The Gr2 Vocalcom Duchess Of York Cup opened the 2018 Mauritius season on Saturday and was dominated by the Trippi gelding Baritone, as he produced a bold performance to earn Jean-Michel Henry his second win of the day and also his very first classic win as a trainer.
Baritone (Piere Strydom) is led in by the De Broglio family after a win on Met day
Despite a very slow start, Baritone followed at the rear of the field, before making progress just before the final bend.
In the home straight, the former Justin Snaith runner showed a strong turn of foot when it mattered most, earning his jockey Cedric Segeon his third win in this classic.
Table Bay (Jamie Theriot) had to settle for second, while Maximizer (Imran Chisty) and Prince Of Wales (James Winks) produced solid showings to take 3rd and 4th respectively.
Derreck David – good start
Mauritius Hall-Of-Famer Derreck David struck in his first ride on his return to Mauritius. He rode Jolie Roger to his first win, putting smiles on the faces of the Alain Perdrau team.
Running one-off, Jolie Roger got the better of Rob’s Jewel (Swapneel Rama) in the home straight.Racing For Fun (Ioannis Poullis) was a fast-finishing 3rd, while New Hampshire (Jameer Allyhosain) completed the quartet.
The second day of the season on this coming Saturday will mark the return of races over 1000m .
The new 1450m distance was also chosen for the inaugural edition of The 50th Anniversary of Independence of Mauritius Cup, the meeting’s main event.
