Gallant Groom to add ‘Big Sub’ Memorial to cabinet

GALLANT GROOM, a first-time-out winner in January for Jason DaCosta at Mahoning Valley, Ohio, shipped to Jamaica following a second-place run 10 days later, aims to close a hat-trick of wins from four starts, locally, taking on overnight-allowance rivals in Saturday’s Errol ‘Big Sub’ Subratie Memorial at a mile.

Denied what could have been an unblemished local record were it not for rather tender handling by Tevin Foster in a three-quarter-length loss on debut to ANOTHER ONE, GALLANT GROOM cruised to a second consecutive win on September 6, pulling away from speedy stablemate EYE OF THE TIGER inside the last half-furlong.

Saturday marks GALLANT GROOM’s farthest race in five career starts, having won at six and a half furlongs on his second outing, locally, after two six-furlong sprints in Ohio. However, the four-year-old importee appears unbothered by extra distance, galloping with a smooth, sweeping action even when on the lead.

GALLANT GROOM can’t be made any sharper, clocking a solid 1:12.0 for six furlongs at exercise on Sunday, a workout begrudged by grade-one runners with December’s US$300,000 Mouttet Mile on their radars.

NEO STAR is the highest-rated runner GALLANT GROOM will face in the Subratie Memorial, a seven-year-old sprinter stayer, who has won eight races but has found pickings slim, accounting for one win per year this and last season.

Beset by younger foreign runners making their way to the open allowance and grade one, NEO STAR, an in-utero acquired from the Parsards by Anthony Nunes for Hubert Kerr, last placed in June, finishing third behind stablemates SIR DON and OF A REVOLUTION, both Americans, carrying 102lb at five furlongs round, getting weight from the foreigners.

Reporting at 123lb with back-to-back champion jockey Raddesh Roman, going up against GALLANT GROOM with 118lb, hosting leading rider Tevin Foster, seven-year-old NEO STAR will be a footnote in the American’s climb towards richer open-allowance and grade-one purses at the back end of the season.