Six late scratches thin out Caymanas card as Purosangue wins 3-horse field

What promised to be an ordinary 10-race programme at Caymanas Park on Saturday, September 12, 2026 was impacted by six late non-starters, leaving punters with smaller fields and thinner betting pools. The card opened with 77 declared runners, averaging 7.7 per race. By post time for the finale, that number had dropped to 71 after a string of late withdrawals chipped away at the fields throughout the afternoon.

The attrition began early as #6 Summer Palace was declared out of the third, reducing that event from 7 to 6 runners. In the fourth, juvenile #3 Yeet was withdrawn, cutting the two-year-old contest to 5 starters, #8 Civic Illusion then sat out the fifth. The damage was most severe in the afternoon’s seventh race — an event for imported three-and 4-year-olds, non-winners-of-three, along with local non-winners-of-four.

When both #1 Novio and #3 Unbelievable Power were scratched late, the race was left with just three runners — a rarity at Caymanas Park. Owner Solomon Sharpe (left), trainer Jason DaCosta (second right), and other connections with Purosangue (Robert Halledeen) in the winners’ enclosure on Saturday, September 12, 2026. (Photo: Karl Mclarty) The Jason DaCosta-trained Purosangue (2-5), ridden by Robert Halledeen, duly obliged as the odds-on favourite.

Olivia D’Oro (4-5) finished second and Comuna Trece (3-1) was third. With only three betting interests, returns were predictably modest. Purosangue paid $146 to win, the exacta with Olivia D’Oro paid $100, and daily double with Whispering Magic the race before paid $824.

The late card also saw #10 Bulletproofcoffee withdrawn from the 10th and final race, dropping that field from 12 to 11. Despite the withdrawals, there were still competitive contests elsewhere. Brahma Bull (13-1) caused the biggest upset in race three, while Pepper Stepper (5-2) took the closing event.

With six horses lost to late scratchings, Saturday’s card serves as another reminder of how quickly field sizes can erode — and how much it costs both punters and racing product.