Rajiv Maragh

ELMONT, New York (CMC): Jamaican jockey Rajiv Maragh snatched a thrilling win aboard Main Sequence in the US$600, 000 Grade I Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Stakes on Saturday, but his outing at Belmont Park turned sour when he suffered a broken arm in the next race after taking a heavy spill.

Going off at odds of 2-1 in the trip over one and a half miles, Maragh and Main Sequence recovered from a slow start before getting the better of a stretch duel with Twilight Eclipse to win by a neck in a time of two minutes, 26.32 seconds.

Following victories

The victory was the third consecutive Grade I win for the five-year-old chestnut gelding in the United States since shipping from England, following victories in the United Nations Stakes in July at Monmouth Park and the Sword Dancer in August at Saratoga.

With the race a Breeders' Cup Challenge Win and You're In race in the Turf division, it means Main Sequence will now head to the prestigious series at Santa Anita in the first week of November.

All this was marred, however, in the very next race, race 11, when Maragh took a tumble while aboard Wicked Strong in the US$1 million Grade I Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes.

The three-year-old colt clipped heels with 7-2 bet Moreno and went down on the far turn during the trip over a mile-and-a-quarter. Maragh lay motionless on the track for several moments after the fall before being stretchered off and rushed to North Shore Hospital on Long Island complaining of pain in his right arm.

Moreno, ridden by Junior Alvarado, finished fourth but was disqualified and placed last, after a stewards enquiry found the pair had drifted over to the inside and into the path of Wicked Strong, causing the spill.

Favourite Tonalist, the Belmont Stakes winner, went on to win the race.