Orville Clarke, Gleaner Writer

Fighting tooth and nail from start to finish, the American filly WAP scrambled home by a head to win the highly competitive open allowance race over 1700 metres at Caymanas Park yesterday.

Installed a joint 2-1 second favourite with in-form jockey Paul 'Country' Francis aboard, WAP was not the best away from the number one post position but was hustled up on the inside to join leaders SHANGHAI PASS and AD INFINITUM after a furlong.

All three went hell for leather on the lead until the pair of SHANGHAI PASS and WAP began to open up on the 9-5 favourite AD INFINITUM leaving the half mile.

Both American horses turned for home locked in a tremendous duel before the lightly weighted WAP, responding to a strong ride from Francis, pointed on the inside early in the last furlong.

In the end, she just managed to last home from another American filly, LADY HASTINGS (9-1), who came flying at the finish under Panamanian jockey Dick Cardenas, only to arrive a trifle late.

WAP is owned by Ruth Hussey and trained by her son Percy, both of whom had a second winner in 4-5 favourite KING'S LAW, who won the three-year-old maiden race over the straight in a blanket finish.

Hussey leads

As a result of her two wins and a second-place finish with the two-year-old FLINTSTONE in the first race, Hussey has moved up from third to assume the lead from Elias Haloute in the owners' standings, with total stakes of $7.4 million.

Meanwhile, RAJPUT, running as the 6-5 favourite with champion jockey Omar Walker aboard, also scored a fighting victory in the feature race for the Reca Trophy (claiming $350,000-$300,000) over 1400 metres, this being race No. 25 in the popular Track Price 'Dig Out' Handicap series which offers cash incentives to owners, trainers, jockeys and grooms.

RAJPUT, trained by Dennis Lee for his wife Faye, had to be hard driven to withstand a sustained challenge from SOUND OF SPEED (6-1, Cardenas up) to win by a neck.

Meanwhile, 19-year-old Doushane Gordon became the third from the batch of new apprentices to ride a winner, booting home the Tony Kirlew-trained WESTERN GENIUS (9-2) to an easy victory in the seventh race over 1700 metres.

Prior to graduating from the Jockeys' School on Thursday, August 27, Gordon, who began riding only last Wednesday, had won twice aboard MOST WANTED last year in races confined to exercise riders.