Ahwhofah tops them

Orville Clarke, Gleaner Writer

AHWHOFAH was last night named 'Horse of the Year' at the 21st annual None Such Awards Dinner at the Terra Nova hotel, Waterloo Road.

She is one of a handful of sprinters to have won the award since it was first instituted in 1964. The others were NONE SUCH (1967), MABROUK (1970), HOT LINE (1976), THORNBIRD (1984), DYE JOB (1985), EROS (1994), WAR ZONE (1996) and A KING IS BORN (2003).

As a four-year-old in 2009, the Wayne DaCosta-trained AHWHOFAH, by Royal Minister out of Executive Profile, won five grade one trophy races under heavy imposts to be crowned the top horse.

She was also named champion sprinter for the second consecutive year, champion middle-distance performer, as well as champion local-bred horse and champion 4-y-o and up, to sweep the major awards for her owner/breeder Winston Kong.

Meanwhile, the coveted None Such Award for lifetime achievement went to veteran owner and breeder Alexander Hamilton, whose association with racing spans 60 years.

A Scotsman by birth, Hamilton, who owned horses such as the 1969 'Horse of the Year' PERSIAN COIN, LONG SHOT and the 1970 St Leger winner CHARLOTTE RUSSE, served as president of the Jockey Club of Jamaica from 1972 to 1984. He was instrumental in allocating lands he owned (Caymanas Estates) to certain business interests for the building of Caymanas Park in 1959.

Recipients of other awards are as follows:

Champion 2-Y-O - COLONEL WALES

Champion 2-Y-O Opposite Sex - AL FOUZIA

Champion 3-Y-O - BRUCEONTHELOOSE

Champion 3-Y-O Opposite Sex - SAINT CECELIA

First runner-up to the Horse of the Year - BRUCEONTHELOOSESecond runner-up - SAINT CECELIA

Champion Stayer - RUM TALKChampion Foreign-Bred Horse - HONEYOFALADY

Champion 3-Y-O Sprinter - HONEYOFALADY

Champion 2-Y-O Sprinter - SPORTS STAR

Champion 4-Y-O Opposite Sex - HOMBRE

Champion Jockey - Omar Walker with 97 winsChampion Trainer - Wayne DaCosta

Champion Owner - Ruth Hussey

Most Improved Trainer - Ryan Darby

Most Improved Jockey - Dick Cardenas

Champion Breeder - HAM Stables Limited

Champion Apprentice - Doushane Gordon

Champion Grooms - Keith Cornwall and Kimalee Wells with 11 wins each

Matchem Award for Champion Sire - Royal Minister

Champion Broodmare - Executive Profile