Maragh wins Joe Hirsch shoot-out but breaks arm in spill

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 here 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.

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.

Things were a lot brighter for Maragh in the preceding hour when he produced a superb drive to get Main Sequence up late.

He was then forced to undergo an anxious wait as a result of a stewards’ enquiry into an incident in the stretch when Main Sequence and Twilight Eclipse bumped.

“When he made the lead, it was a little sooner than we wanted,” Maragh said.

“He started loafing a little bit. I tried to make him see the other horse, and a little contact happened. I felt like I was going to be okay on the inquiry, but it was nerve-wracking.”

Imagining set sluggish fractions through the opening stages, posting 26.53 seconds for the quarter and 50.89 for the half-mile, with Real Solution stalking from second, and Medal Count and Twilight Agenda keeping in touch.

Main Sequence, who broke slowly, raced from fifth before being roused on the far turn as the pace quickened. In the stretch, Imagining faded slowly as Main Sequence and Twilight Eclipse battled to the wire.

In the last eighth, Twilight Eclipse drifted out and Main Sequence also drifted in, resulting in a bump, which was questioned by the connections of Twilight Eclipse afterward, but the result was allowed to stand.

Twilight Eclipse earned US$360,000 from the win to take his lifetime earnings to US$1.6 million.

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Maragh wins Joe Hirsch shoot-out but breaks arm in spill

Small oil spill in Caymanian water

An estimated 200 gallons of  oil has been spilled in Cayman waters. The oil is leaking from a partially-sunken derelict dredging vessel, parked in a basin just inside the North Sound.  
The Department of  Environment (DOE) was notified late Wednesday afternoon and crews were able to get a barrier around the affected area to contain the spill.
The Department is assessing the situation and is trying to determine the best way to collect the spilled oil and remove it from the water. 

The plan is to skim the oil off  the surface of  the water, put it in containment tanks and dispose of  it off  the island.  
The DOE is reportedly facing challenges getting the right type of equipment to the site, as specialised pumps are needed. It expects the clean-up to be a protracted effort. 

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Small oil spill in Caymanian water

Hawaii molasses spill killing thousands of fish

Latest News

Thursday, September 12, 2013 | 11:27 AM

HONOLULU (AP) — Thousands of fish are expected to die in Honolulu waters after a leaky pipe caused 1,400 tons of molasses to ooze into the harbour and kill marine life, state officials said.Hundreds of fish have been collected so far, the state Department of Health said in a statement Wednesday. Many more fish are expected to die and thousands will likely be collected, it said.The fish are dying because the high concentration of molasses is making it difficult for them to breathe, said department spokeswoman Janice Okubo. Television footage shows some fish sticking their mouths out of the water.The department has warned people to stay out of the area because the dead fish could attract sharks and other predators like barracuda.The brown, sugary substance spilled Monday from a pipe used to load molasses from storage tanks to ships sailing to California. The shipping company, Matson Navigation Company, repaired the hole and the pipe stopped leaking Tuesday morning, spokesman Jeff Hull said.As much as 233,000 gallons of molasses leaked into the harbour, Matson said. That’s equivalent to what would fill about seven rail cars or about one-third of an Olympic-sized swimming pool.Underwater video taken by Honolulu television station Hawaii News Now showed dead fish, crabs and eels scattered along the ocean floor of the harbour and the water tinted a yellowish brown.State officials expect the spill’s brown plume will remain visible for weeks as tides and currents flush the molasses in to nearby Keehi Lagoon and out to sea.There’s a possibility the state could fine Matson for violations of Clean Water Act after the department investigates the circumstances of the spill, Okubo said. The state’s focus is currently on public safety, she said.The state was documenting the fish it collected and keeping them on ice for possible testing. Officials were also collecting water samples. The data will allow the department to estimate the duration and severity of the contamination.Matson ships molasses from Hawaii to the mainland about once a week. Molasses are a made at Hawaii’s last sugar plantation, run by Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. on Maui.Matson said in a statement it takes its role an environmental steward very seriously. The company is taking steps ensure spills don’t occur in the future, it said.Like our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/jamaicaobserverFollow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/JamaicaObserverA worker from Pacific Environmental Corporation skims the water near the Matson shipyard in the Kapalama Basin in Honolulu, Hawaii on Wednesday. -AP

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Hawaii molasses spill killing thousands of fish