Barbadian jockey Rico Walcott has landed a solid ride, the 6-1 morning line bet War Bomber in Saturday’s rich Ricoh Woodbine Mile at Woodbine racetrack in Toronto, Canada.

Only six horses will contest the CAN$1 million event over eight furlongs on turf and while War Bomber is only the fourth-best fancied in the field, the five-year-old gelding is coming off a big win in last month’s CAN$200,000 King Edward Stakes with Walcott and trainer Norman McKnight is hopeful he can register a repeat added-money win.

“I thought he raced fantastic in the King Eddie,” McKnight said in a DRF web site story. “He came out of the race in good shape. We breezed him the other day, and Rico thought he breezed better than before his last race. I hope he’s right. I hope he reflects that when he runs,” McKnight added.

The 34-year-old Walcott, a 13-time champion jockey at Canadian tracks including eight titles at Northlands Park, is having his first season at Woodbine and has already recorded two stakes wins at the Toronto Oval. Three other Caribbean jockeys have previously won the Woodbine Mile – Barbadians Patrick Husbands and Slade Callaghan and Trinidad and Tobago-born Richard Dos Ramos.

World-famous owners Godolphin and trainer Charlie Appleby won last year’s Woodbine Mile with the super three-year-old Modern Games and return – again with jockey William Buick -- with another Ireland-bred entry, Master of The Seas, an even-money favourite for the Woodbine Mile, jointly the richest race in Canadian racing along with the King’s Plate.

The event is a key prep for the Breeders’ Cup Mile at California’s Santa Anita Park in November and one of three Grade 1 ‘Win and You’re In’ Breeders’ Cup Day qualifiers on Saturday’s card, along with the Summer and Natalma stakes for two-year-olds.

The Woodbine Mile field also includes the 5-2 second favourite Shirl’s Speight who will be ridden by John Velazquez, the most successful Woodbine Mile jockey with five wins. Shirl’s Speight was fourth in last year’s Woodbine Mile.

Canada’s Woodbine racetrack’s handle on Sunday’s 13-race card of CAN$18.12 million was a record for a King’s or Queen’s Plate card at Woodbine, surpassing the previous record of CAN$18.00 set in 2019.

“The first King’s Plate in 72 years was an incredible event in every way,” Woodbine Entertainment CEO Jim Lawson said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“It resulted in an all-time wagering record. Thank you to our customers and to the Woodbine team for hosting an iconic social and sporting event.”

There were several factors that contributed to the record, including a field of 17 in the King’s Plate, the cancellation of racing at Del Mar (California) on Sunday, a rare pick five carryover, and mandatory payouts on both the Jackpot High 5 and the Jackpot Pick 6.

With Patrick Husbands aboard for champion trainer Mark Casse, Paramount Prince won the 164th running of King’s Plate at 8-1 odds by a length and a half over his more fancied stablemate Elysian Field (9-2), giving the 50-year-old Barbadian rider his third winner in the CAN$1 million Plate Classic, after Wando in 2003 and Lexie Lou in 2014.

The record day was big for Barbados as jockey Rico Walcott and trainer Renico Lafond also had stakes wins on the card.

Barbadian jockey Rico Walcott has decided to move to Toronto’s competitive Woodbine racetrack after 15 years in Western Canada where he has been dominant with multiple championship titles.

A 13-time champion at various tracks in Alberta, Walcott is expected to begin his Toronto stint when the Woodbine season starts next month.

Woodbine will be far more challenging than his lengthy sojourn in Edmonton but Caribbean riders have won multiple championship titles at the world-famous Woodbine in the past, Barbadian Patrick Husbands, Trinidad and Tobago’s Emile Ramsammy and Jamaica George HoSang and the 33-year-old Walcott is hoping for a successful transition.

“I am going to do my best like a did out west and hope for the best,” Walcott told ex-jockey Sean Hall’s Journeys Horse Racing Talk Show.

Walcott, who left Barbados for Canada in 2007, has won 1,524 races in North America including 160 stakes triumphs with mounts’ earnings of just under US$20 million. He won eight jockeys’ titles at the now defunct Northlands Park and was also champion three times at Century Downs and twice at Century Mile.

Walcott survived a career-threatening medical issue in March 2019 when -- after suffering sudden seizures -- he was diagnosed with a brain tumour “the size of a golf ball”, doctors said. After surgery, Walcott returned to race-riding a few months later and would remarkably win the late season Century Downs title in October 2019.

Several Barbadian jockeys are currently based at Woodbine, including seven-time champion jockey Patrick Husbands, Slade Jones, Juan Crawford and Jason Hoyte who all finished as top-20 riders in the 2022 season.

Walcott placed seventh in last Saturday’s Sandy Lane Barbados Gold Cup at the Garrison Savannah aboard the 7-1 bet American Diamond, and is now targeting the 2023 Woodbine season which opens on Saturday, April 22 and runs through Sunday, December 10.