This year's edition of the Stewards Cup, originally scheduled to take place on Saturday (November 29) at the Arima Race Club, Santa Rosa Park, Arima, has been delayed to December 6.
There has been no serious explanation, but there is a lot of speculation that funding is the issue yet again in horse racing in T&T. Many expected exciting times for horse racing given the new administration and some discussions, but so far, everyone in the sport is still holding their breath, with oxygen running out quickly.
However, returning to the 2025 Stewards Cup, there is, at the moment, a small field of six horses nominated to contest what used to be the premier sprinting championship in the Caribbean. It is a far cry from that these days.
In memory of what this race used to be, and in the hope that one day our sport can return to its glorious past, I would like to take us down memory lane to reflect on some of the memorable races in the past and hope it can bring smiles to faces in need of happiness.
Few would dispute that the 1970s and 1980s represented a glorious period for the sport in this country. Horses would travel from Barbados, Guyana, and Jamaica to compete in our premier events. At Christmas time, top-class jockeys from the UK would spend part of their winter vacation on these isles, riding some of our best horses in the premier events, which all took place at the mecca of horse racing in the Caribbean, the Queen's Park Savannah in Port-of-Spain (POS). Crowds would flock to the track from the neighbouring towns or villages of Maraval, St Clair, Woodbrook, Belmont, and St James. The races were top class and the competition fierce.
Legends of the turf such as the southern maestro Eric "Colt" Durant and his POS counterpart, Joe Hadeed, would have their horses primed to perform at their best at this meeting and, besides the foreign riders, call upon the services of the best jockeys seen in these parts, Venice "Pappy" Richards and Chally Jones, to give their hopes the best chance.
The sprinting division in the 1970s was exceptional, with Durant dominating the Cup with a run of eight consecutive wins from 1971 to 1979. Names such as Quain, Quizical, Pert Princess, and, to a lesser extent, Regency Bill, are sure to bring back fond memories for all.
Pert Princess was a bullet, and when she won the Cup as a three-year-old in 1976, it was one of the most blistering performances ever seen. The battles between Quizical and Clown Prince (a striking grey that everyone loved) were memorable, and while the latter was never able to get his hands on the Stewards Cup crown, he did manage to win a "Horse of the Year" title in 1977.
Towards the end of that decade, the Barbadians would send across their top sprinter, Local Knowledge, to take on the locals, but he was never able to break through in the '70s, though he would have his day in 1980. Another legendary horse who was unable to break through in this event was the great Windy Hill. Much more of a stayer, this horse would thunder down the straight but just come up short on many occasions in this sprint.
The dawn of the new decade would see the Barbadian champ, Local Knowledge, break his duck in the race as a six-year-old. This horse was different "gravy" on a firm surface, and everything came together that year. He would be one of two winners for Barbados that decade, with the Barbadian-bred Green Man coming back in 1987 to score a famous win with a better-fancied fellow Barbadian (and their champion horse at the time, Bentom), as well as local champion, Jarrovian, well beaten.
The latter would gain his revenge in a spectacular running of the Gold Cup that year. Other notable winners that decade were Cookie’s Beauty, Melingo, Driven Dotty, and Imaginary Sky. Cookie’s Beauty (1981) was ridden to victory by Englishman Brian Rouse, who passed away earlier this year.
The 1984 running of the Stewards Cup would live long in the memory of many since the photo finish camera was required to separate five horses at the line, spread across the width of the track. When the frame was blown up, it was Golden Eagle who would be called the winner over the likes of Splendid Peak (a subsequent Gold Cup winner) and Stampede.
One great name who was unable to get his name on the crown in the 1980s was Bold Lewis, but he would have his day in Barbados when running away with the Cockspur Gold Cup (now the Sandy Lane Gold Cup).
The 1990s were the transition decade from the mecca of POS to Arima, following the centralisation of racing in the east. The decade opened up with a double winner in the mare Smoothawn (1989 and 1990), followed by another double winner, Sweet Tassa (1991, 1992), and there would be a third double winner, Sian’s Gold (1994, 1995).
In the era of Sian’s Gold, this race was the one that got away from the other champion of the 1990s (and the dirt), Vandross. Since the race moved to Arima, there would be other double winners in the form of Sugar Mike (2003, 2005), Storm Street (2007, 2008), Bruceontheloose (2010, 2011), Crime of Passion (2013, 2014), and Control Unit (2015, 2016).
Other notable winners during the 2010s were the Errol Stables-owned Signal Alert (2012), which edged out the great Bruceontheloose in an epic stretch battle that will forever be remembered by all who witnessed it that day, and Whisper Light (2018), which put aside his tenacity and robust behaviour to outclass a competitive field.
Sadly, the decade of the 2020s has seen the great race decline to what is not yet its nadir, though we live in hope that something will revive its fortune. The six horses nominated for the race, which include the 2023 winner, would be unable to find a place in any listing alongside the names mentioned earlier. Nevertheless, there must be a winner, and someone will etch his or her name on the trophy to join the greats of yesteryear.
Last year’s winner, Sneaky Cheeky, is probably the best sprinter among the nominees, but in terms of class, she is not in the same league as Gold Cup winner, Hello World, who has taken all before him in the staying races for the last two years. The interest on Saturday will be whether he can convert that dominance to the sprint. However, the fly in the ointment may yet be the youngest horse, the unbeaten Triple Crown winner – Headliner – owned by Mrs Diane Scott, who, alongside her brilliant husband Pierpoint Scott, is the most loved racing couple and should not be ignored. I think Hello World, though, can win, such is the class gulf. Good luck to all!
