Burnt arms and sore feet dutifully carried me around the Garrison Savannah as I reported on this year’s Sandy Lane Barbados Gold Cup. Truthfully, those appendages cried silently until the adrenaline of Gold Cup day had worn off. Reporting on this year’s Gold Cup meant venturing to the island of Barbados, which is about 2,500 miles south of Toronto, Canada. The Grade 1 race is run annually at Barbados’ thoroughbred racetrack, the Garrison Savannah. For 181 years, the Garrison has been horse racing’s home. The Garrison is where many Barbadian jocks get their first taste of race riding before they move their tack to Canada, and specifically to Woodbine. Some of those former and current jocks include Jonathan Jones, Patrick Husbands, Jalon Samuel, Rico Walcott, Juan Crawford, Slade Callaghan, and Slade Jones– just to name a handful. It’s worth noting that a few of those above-mentioned jocks have ridden and won multiple installments of the historic Gold Cup race too. Run for over 40 years, the Gold Cup was previously run as the Cockspur Gold Cup before it transitioned in 2001 to the Sandy Lane Barbados Gold Cup. Showcasing the island’s best thoroughbreds as well as some additional shippers for the race, local racing fans consider the Gold Cup to be their version of the King’s Plate or the Kentucky Derby. While the Gold Cup’s purse amount and the eligibility criteria for contenders differs vastly to the King’s Plate, it’s the prestige of winning this historic race that gives the Gold Cup its ‘X factor,’ so to speak. Heading into Saturday’s big race day, I was able to spot some familiar faces from Woodbine at the Garrison. For instance, I ran into Troy Garnett, who has groomed many stars from Kevin Attard’s outfit including ‘24 King’s Plate winner, Caitlinhergrtness. I saw Woodbine jockey agent, Ron Burke in passing. I caught up with Rico Walcott, who rode Deccan Prince in the Gold Cup. I also interviewed Jalon Samuel after his Gold Cup win. I met Brian Alleyne, who works the starting gate at Woodbine. On my way back to Canada, at Grantley Adams International airport (the Barbados airport), I also ran into Ivan Forde, who works at the Mark Casse outfit. Forde groomed ’23 King’s Plate winner, Paramount Prince. Bulldoze and Hayley Morrison For many Barbadian (Bajan) horsemen, the Barbados Gold Cup signals the end of their winter break. Usually, once the Gold Cup wraps up many Bajans head back to Canada to prepare for Woodbine’s upcoming thoroughbred race meet. On Friday morning, the day before the Gold Cup (GC), I was at the track around 5:30 am to catch some GC contenders such as Public Sector jog around the Garrison’s sand training track. As the sun started to rise, Public Sector made his way into the saddling paddock with his groom Carol by his side. Jockey Jalon Samuel hopped aboard and then headed out to the track. Following close to Public Sector, I was met with a chorus of ‘good mornings,’ uttered from nearly every horseperson – whether they knew me or not. This Barbadian or Bajan style of greeting is common for locals and is one of the many things I love about island life. Later that morning, I also walked around one of the Garrison’s stabling areas. Located just a few minutes away from the track itself, the barns at the top of the hill are nestled neatly behind the Barbados Museum & Historical Society. Once there, my eyes darted from one moving thing to the next: horses being bathed, horses being saddled for the track, cats and chickens running about, and sheep keeping their horses company. No doubt, this stabling area was definitely giving off a ‘Noah’s ark’ type of vibe. More importantly, the flurry of four-legged activity made me realize this track is a home to many rather than just a barn to some. Now, onto Gold Cup day itself. Firstly, I arrived at the track around 8:30 am or so to ensure I found a good parking spot. I then walked over to the quarantine barn where several Gold Cup horses were stabled. I spotted Deccan Prince’s trainer, Nicholas Tomlinson heading out to walk the track’s turf course. I politely asked to join on the trek. What readers and racing fans may not know or understand is that race reporting is much more than just getting quotes and photos and then writing up a feature story. It’s also about observing and engaging with your subject. In this specific situation, it was also about having good footwear to walk an entire turf racecourse. After the turf walk was complete, I walked the exterior of the racing oval to observe a flurry of activity with locals setting up food stalls, the snow cone vendors looking for early morning customers, and spectators setting up chairs and tents to view the races from their own vantage point. Funny enough, I even ran into a childhood friend whose family came out the day before to ensure they secured their spot close to the Gold Cup starting gate. On my way back into the grandstand, I chatted with a local racegoer sitting by the rail. They informed me that Gold Cup tickets had been sold out prior to the new year. Not surprisingly, throughout the race day I spotted several tourists outside the Garrison’s main entrance looking for the next best view of the races sans tickets. Taking content from the start of races until the big race, I noticed the Garrison’s grandstand steadily fill to the brim with fans. Add to that, the walkways between each seating area became ‘talk ways’ with me squeezing in between local fans and tourists. With that said, one of the great things about horse racing (and other sports for that matter) is the fan base. