Don Quesi wins Harlequin Cup as Jamaica select XI named for Sri Lanka match

Carlos Brown is set to captain a Jamaica select XI against Sri Lanka in a 50-over contest at Sherwin Park on Sunday, with play scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. The 14-man group is described as relatively inexperienced, though it features several former national youth players and others who have already appeared at regional level.

Wicketkeeper Daniel Beckford, Tevin Gilzene and Jordan Johnson, all Jamaica Scorpions players, are expected to be involved. The squad also lists Steven Wedderburn, Alex Hines, Nicholas Lewin, Brandon English, Xavier Burton, Matthew Comrie, Andre McCarthy, Anthony Dacres, Stewart Thompson and Shalome Parnell.

At Caymanas Park, Don Quesi, the 7-2 third choice, gave champion apprentice Demar Williams victory in Saturday’s feature, the Harlequin Cup. The win was worth 30 points towards a place in this year’s Mouttet Mile.

The second running of the Harlequin Cup was staged for open allowance horses, three-year-olds and upward, over five and a half furlongs. Jason DaCosta’s 4-5 favourite California Chrome, ridden by Robert Halledeen, and even-money second choice Desert of Malibu, with Dane Dawkins aboard, were prominent in setting the early pace.

California Chrome tried to make all the running, but Don Quesi moved strongly in the closing stages and caught him deep in the stretch. Don Quesi won by one and three-quarter lengths in one minute, six seconds flat, after splits of 22.4 and 46.2, completing a third straight win in just under two months. California Chrome finished second, ahead of Zulu Warrior, with Is That a Fact and Mighty Gully close behind.

After the race, Williams said the plan was to break well, stay near the pace and wait to make the decisive move. He said Don Quesi responded when asked near the 100-metre mark and kept going to the line.

The supporting Millard Ziadie Memorial Cup, an overnight allowance event over five and a half furlongs, went comfortably to 3-5 favourite Unbelievable Force. That result completed a double on the card for two-time reigning champion jockey Robert Roman. Former champion jockey Dane Dawkins also rode two winners, while three-time former champion trainer Anthony Nunes and Peter John Parsad each saddled two winners. Racing returns next Saturday with the 1,000 Guineas for native-bred three-year-old fillies, the season’s first classic.