Jamaica Looking to Grow its Presence With Mouttet Mile

Typically when you ask people in North America about international horse racing you hear countries such as England, Ireland, France, Australia, Japan, United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia. Some might say Argentina, Hong Kong, and Turkey. But a response that may catch some by surprise is Jamaica. The Caribbean island has a long history in the sport and in recent years has been making a strong push to improve its place in the global Thoroughbred landscape. The next step in those efforts comes Dec. 7 with the third running of the $250,000 Mouttet Mile. The Mouttett Mile along with the Chairman's Plate will be part of the New York Racing Association and Fox Sports' America's Day at the Races broadcast Saturday. "When we shaped the platform to be more inclusive and when we started the Mouttet Mile, we wanted a race that would attract not just our local (participants) but it wasn't attracting internationals," said Solomon Sharpe, executive chairman of Caymanas Park. "In the first year, no horses came, last year... a couple of horses came in. And this year, we now have six foreign invaders, and we expect it to grow. "We looked at the race and we said, 'Okay, how can we make the race the most exciting?' And I think at this time of the year a mile race fits very well. We were trying to have a conversation with NYRA and we paired (the Mouttet Mile) with the Cigar Mile, because we are pretty much on that same weekend. That is what started us getting more international exposure, because we've been making baby steps." The field of 16 includes 11 runners bred in the United States. As the race garners more attention and, if as Sharpe hopes, draws more international partners and a larger purse, there may be more competitors from the United States and beyond. Jamaican racing officials with Supreme Ventures Racing and Entertainment Limited, which manages Caymanas Park, have been augmenting their native horses with runners bought at sales in the U.S. Sharpe said they weren't "going to wait on the industry to start bringing the horses" to Jamaica. At the 2022 Ocala Breeders' June 2-Year-Olds and Horses of Racing Age Sale, five horses were purchased with two of them—Atlantic Convoy and Pretty Caroline—running in Saturday's card. At the same sale this year, nine horses were purchased with seven of them running in a race for 2-year-olds Saturday. American trainer Rohan Crichton won last year's Mouttet Mile with Rough Entry. This year, he brings Legacy Isle and Commandant. Meanwhile, Jamaica-based trainer Anthony Nunes has two in the field of 16: Barnaby and Tiz Tok, both coming in from the States for the Mouttet Mile. Barnaby, Nunes said, was claimed for him by Saffie Joseph Jr. in June at Churchill Downs. Nunes used to train for Joseph's uncle. Acclimation could be a factor for the six U.S.-based trainers who decided to bring their pupils to Jamaica. Nunes brought Barnaby in August and Tiz Tok in September. "In Jamaica, the law is you have to come and stay in quarantine here for two weeks," Nunes said. "Now, the quarantine is not one like in the States. When I was bringing Barnaby (to Gulfstream Park), I could train at a training track while he was in quarantine. Here we don't have a training track at the quarantine, so they actually have to just stay in their stall, lay around, bathe them and put them back in. So the challenge is, if you're going to bring them late, it's going to be a struggle fitness-wise because they would have done nothing for two weeks." The other U.S.-bred runners are Desert of Malibu, Pack Plays, Funcaandun, Sistren Treasure, Wall Street Trader, Is That A Fact, and Sheer Delight. Editor's Note: BloodHorse's coverage of the Mouttet Mile is funded with travel provided by the Jamaican Tourist Board.