HE CAME, he rode, he conquered!

Top jockey Patrick Husbands had an arm-chair ride on odds-on favourite Zouk as he registered his first ever Banks Barbados Guineas win at the Garrison yesterday.

Husbands had arrived at the Grantley Adams International Airport only hours earlier, as he took a short break off his riding duties at Woodbine racetrack in Toronto, Canada.

But Husbands, who landed the Sandy Lane Gold Cup on March 4 with the Gay Smith-owned Sharp Impact, was not so lucky on the other odds-on favourite Zarad, who was literally caught on the line by Duc D Fer, smartly ridden by apprentice Shane Collymore, in the Banks Beer Trophy Handicap.

Zouk was beaten by Body 'N'Soul over the Guineas distance of 1570 metres back in January, and last month she only scraped home by a head from First Class Ticket.

On the strength of those two performances, race fans were looking for either First Class Ticket or Body 'N'Soul to shake up Zouk, last year's Champion Two-Year-Old, in yesterday's 1570 metres classic, the first leg of the prestigious Triple Crown.

But this was not to be, as Body 'N'Soul was never a serious factor, while Zouk easily put away First Class Ticket who engaged her in a head-to-head battle for the first six furlongs.

Shortly after the starter sent the ten-horse field on its way, Husbands pushed Zouk into an early lead but Anderson Trotman on First Class Ticket hustled his horse into contention and the pair came down the homestretch for the first time together.

Both horses separated themselves from the rest of the field and it was a head-to-head battle down the backstretch and up to the two-furlong marker.

It was at this stage that Husbands pressed the accelerator on Zouk and the filly responded instantly. She pulled right away from First Class Ticket in the homestretch and went on to win as she pleased.

First Class Ticket finished a clear second while Bachelor Boy, with Rocco Bowen aboard, ran on to finish third.

Husbands was expected to land the double on Gay Smith's Zarad, but Shane Collymore on the Liz Deane-trained Duc D Fer had other ideas.

As was the case with Zouk, Husbands sent Zarad into the lead from the off and the five-year-old looked the most likely winner when he brought the field into the homestretch with at least two lengths up on the chasing pack.

However, Collymore switched Duc D Fer from the rail to the outside and brought the animal with a storming homestretch run, pipping Zarad practically on the line.

Duc D Fer's time of 1.33 and one-fifth of a second equalled the track record held jointly by himself (2005) and Asian Jane (1996), Blast Of Storm (2000), and Talkaboutlucky (2002).

Collymore and Trotman were the day's most successful jockeys with two wins each. In addition to winning on Duc D Fer, Collymore also landed Just U And Me for trainer Liz Deane; while Trotman booted home Border Secret and Trinity, both for trainer Andrew Nunes.

Apprentices Rocco Bowen, Johnathan Grant and Rico Walcott were also in the winner's enclosure. Bowen won the opening event on ten to one shot, the Clayton Greenidge-trained Winforce; Grant landed Vanilla Sky for trainer Victor Cheeseman; while Walcott pushed Atul to a pillar to post win, also for Greenidge.