The favourite AITCHEMESBEAGLE (No.6) breaks smartly from the gates in front of the stands in the circular nine claiming race ($260,000-230,000) at Caymanas Park last Saturday. AITCHMESBEAGLE, under a brilliant ride from Trevor Simopson, held on to win by half a length from the fast-finishing RAINBOW TRAIN, under champion jockey Omar Walker. - Colin Hamilton/Freelance Photographer

With PASSA PASSA at 25-1, RED LION at 16-1 and MISS TIMS at 14-1 providing the upsets at Caymanas Park on Saturday, the Pick-9, not surprisingly, had no takers.

As a result, the carryover to tomorrow's mid-week meet stands at $1,162,786.00.

The biggest upset was reserved for the third running of the $1 million King's Plate feature over 1500 metres. Victory went to the perennial bridesmaid PASSA PASSA, who finally came good under a peach of a ride from Dane Nelson, who has come of age and is going to be a serious contender for the jockeys' title.

Always prominent, PASSA PASSA got the inside run when the battling leaders SMOOTH DUDE and BLUE MAGIC drifted wide at the home turn. He assumed the lead from early in the straight and gradually moved away for an unlikely victory.

The lightly raced but much improved SMOOTH DUDE, who was well backed at 7-2, ran well under the light impost and given a more patient ride by jockey Peter 'Pam Pam' Bryan, the result would have been different.

Speed duel

As things turned out, SMOOTH DUDE took on BLUE MAGIC in a speed duel from soon after the start and both eventually cut each other's throat in blazing splits of 45.4 for the half mile and 1:11.4 for the first six furlongs. SMOOTH DUDE under the light impost proved stronger than BLUE MAGIC, but Bryan committed the cardinal sin of stepping wide at the home turn in an effort to tilt BLUE MAGIC on the outside and only succeeded in handing PASSA PASSA the race. In the end, SMOOTH DUDE lost second on the line to the fast-finishing ACCOMPONG.

If the running of the King's Plate taught us anything, it is that we definitely need more handicap races at Caymanas Park.

To people like Howard Hamilton and Cliff Williams who have been highly critical of the claiming system in recent years, the King's Plate, which not by accident is sponsored by Hamilton in honour of his 2003 'Horse of the Year' A KING IS BORN, provided a compelling argument why the claiming system now existing at Caymanas Park should be modified and more handicap races programmed into the system.

In addition to PASSA PASSA, Nelson rode two other winners on the card, including the brilliant unbeaten three-year-old colt COMMANDER ZERO (also trained by DaCosta), who again won by the proverbial city block in the smart time of 1:31.1.

We could have another MIRACLE MAN on our hands.

- OC