On Saturday, May 2, 2026, equestrian racing gained a new milestone moment when first-time winning trainer Wayne Binns notched the breakthrough victory he had worked years to achieve, guiding the 4-year-old bay colt Goodness Graceous to a decisive win in a 5-furlong (1,000-meter) straight maiden condition race. Binns, who graduated from the professional trainers’ school in 2023, could barely mask his elation immediately after the race crossed the wire.
“Oh my gosh, I don’t know what to say, I am just so happy right now,” Binns said in a post-victory interview, his voice thick with emotion. The celebration moved quickly to the winner’s enclosure, where fellow trainers and close friends swarmed the first-time winner to mark the occasion, dousing him in celebratory liquid. While the unexpected soak shorted out his phone—triggering a humorous “do not charge your phone” warning when he finally checked the device after the celebration—Binns said the moment was worth every minor inconvenience.
“That was a touching moment for me, and I thank all my colleagues and friends, who shared this victory with me,” he said. “No harm done, as saddling my first winner is something to cherish.”
The road to the winner’s circle was far from smooth for both Binns and Goodness Graceous. The underdog entry faced 10 seasoned rivals, and the race got off to a rocky start when the colt broke slowly from the eighth starting barrier. Jockey Jaheim Anderson adjusted his strategy on the fly, biding his time behind early pace-setters Money Mission (ridden by Raddesh Roman) and Brilliant Mind (ridden by Dane Dawkins) before making a decisive move once the field entered the main straight. Anderson angled Goodness Graceous tight along the inside rail, opening a clear path for the colt to find his stride.
From that point, the race belonged to Goodness Graceous. The colt accelerated past the entire field, pulling away to a 2 ½-length victory with a final time of 1:02.1, with intermediate splits of 23.4 seconds for the first quarter and 48.3 seconds for the first half. Modern Monarch, with Jemar Jackson in the irons, finished second, while Delightful One, ridden by Tevin Foster, took third place. Saturday’s win marked just the third competitive start of Goodness Graceous’ racing career.
For Binns, the victory was the payoff for two years of grit and patience through a devastating setback. He began prepping Goodness Graceous, a son of Perfect Curlin out of Rachel’s Grace bred and owned by Michael Bernard, as a 2-year-old in 2024, with plans to launch his racing career at age three. But a late 2024 injury sidelined the colt for a full year of recovery, forcing Binns to pause all training and wait out the healing process. Goodness Graceous only returned to structured training in late December 2025, made his first career start in early March 2026, and claimed his first win just two starts later.
Binns made a point to credit the owner and breeder who stood by him and the colt through the injury and recovery process. “This victory would not have been possible without the assistance of Mr Michael Bernard,” Binns said. “Mr Bernard has given a lot of encouragement, for which I am grateful.”