The Group 1 $500,000 Myer Classic (1600m) at Flemington on the first day of the 2018 Melbourne Cup Carnival will be the Spring target for last Saturday’s Glasshouse Handicap winner Jamaican Rain.
Tegan Harrison, above, rode Jamaican Rain to victory in the 2018 Glasshouse Handicap at the Sunshine Coast. Photo by Daniel Costello.
The lightly raced Melbourne mare Jamaican Rain was having her second outings in a Stakes race when she demolished the field to record a three and three quarter lengths win in the Listed $175,000 Oaks Hotels & Resorts Glasshouse Handicap (1400m).
Gold Coast trainer Bevan Laming, standing in for his Cranbourne based son Richard Laming, said that Jamaican Rain would have one more run in Queensland in the Listed $100,000 Sky Racing Tattersall’s Mile (1600m) at Doomben on July 21 before heading home to prepare for the 2018 Spring Carnival.
“But we think she is very good all around and she will stay here for the Tatt’s Mile and then head back to Melbourne,” Bevan Laming said.
“We have such an opinion of her that we are looking Myer Classic for her late in the Spring.”
Jamaican Rain arrived in Queensland in winning form with victories at Cranbourne and The Valley before making it a hat trick of wins with the dominant victory over Privlaka and River Racer in the Glasshouse Handicap.
Jamaican Rain had raced once before in Stakes company for a fifth in the Group 3 $200,000 The Hong Kong Jockey Club Stakes (1400m) at Flemington on Melbourne Cup Day during the 2017 Melbourne Spring Carnival.
Jamaican Rain was sent out as the $3.60 favourite for the Glasshouse Handicap on the back of her winning Victorian form and her jockey Tegan Harrison had the mare up outside the leader from a wide barrier in the run along the back straight.
Harrison held the mare together rounding the home turn but once heads were turned for home, she let Jamaican Rain extend and she careered away to record a very impressive win on the rain affected track.
Jamaican Rain has now won six of her eleven race starts with prizemoney earnings of $238,325.
