Title-chaser Foster dominates Reggae 6

TITLE-chasing Tevin Foster and claiming rider Shane Richardson dominated Saturday's Reggae 6 on mandatory-payout day, which favoured form players encashing $25,999 for winning tickets.

Foster rode four winners overall on the 10-race card, starting with three Reggae 6 wins - BROMPTON ALEX, MISS MONEYPENNY and PRINCESS RIA - ending the afternoon with a four-win lead on Raddesh Roman after starting the day locked on 104 winners atop the jockeys' standings.

Richardson, who rides as a five-pound claimer, opened the Reggae 6 with a smooth win aboard Carl Anderson's five-furlong straight specialist, EMPEROROFTHECATS, the 7-5 second-favourite among $550,000 claimers.

Foster afterwards booted home a quick double, putting 2-5 favourite BROMPTON ALEX on the lead in the second at five furlongs round, sprinting clear for a six-length win.

MISS MONEYPENNY, last year's Mixed Sale topper at $4.2 million, made light work of two-year-old rivals as the 1-5 favourite for her second consecutive win, making all at five and a half furlongs in 1:08.1 for Foster's second winner.

Richardson completed his two-timer in the fourth astride Carlton Cunningham's 5-2 chance, MILLINIUM STAR, who chased down SIX AVENUE at seven furlongs, pulling clear inside the final furlong to beat $250,000 claimers by four lengths.

Roman, who watched the Foster-Richardson takeover of the first four races, thought he had the fifth in the bag aboard Steven Todd's United States-bred POPE'S LADY, racing clear of Foster astride 4-5 favourite SMART TRICK at six furlongs.

However, Roman paid a heavy price for a hurried ride, falling prey to 3-1 chance ZULU WARRIOR with sparingly used nine-pound claimer, Calvin Bailey, who put on quite the show after collaring POPE'S LADY near the wire.

Foster put a lid on the Reggae 6 in the next race with a clever ride, keeping speedy PRINCESS RIA in third, tracking splits being set by READMYLIPS and MR WONDERFUL, before cutting the corner on rivals to pounce early in the stretch run.

Though sprinting off from READMYLIPS, 5-2 chance PRINCESS RIA started shortening rapidly a half-furlong out in the five-furlong round event. Rallying under Dick Cardenas, even-money favourite READMYLIPS inched forward with every stride.

However, Foster roused PRINCESS RIA to last home by a short head, sending his fans into a flag-waving frenzy, bettered only by the celebrations accompanying his come-from-behind win in the closing event astride HIMAYA, who won the $2-million BGLC-TOBA Millionaires Series bonus for the Reggae Skanking Trophy at seven furlongs.

The Reggae 6 starts anew this Saturday. The popular bet requires punters to spot respective winners of the first six races on any given day. If there is one winner, a single winning ticket, the minimum guaranteed payout on Saturdays stands at $3.5 million and $3 million on any other day.

If there is one winning ticket when the jackpot starts afresh after a mandatory payout, a lucky punter stands to win either $3.5 million or $3 million, in addition to a $1-million seed, making it a possible $4.5 million up for grabs.