Wall Street Trader outclasses Don Kwesi for Ash Wednesday Trophy

United-States bred WALL STREET TRADER yesterday defied topweight 126lb to mow down DON KWESI approaching the furlong pole, landing the Ash Wednesday Trophy in out-of-class fashion, franking his upset victory over two-time Mouttet Mile runner-up LEGACY ISLE in last July’s Thoroughbred Hall of Fame Stakes.

Qualified by the conditions book to face overnight-allowance runners, a level below the Hall of Fame Stakes, WALL STREET TRADER, a gelding originally imported for the 2024 Mouttet Mile, showed his class by collaring DON KWESI despite Demar Williams’ futile and dangerous attempt to drift his mount into the path of the American bearing down on his outside.

DON KWESI, attempting a hat-trick of wins, got into a dogfight with SMART TRICK on the lead down the backstretch before peeling clear, but an easy-moving WALL STREET TRADER had the local-bred’s every move covered from third position swinging into the lane.

Though running 12lb lighter than 5-2 chance WALL STREET TRADER, DON KWESI had no answer for the American, who powered past and won clear in 1:20.0 at six and a half furlongs, a trip at which he had clocked 1:18.4 when beating overnight-allowance level last March.

OIL MACHINE closed from off the pace, grabbing third from a game DON KWESI, whose bid for a hat-trick was denied by the conditions book allowing horses of proven class to race at lower levels.

Meanwhile, United States-bred PHENOMENAL POWER’s inexplicable underperformance in the third event led to a whopping $837,479 Reggae 6 mandatory payout.

Unbeaten in two starts with a combined winning margin of almost 22 lengths and considered the banker of the day, PHENOMENAL ran a stinker of a race, finishing down the track in sixth position.

Further drama unfolded in the five-furlong straight event when first-past-the-post DANKA, a 6-1 chance, was disqualified and the race awarded to runner-up MISS GROVE, a 4-1 shot and stablemate of 2-5 favourite PHENOMENAL POWER, for drifting and interference within shades of the wire.

There were no winning favourites on the Reggae 6 which opened with BOBBYTWOBAD landing the opening event at a king’s ransom, odds of 6-1, after bettors went crazy over even-money chance SILENT AMERICAN, who finished down the track, seventh, in the 10-horse field.

MISS MARBELLA, the first of three winners on the 10-race card for trainer Peter-John Parsard, was the closest thing to a winning favourite, landing the second at 8-5, outfinishing BOWMORE, the even-money choice at five furlongs straight.

BANGARANG handed Parsard his second winner in the fourth at four furlongs straight, proving stronger than 4-1 chance LEGAL FIGHT, winning at odds of 5-2 with three-time champion jockey Anthony Thomas, visiting for the day on break from Gulfstream Park in Florida.

Tajay Suckoo, who was aboard disqualified DANKA, returned to floor bets in the fifth with Spencer Chung’s seven-year-old GENERAL CHIEF, who awoke from a four-race slumber for a near 10-length win, stunning $350,000 claimers at odds of 9-1, the level at which he had won last July, leaving a bitter taste in form-players’ mouths.

LAUREN’S SECRET, fitted with blinkers for the sixth at five furlongs straight at odds of 5-2, powered past even-money chance HUMILITY, flooring yet another Reggae 6 favourite for a whopping payout to surviving bets.

‘I Love February’, the month of mandatory payouts, continues this Saturday with the Placepot 8 on the line.