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a winning touchdown, an overtime goal, or in this case, winning a historic horse race, the love of a single sport can truly be felt through the intensity of its fan base. As the intensity ramped up throughout the afternoon, I was able to have a first-hand view of the Gold Cup parade. A bevy of dancers, stilt walkers, the Barbados Police band and more performed prior to the big race. Colorful ensembles, kids dancing, and beautiful music filled the air as the performers moved from one end of the track to the other. As the sun was starting to set, it was time for the Gold Cup contenders to make their way into the paddock. I walked over from the quarantine barn with the shippers from the U.S. As I walked alongside the horses my gaze shifted to the outside rail where a plethora of phones and cameras were snapping shots of the Gold Cup horses as they headed towards the paddock. To watch the race, I found a snug spot by the Garrison’s finish line. Key word, snug. The cheering from the Garrison’s grandstand was deafening to the rafters as the Gold Cup horses flew by the grandstand for the first time in the 1800m turf event. Once the horses passed by the grandstand, they hugged a tight right turn which guided them towards the backstretch. For absolutely every furlong, the fans cheered and screamed from the Garrison’s inside and outside rails. As the horses turned for home, the atmosphere was electric. Champion Barbadian jockey, Jalon Samuel charged down to the finish with Public Sector to deny Smokin’ T and Bulldoze Gold Cup glory. From my snug spot on the rail, I could hear and feel the grandstand erupt into joyful cheers and screams. Public Sector and his Groom Carol Born and raised in Barbados I experienced one of my first Gold Cup as a racing fan in the early 90s when Sandford Prince and jockey Venice Richards stole the show. Watching as a young girl, I can vividly recall the sea of people that consumed both horse and jockey after the race. It’s memories like those that remind me why I love this sport. Whether its Woodbine, the Garrison or any other racetrack, horse racing has a unique way of uniting people by simply celebrating the victory of a horse and its rider. Post race, when Samuel and Public Sector returned to the grandstand side, they were flocked by the winning connections, friends, and family, greeting them both with congratulations, cheers, pats, and makeshift hugs. It’s worth noting that Samuel had just recorded his seventh Gold Cup win, a feat that has not been achieved by any other rider. The excitement did not die down until the full racing card was complete. Capturing some last-minute interviews my day did not end until the racing card ended either. However, racehorse coverage did not stop on Gold Cup day. On Sunday morning, my next stop was Pebbles Beach where many local racehorses enjoy an early morning swim or just a chill beach adventure. Pebbles Beach is just a few mins walk from the Garrison Savannah. I arrived at Pebbles Beach around 6 a.m. to find a few horses already at the beach. Slowly the horses trickled in with their grooms in swimming shorts closely by their side. Some horses wanted to roll first in the sand while others walked straight into the sea. Some grooms gently splashed water onto their horse’s neck before giving them a sponge bath. Other grooms waited a few mins for their horse to settle in before gently nudging the horse towards deeper water and then eventually swimming out for a few mins. I was advised that some horses swim about 100 yards out. Apparently, it’s the swim back towards shore that sometimes presents a challenge, due in part to the strength of the current. With their grooms swimming closely by their side, each horse I watched swam out and back to shore in good form. Placing my flip flops to the side, high up on the beach, I let the time drift away as I watched several racehorses enjoy their morning swim. During that time, I also let one of my flip flops drift away and take a short-lived sea venture too. While I was at the beach, I saw sixth place Gold Cup finisher Deccan Prince take his first dip into the sea with his groom Ryan by his side. At first, the Gold cup contender looked slightly perplexed at being asked to enter the sea and initially wanted to run from it. However, after some gently coaxing and encouragement from Ryan, Deccan Prince found his groove and slowly walked into the sea water. (he also took some cues from the local racehorses enjoying their swim time with ease). It goes without saying that reporting the Barbados Gold Cup was one of the best times I’ve had as a horse racing reporter. From seeing familiar faces from Woodbine, to live racing action, and then to the beach where I watched the racehorses enjoy the sea water, it was both a sweet and salty adventure. Hayley Morrison, for Woodbine Share This:Share
