Hello World closed off the 2023 racing season in fine style after winning the Edmund De Freitas Gold Cup at Santa Rosa Park in Arima at Tuesday's Boxing Day card.

This was Hello World's first grade-one success and much was owing to its champion jockey Brian Boodramsingh.

The Gold Cup was the main event on the six-race card over 2,000m distance on the main course. Hello World did well to keep pace with the leaders and capitalise on the vacant inner lane to accelerate to victory on the back straight.

In The Headlines had a strong start and maintained pole position for the majority of the race, but Hello World showed resilience and left it late to surge out of third position, and into winner's row, over the final 250m.

After bursting out of the gates, it was a tightly packed field - about six lengths separating front to back (eight jockeys) - as they headed around the bottom turn. As they charged towards the 900m pole, In The Headlines continued to lead the six, with Crown Prince trailing closely behind followed by Hello World in third and Soca Harmony in a close fourth. Making Headlines and Princess Aruna completed the field.

Coming off the far turn, In The Headlines still led but Crown Prince and Hello World shifted gears as they approached the final turn.

Boodramsingh's experience showed as he held the inside of the track and squeezed past Crown Prince and In The Headlines to take control of the race.

As Hello World extended her lead, the only battle was for the other places. Crown Prince came in second, followed by Soca Harmony and Just Exhale respectively. In The Headlines faded over the final metres to finish fifth overall.

Hello World won by over three and a half lengths in two minutes and 9.38 seconds.

In the co-feature race, the Carib Brewery Ltd St James/St Ann's Stakes, a 1,350m grade-two event, Headlines Again remained unbeaten after notching another classy stakes win by over six lengths.

Headlines Again led from the start with Red Alert and Crème De La Crème close on its hooves. So it remained as they raced past the 1,100m pole. Hot Rod Kashton held on to fourth while Uncle Rog was in fifth.

After 800m, the race tightened and as they approached the final turn, Headlines Again surged ahead by two-and-a-half lengths to win with ease on the final straight. Crème De La Crème finished second and Red Alert third, while Uncle Rog did well to make up ground, to see off Hot Rod Ashton for fourth.

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