Double success for Walcott

EDMONTON, Alberta – Barbadian Rico Walcott returned from a layoff to win twice on Sunday’s 10-race card and remain on course for his first jockey’s title at Century Mile.

The 29-year-old captured race two with second favourite Factored In before following up in race three to win with favourite Wedge Pond.

Walcott has 61 wins, 20 clear of Venezuelan Rigo Sarmiento who is second on 41 while Barbadian Antonio Whitehall remained third on 37 after going winless in nine rides on Sunday.

A multiple time winner at the now defunct Northlands Park, Walcott missed out in the day’s opener aboard the favourite Provocative when he finished third but rebounded to win the next race when he paired with six-year-old roan gelding Factored In to beat the three-year-olds and upward over six furlongs.

Five-to-one chance Redneck Remark produced sharp fractions of 22.19 seconds for the quarter and 45.26 for the half but gave way late, allowing Walcott to bring Factored In from off the pace to clinch a 2-½ length score.

Walcott’s second victory came in a five furlong dash when he guided the chestnut gelding Wedge Pond to a dominant 7-¾ length victory over the two-year-old maidens.

Wedge Pond out-sprinted Jumratan to snatch the lead and drew off impressively to dismiss the field in the stretch run.

The Century Mile campaign winds up November 8.

Meanwhile, in Shelbyville, Indiana, on Monday, Jamaican Jermaine Bridgmohan finally tasted some semblance of form when he rode two winners on the nine-race card at Indiana Grand.

The 31-year-old, who has ridden at a number of American tracks since launching his career 14 years ago in Florida, won with 4-1 chance Let It Be in race two before returning to nail race four with favourite Kinzea Stone.

Bridgmohan, the younger brother of the hugely successful Shaun Bridgmohan, has posted 22 winners from 126 rides this season at the US midwestern oval.

Barbadian Rocco Bowen, who did not feature on the day’s card, lies above Bridgmohan on 30 wins from 274 outings while Deshawn Parker is the leading rider with 88 wins in the campaign which wraps up November 19.

Bridgmohan’s opening win came in a six furlong sprint for the two-year-old maidens when he made all the running with the brown gelding Let It Be to reach the wire 3-¾ lengths clear in a time of one minute, 11:38 seconds.

Let It Be broke sharply and dashed to a clear lead to lay down fractions of 22.56 seconds and 46.54, and had opened up a six-length lead in the stretch before coasting to the wire.

Another front-running effort handed Bridgmohan his second win of the day when he combined with three-year-old bay colt Kinzea Stone to beat the three-year-olds and upward by 1-¼ lengths in 1:39.98.

Going a mile, Bridgmohan and Kinzea Stone set the early pace with splits of 25.22 and 49.61, a length clear of the duelling Draw the Line and Majestic Mr Jones in the four-horse field.

Relmbunkus moved up to challenge off the final turn into the stretch but Kinzea Stone disposed of his challenger to storm to the finish.(CMC)