Prestigious night at the Garrison Turf Awards

IT was the night of cocktails and dresses, where the Horse Racing who’s who gathered to acknowledge the exceptional performances and stellar contributions of their own, and Victor Cheeseman had the most memorable night by a good furlong.

Cheeseman proudly received four of the awards presented at the Barbados Thoroughbred Breeders Association Garrison Turf Awards, in association with the Barbados Turf Club. His only individual award of the night was the Val Gale Award for Champion Trainer, which was his third straight and fourth overall.

He also stepped up to receive the Mentone Award for the Champion Imported Horse, ‘Just a Fashion’, which beat out the 2016 Gold Cup winner, ‘Dorsett’, and ‘Infrared’. Following that up, he collected the Spa Ferry Award for Champion Broodmare for connections of Aquarius Star, and finally the big award of the night, the Horse of the Year. Cheeseman was joined by fellow breeder, Tristan Forde, to collect the Horse of the Year Award for the winning horse, ‘Northern Star’. Melvin Rollins, who was also a fellow breeder, was not present.

Cheeseman was happy about his night, and said that the Horse of the Year award was very special to him.

“Horse of the Year is very special to me. Northern Star, I raised him up and won the Derby with him, and that is all my heart.”

The Chally Jones Award for Champion Jockey for 2016 was won by Rasheed Hughes, with his first nomination in the category, having won 31 wins for the season. He was injured to start the 2016 horse racing season, and missed the first 5 race days, but was able to catch and pass the other jockeys. Hughes said that it was a dream come true for him as a rider.

“I have dreamed about it, and it is something that every jockey wants to win, and from having a broken leg at the beginning of the season and still win by 9 or so wins... My goal this year is to win some more big races, especially the Triple Crown,” Hughes revealed.

Sir Charles Williams walked away with the Sir John Chandler Award for Champion Breeder, while brothers Steve and Allan Modoo won the M.E.R. Bourne Award for Champion Owner.

Not only were people honoured for current accomplishments at the prestigious event at the Island Inn, but those who had made contributions over the years were also remembered. The Claire Melville Award for Outstanding Service to the Race Industry went to Edward Walcott Senior, for his perseverance to see horse racing move forward in Barbados.

Also, Anne Deane, was presented with the Golden Horseshoe of Merit, which is an exceptional accolade for exceptional circumstances. She is a very successful trainer, as well as the owner of the Edginton Riding School, to which she opened the door to less fortunate children who could not afford the classes. Over the years to come, she would have at some point 124 students per week. Her students were taught with well documented diagrams at her classes, which included Stable Management, General Management and Addressing Ailments of the Horse. With the help of her son Peter, she took to the stage to receive her award amongst the standing applause of all present. (AS)

Awards and Awardees
The Liquid Bless Award for Champion Two-Year-Old – Black Rock
The Coo-Bird Award for Champion Three-Year-Old – Northern Star
The Blue Print Award for Champion Older Creole – Nekitta
The Mentone Award for Champion Imported – Just A Fashion
The M.E.R. Bourne Award for Champion Owner – Steve and Allan Modoo
The Val Gale Award for Champion Trainer – Victor Cheeseman
The Chally Jones Award for Champion Jockey – Rasheed Hughes
The Byron Clarke Award for Champion Apprentice – Affrie Ward (10 wins, 14 seconds, 7 thirds)
The Sir John Chandler Award for Champion Breeder - Sir Charles Williams
The Happy Boy Award for Champion Sire – Janak
The Spa Ferry Award for Champion Broodmare – Aquarius Star
The Frank Watkins Award for Best Racing Photograph – Gayle Seale
The Claire Melville Award for Outstanding Service to the Horse Racing Industry – Edward Walcott
The Golden Horseshoe of Merit – Anne Deane
The Barbados Turf Club Director’s Award – Luther G. Miller III
The BTBA Special Award – Sir Charles Williams
Horse of the Year – Northern Star