgeet, a three-time Jamaica champion jockey, is currently 13th in the standings with six wins from 52 rides. Ganpath, who recently moved to Mountaineer Park from New York, has had three wins and is 19th in the standings. Current jockeys standings: 1. Ossie Pereira 19 wins; 2 Dan Whitney, Scott Spieth 18; 4. Rex Stokes 15; 5. Jesus Barria, Joe Stokes 14; 7. Deshawn Parker, Marco Ccamaque 13; 9. Darryl Brinkley 11; 10. Chad Murphy 10. (CMC)