• Arlington, barely given a thought before the prestigious race, with odds of 4/1, led from start to finish, except a few hundred metres, outshining the more reputable and known heavyweights.
•The fixture itself, a six-card panoply, was nothing close to the experts' wisdom, riddled with surprises and hardly a favourite or predicted winner winning.
Over 2000 people packed Ngong Racecourse on Sunday to witness the first classic of the 2023/24 season — the Kenya Guineas— and were treated to a spectacle of racing.
The grounds and grandstand were filled to the gunwales with patrons, punters and partygoers reveling in the glamorous festival which now permanently permeates racing in Kenya.
The spectators, who came from as far as France, Australia, USA, and United Kingdom, all adorned in the latest fashions, basque’d in the carnival atmosphere, enthralled with a scene that mimics the proud traditions of international racing, where sport, style, fun and fashion are all inseparable bedfellows.
Lady Sarah Spencer and Lord Michael Spencer, who are in Kenya to watch their horses, were elated with the day and said: “It was an enthusiastic and fashionable crowd. It was fantastic to see so many horses in the Kenya Guineas. We had a very enjoyable day. We are looking forward to the next race.”
The fixture itself, a six-card panoply, was nothing close to the experts' wisdom, riddled with surprises and hardly a favourite or predicted winner winning.
The biggest upset came in the Kenya Guineas, the main race of the day, where Arlington, ridden by R Wako, held off the more favoured Bedford, ridden by M Fundi, by a length to claim the honours.
Arlington, barely given a thought before the prestigious race, with odds of 4/1, led from start to finish, except a few hundred metres, outshining the more reputable and known heavyweights.
As dazzling as the unexpected victory was, the unruffled and collected nature of R Wako— who guided Arlington without panic — makes him the first apprentice jockey to win the Kenya Guineas in over 50 years.
A proud and smiling Julie McCann, Arlington’s trainer, was gracious and modest about her triumph and unexpected victory.
"It’s just patience, dedication and hard work. Horses don’t know if it’s a big race or not and we know that. We just keep them fit and ready, with lots of love and care,” said McCann.
Her recipe for success has always been the same. "Be kind to them and they’ll always give you their best. The ones that are best looked after will win the most.”
The only jockey to win two races across the highly-contested fixture was J Muhindi, claiming victories in The African Storm Maiden and the Duke of Manchester Cup.
Muhindi said the crowds play a big role for both jockey and horse.
"At 150 meters from the finish line, you can feel the noise, the cheering, and so can the horse, who finds something extra that can make you win. It’s amazing,” said McCann.
The Vayu Handicap was another specimen of the unremembered usurping the best-loved with Camberley triumphing over Star in Winter. Daisy, in the Risky Business Handicap, held her own, and was the only known and forecast nag to do so. The other big upset of the day came in the Kings Pattern Handicap which saw P Kiarie guide Joe Karari’s Russian wonder, at 5/1 odds, to beat a packed field of 10 reputable runners.
The end of the races gave way to a magical Kenyan sunset and Sundowners with an after-party from Nairobi’s finest DJs playing deep into the evening