WINNIPEG, Manitoba, CMC-Three-time champion jockey Antonio Whitehall said he looked forward to the new racing season at Assiniboia Downs in Canada.
The 30-year-old reinsman from Barbados is one of several Caribbean jockeys back at the central Canadian racetrack exercising horses daily to secure “live” mounts for the upcoming season, which opens on Monday, May 20.
Whitehall confidently won the riding title last year, winning at a 20 percent clip and compiling a record of 56 wins, 43 seconds, and 54-thirds from 284 mounts for purse earnings of CAN $687 757.
He finished 15 wins clear of runner-up and fellow Barbadian Damario Bynoe, who has also returned from holidaying in Bridgetown and is exercising horses in the morning along with compatriots Renaldo Cumberbatch and Shavon Belle, as well as Chavion Chow of Jamaica, and Prayven Badrie, Sven Balroop, and Stanley Chadee Jr of Trinidad & Tobago.
“I just went home and kicked back this winter, spent time with the family,” Whitehall said. “…but it’s good to be back.
“Of course, it’s cold, but my motto is to keep going. When you stop, you kind of freeze. You have to keep galloping to get through it.”
There are 170 horses on the track right now, and this is expected to grow to more than 200 by the end of the month, which will be ahead of last year’s number.
Whitehall has been getting on horses for his usual trainers, including Wendy Anderson, Jared Brown, Shelley Brown, and Tom Gardipy, Jr.
He is looking forward to this year and hoping to make a good run at his fourth title. He also relishes additional competition.
“Work hard, play hard,” he said. “Bring it on. It makes me better.”
During his trip home, Whitehall influenced Rashad Knight, an apprentice from Barbados, to make the journey to Canada, and he’s excited to see what the young rider can achieve.
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