PEPPER STEPPER DEMOLISHES RIVALS IN PINKTOBER TROPHY

THREE-YEAR-OLD American-bred bay colt Pepper Stepper made it three wins on the trot with a gateto- wire demolition of rivals in the $1.4million Pinktober Trophy feature race at Caymanas Park on Saturday, October 3, 2026. The Jason DaCosta trainee, with Tevin Foster deputising for Robert Halledeen, was stepping beyond 5½ furlongs (1,100m) for the first time in eight starts on local soil, but showed no discomfort with the extra real estate over 6½ furlongs (1,300m) in the three-year-old and upward Open Allowance contest. Breaking smartly from the number one post, Pepper Stepper shot to the front at the off and dictated terms ahead of Rainsville (Raddesh Roman), Boss Man (Tajay Suckoo) and Supremasi (Jaheim Anderson) down the backstretch. Foster injected pace in the race at the half-mile (800m) turn and the complexion of the race changed instantly. The field came under pressure and began to toil, while Pepper Stepper continued to cruise on the bridle. From there it was a procession. Pepper Stepper powered clear in the lane to win by 5½ lengths in a final time of 1:19.0, with splits of 23.1, 46.3 and 1:12.3. Supremasi came on late on the scene for second ahead of Blue Vinyl (Emelio McLean) in third. Bred by Tunwoo out of the Distorted Humor mare Ribbing, Pepper Stepper has now won five races and finished second twice from his eight starts. He has earned over $3.7 million in stakes. — Ruddy Allen