Taylor Made blazes to victory in SunnySide Stakes début

Jason daCosta is cautiously optimistic about his charge Taylor Made’s chances in next year’s Classic series of races. The champion trainer believes the two-year-old grey filly showed promise in her impressive debut win in the $1.01-million SunnySide Stakes on December 21, 2025.

Taylor Made (Aveenu Malcainu – Another Fury), ridden by Abigail Able, won the maiden special weight contest for native-bred two-year-old fillies over 5 furlongs (1,000m) round by 2½ lengths. She stopped the clock in a time of 1:02.0 (24.0 x 48.3).

daCosta praised the filly’s performance.

“This horse is very classy. She did everything right. She was well-behaved, she broke smartly and Abby just steered her,” daCosta told the Jamaica Observer’s The Supreme Racing Guide.

“Well, she had been working exceptionally well. I mean, we have high hopes for her, and hopefully she can stay sound and healthy and can be a nice Classic horse for next year. The focus for her will be the Classics, and so we will just fresh her up and plot a projected path to the Classics,” daCosta added.

Taylor Made broke sharply from the gate, seizing the early lead and dictating the pace. She led the field, including My Friend Micki (Dane Nelson), Lexi Lou (Carlton Malcolm), and Giving Thanks (Tevin Foster), who recovered from a rough start, into the half-mile (800m) mark.

As the field approached the distance, Taylor Made kicked it up a notch, pulling clear of her rivals. Under a relaxed hand ride entering the drive for the last two furlongs (200m) of the quick dash, Taylor Made held her form impressively to cross the finish line ahead of Giving Thanks and One Ianzha Links (Dane Dawkins).

Part-owner Dr Graham Brown (left) and jockey Abigail Able celebrate the win by Taylor Made in the SunnySide Stakes on Sunday, December 21, 2025. (Garfield Robinson)