Fletcher shakes up Reggae 6 with Velicki Vicki

SAMANTHA Fletcher was in the news for a second consecutive racemeet, turning Saturday's Reggae 6 inside-out at the last hurdle with a terrific finish astride 12-1 outsider, VELICKI VICKI, nailing 2-1 favourite MANOUSHE stealing home with Robert Halledeen.

VELICKI VICKI was the dagger that resulted in a $130,234 payout to winning tickets. The bet-closing upsetter rocked the Reggae 6, which got its first jolt in the third event won by 4-1 chance FOUR FIVER, who returned off a five-month break to surge close home after leader POWER OF FAITH fell with Dick Cardenas.

Fletcher, whose operations stewards' disqualification aboard TEKAPUNT sparked a riot on last Monday's Heroes Day, overturned by the Jamaica Racing Commission three days later, crashed most Reggae 6 bets closing on MANOUSHE, who was widely used as a banker despite returning off a seven-month lay-up.

Bettors opting to bank MANOUSHE could hardly be blamed, the grey seemingly having the six-furlong event won after easily circling the field to lead past LAMBO GIRL and TAPPININ coming off the home turn.

Title-chasing Tevin Foster rode two Reggae 6 winners, opening the card astride 3-2 chance EMPRESS NAKELIA, who wore down speedy BUZZ ASSAULT at six and a half furlongs. Foster, who was later denied a three-timer after SHE'S THAT GIRL's disqualification in the seventh, won the fourth aboard SOUL WARRIOR at odds of 2-1.

Abigail Able joined Fletcher as the first female-jock winner on the day, all smiles after going all the way with Robert Pearson's two-year-old debutant, MIGHTY GULLY, a 2-1 chance at four and a half furlongs straight in the second.

Raddesh Roman kept the jockeys' title race as close as sardines in a can by notching his first of three winners, JACK DANIEL, in the fifth, returning to boot home UNRULY DON and OASIS JAK at the back end of the 10-race card, maintaining a deadlock between himself and Foster atop the jockeys' standings on 112 winners apiece.

The Reggae 6 opens on Saturday with a $5.3 million single-winner bonus.

ainsley.walters@gleanerjm.com