Panamanian horse Golden Moka wins the Prince of Wales Stakes in Canada.
The Prince of Wales Stakes horse race is is considered the “second jewel in Canada´s Triple Crown horse racing” the Queen´Plate and the Breeders. So when this year, a “Panamanian mystery horse” named Golden Moka won the big race at Fort Erie near Toronto and across the border from Buffalo, NY, all eyes were fixed on the horse and his home country of Panama.
Golden Moka went off at 10-1 with apprentice jockey Anthony Stephen in the stirrups. Stephen kept the horse on task and came through on the rail to win going away by 23/4 lengths. Queen’s Plate winner A horse named Big Red Mike, who won the recent Queen’s Plate race was sent to post as the 4-5 favourite, and jockey Eurico Rosa da Silva were quick out of the gate to take a front-running position along the rail.
As the field traveled through the clubhouse turn, jockey Anthony Stephen urged Golden Moka forward with Mobil Unit following his lead. Big Red Mike stalked that front pairing, alongside Hotep, into the far turn and both horses moved into a threatening position as the stretch run loomed.
With only the stretch to maneuver, Stephen asked Golden Moka for more and received more than enough from his charge to run away from the field. Mobil Unit held on for second while a hard-trying Big Red Mike gutted out a third place finish. Panama was champion.
The back story
Trained by Brian Lynch, Golden Moka’s ownership includes a doctor, a judge, hockey superstar Denis Savard, and Rene Douglas, a recently-paralyzed jockey. Douglas was paralyzed in a riding accident and is currently in his home country of Panama undergoing stem cell treatments for his paralysis that he cannot receive in the United States.
The jockey watched the race from here in Panama. On Sunday he said, “This horse is going to be something special. I knew it from the beginning.” Douglas says that when he spotted Golden Moka, he immediately realized he had something special. He was the force that convinced the the ownership group to purchase the horse. Overcoming hurdles, missing the Queen
Trainer Brian Lynch had some hurdles to overcome with Golden Moka before emerging as an international champion. “The horse had only raced three times in Panama this year,” says Lynch, “He won all three allowance races which were sprints. To go the longer distances we had to get the horse to relax.”
After shipping to Canada Golden Moka fell ill and was unable to train for a while. As a result Golden Moka missed the Queen´s Plate, the “crown jewel” of Canda’s races, attended by Her Majesty, the Queen Elizabeth. The decision was made to run Golden Moka in the Prince of Wales Stakes and run he did.
A winner’s finish
During the Prince of Wales Stakes race, jockey Anthony Stephen said Golden Moka was so relaxed he could have run all day.
This is an article written by Robert Purvis; for www.panamabusinessandtravel.com, a site offering information on Panama in both business and tourism. Readers wishing to find further information regarding the country of Panama should visit www.panamabusinessandtravel.com.
