Melton Williams, Staff ReporterTHE THREE-year-olds hold the key to today's feature at Caymanas Park, the $356,000 RJR Classic (overnight allowance) to be contested by 16 starters over 1500 metres.
The day is the third annual RJR Corporate Raceday and also on the 11-race programme is the 3-y-o and up Starter Handicap I and II for the Lester Spaulding Gold Cup over 1600 metres, this in honour of the RJR Group chairman. Among the six starters is PREACH PREACHER who has gone from strength to strength this season.
In what will definitely be a fiercely-contested race - especially among the 3-y-os, the main contenders for the RJR Classic are FRIENDLY EXPRESS, ECSTATIC, RED GENERAL, CIELO MYSTIQUE, SATISFIER, SEARCH LIGHT, ZEEDON and CAPTAIN BLIGH.
The 3-y-o chestnut gelding RED GENERAL will face overnight allowance campaigners for the second time having scored a narrow victory over ECSTATIC over 1600 metres on June 22. Prior to his overnight allowance win, the offspring of Liver Stand-Last Word was victorious on two other occasions, holding on for a good victory over the highly thought of CAPTAIN BLIGH in non-winners of three company on April 17 over today's distance. But while he has been enjoying good form and should prove competitive, I think SEARCH LIGHT, SATISFIER and CAPTAIN BLIGH are more classier 3-y-os and he should be hard pressed to finish ahead of them in these conditions.
SEARCH LIGHT comes in with only 47kg and, as a result, the chestnut filly will be dangerous. She has won three of her four races at sprint distances but has shown she is capable of getting up to a mile easily. With her genuine pace she is expected to be there until the death.
SATISFIER, from the camp of champion trainer Philip Feanny, also has genuine pace and although this represents his first visit to overnight allowance, he is so well within himself following his effortless victory last time out and as a result is capable of holding his own here, especially against the older horses.
CAPTAIN BLIGH, the mount of Trinidadian jockey Brian Harding, is the best of the his age group present. However, he should not only reign over his age-group but is my choice as the winner.
Owned by Derrick Brandt, the bay gelding by Schism out of Hnauska, won impressively last time out, slamming highly-fancied MICHELKA by 8 1/2 lengths in the 1300 metres Cable and Wireless Stakes in a fairly good time of 1:19.2. Before that good effort he only scored one victory when getting the better of PRINCESS TALIA over 1100 metres on April 6 and in his subsequent race over today's trip lost to RED GENERAL in a very close race.
In preparation for today's assignment, trainer Anthony Nunes has taken his charge to task on the exercise track and he certainly responded. Last Thursday he galloped 4F in 48.4 and followed up that with 35.4 for 3F on Tuesday morning and that speaks volumes that he is the one to be followed.
ECSTATIC, another Feanny entry to be ridden by Larris Allen, and the US-bred CIELO MYSTIQUE with Hubert Bartley aboard represent the best of the older horses. Although both are seasoned overnight allowance campaigners they should be hard pressed to beat CAPTAIN BLIGH, SATISFIER and SEARCH LIGHT, all improving at the right time.
Other firm fancies on the card are 2-y-o DUTY CALL in the third over the straight five course, INSTRUMENTHAL in the fifth for the Multi-Media Sprint Trophy and PREACH PREACHER in the seventh for the Lester Spaulding Gold Cup.
