‘Reggae 6 Snaps’ delivers two upsetters

THE Weekend STAR’s ‘Reggae 6 Snaps’ had two of three upsetters among its selections, LIFE IS LIGHT at 12-1 and MODERN MONARCH at 10-1, in the second and fifth races, respectively, in addition to HIT N RUN as a banker in the fourth, winners that would have been noted by punters with six tickets each, picking up payouts of $832,662.

ATOMIC ENERGY opened the Reggae 6 at odds of 12-1, sending hundreds of bets crashing before LIFE IS LIGHT and MODERN MONARCH whittled down the remaining tickets, which had winners’ spending ranging from as low as $1,620 to $19,200, proving exotics can be collared by frugal bettors.

LIFE IS LIGHT, and MODERN MONARCH’s upset victories also impacted the Ketch 9, which was caught by five winning combinations, each pocketing $967,840 by spotting eight of nine winners on mandatory-payout day.

The hefty Ketch 9 dividend kickstarted October’s ‘Mandatory Magic’, which continues on Saturday with the Strike 4, the last four races, betting opening with a jackpot of $2.4 million.

Foster four-timer

Meanwhile, Tevin Foster increased his lead to 10 winners clear of back-to-back champion jockey Raddesh Roman, booting home a four-timer, including a chance ride aboard United States-bred PEPPER STEPPER, who closed a hat-trick of wins by making all in the Pinktober Trophy at six and a half furlongs for Jason DaCosta.

Replacing PEPPER STEPPER’s regular rider, Robert Halledeen, who stood down from his remaining mounts after landing the Reggae 6 Anniversary Trophy with MAVERICK for leading and four-time champion trainer DaCosta, Foster coasted the speedy American into the lane, unperturbed, with no matching speed on the lead.

Having run RAINSVILLE and BOSS MAN off their legs down the backstretch in splits of 23.1 and 46.3, negotiating the home turn with SUPREMASI picking up the chase for the local-breds, PEPPER STEPPER changed gears at 1:12.1 a half-furlong out, too scorching a pace for his middle-distance-inclined pursuers.

The three-year-old American stopped the clock in 1:19.0 as the 8-5 favourite, registering his fifth win from eight starts for Robert Thomas. His father, Edmund Thomas, owned War Zone, the 1996 Triple Crown winner trained by Jason’s late father, 18-time champion and Hall-of-Famer Wayne DaCosta.

Cusp of grade one

PEPPER STEPPER’s victory, beating open-allowance company, puts the Tunwoo-Ribbing colt on the cusp of grade one ahead of the Bruceontheloose Sprint set for Mouttet Mile Day, Saturday, December 5, in which he could renew rivalry with last year’s winner, fellow American OF A REVOLUTION, from Anthony Nunes’ barn, the seven-year-old who he outsped at five furlongs straight in the Gerry Skelton Memorial on September 12.

Foster, who lost the 2024 riders’ title to Roman in the last race of the year by a half-length aboard MEDAL AWARD, while bidding to force a tie with Roman, made things sticky for his rival in the first meet of October.

Foster started his four-timer astride SLAM SHARP at odds of 2-1 in the third for trainer Michael Marlowe, adding 10-1 upsetter MODERN MONARCH to his tally, a come-from-behind finish in the fifth at seven furlongs.

After his gate-to-wire win with PEPPER STEPPER, Foster closed the 10-race card by driving home 2023 Jamaica Derby winner, ABILITY, who chased down THE GIFTED ONE to win the nightpan as the 8-5 favourite at five furlongs straight.