BASSETERRE, St. Kitts-Sunday (Dec. 20) saw the grand official opening of the Beaumont Park race facility. Thousands of spectators were on hand to witness the event and this included several boatloads of individuals who journeyed across from Nevis.
Owner of the racing facility, Mr. Arthur Sharpe must have been extremely pleased with the turn out as the exhibition races held the previous Sunday also attracted similar crowds. The magnificent facility, conspicuously placed between the Liamuiga Mountains and the seaside at Dieppe Bay, is indeed one for the nature lovers.
The races started shortly after 1 pm and by the time the persons from Nevis who came across on the 12 o’clock ferry got to the grounds, the first race was already completed. One of the features of the day was the spectacle of the horses bolting from the gates at the starting point.
The crowd was not lacking in entertainment either. No fewer than three big named bands from the Federation were on hand to keep the huge crowd motivated. The three bands on show were: Odyssey out of Nevis and Grand Masters and NuVybes International out of St.Kitts.
By 5.15 pm some five races had been completed. Here are the results of the races:
Race one:
Boryenka of St.Kitts-first
Schleishinger of St.Kitts-second
Fire Storm of Nevis third
Royal Crest of St.Kitts and William D Juniour of Nevis both ‘scratched’.
Race two:
1st Calling Nichole of St.Kitts
2nd Val d’isere of St.Kitts
3rd De She Devil of Nevis
Brilliant bride refusing to get married on the day- ‘scratched’.
Race three:
1st E Z Smile of St.kitts
2nd Isla of St.Kitts
3rd Error of St.Kitts
4th Shatta of Nevis
Khen Run of Nevis ‘scratched’
Race Four
1st Atabaas Pride of St.Kitts
2nd Yodallah of St.Kitts
3rd Dominquero of Nevis
4th Obama of Nevis.
The presidential horse seemed bent on going in the opposite direction at the starting point, as it is accustomed to do on the Nevis track and refused to run.
The fifth and final race had a record seven horses on the track and it could have been eight, had Secular not scratched’. The results of the final race are:
1st Tiedintwine of St.Kitts
2nd Ski for luck of St.Kitts
3rd Norse Spirit of St.Kitts.
The only Nevisian horse in this one was El Avion and on this occasion served to bring up the rear.
Although the Nevisian horses failed to make an impression on the day, Nevisian licensed Jockey Jason Liburd was one of the stars of the day, entering the winner’s circle a few times, representing the Sharpe stables.
The next big meet at the facility is slated for January 10th 2010.
In related news, the Nevis Turf and Jockey Club will be hosting two more events for the year: One on Boxing Day and the other on New Year’s Day.
