Take Royal Impact

Orville Clarke, Gleaner Writer

The popular exotic bets, the Pick-9 and Super-6, were both cornered at Caymanas Park on Wednesday, despite a 17-1 upset by WESTERN GENIUS in the eighth race for the City of Kingston Centenary Cup.

The Pick-9 starts anew from the first race with the guaranteed minimum of $1 million, while the Super-6 will embrace races four to nine.

We look at the Super-6 which gets under way in the fourth race for maiden three-year-olds over the straight to be contested by 12 starters, including seven newcomers.

Indications are that one of the first-timers will win, and the one best equipped to do so is the Robert Pearson-trained MONACO, a well-forward bay colt by Pat N Jac out of St Tropaz from the stables of Robert Pearson.

MONACO looked the part at exercise on Monday morning when galloping five furlongs out of the straight in 1:00.2, the last four in 47.3. He has good speed and with 4.0kg claiming apprentice, Fabion Jones, reducing the weight to 52.0kg, gets the nod over the Philip Feanny-trained debutante MISTER INFORMATION, who has also worked well.

Fifth race

The fifth race over 1400 metres promises to be one of the most competitive on the card with several of the fancied runners showing good form. They include the recent winners FABULOUSCONNECTION and SAPPHIRE, as well as GUAN YU, EXPLOSIVE REPORT, CLASSIC BEAU and BURNING CIELO.

With noted front-runners SAPPHIRE, FABULOUSCONNECTION and MS ANGELICA coming to make things pretty hot, they could set it up nicely for either GUAN YU or BURNING CIELO coming from behind. Preference is for BURNING CIELO under champion jockey Omar Walker, taking into consideration the distance, but GUAN YU and the very fit FABULOUSCONNECTION will only go down fighting.

QUATRO MORI, who is down in class, gets the nod over SHE'S THE ONE (bids for fourth straight win) and UNBREAKABLE HEART in the sixth race over 1100 metres - race No 3. in the CTL Claiming Series. QUATRO MORI won by six lengths from then favourite UNBREAKABLE HEART over the round five course on February 6 and has run creditably in two subsequent races, finishing 3¹/² lengths fourth to MAGDALA over 1200 metres last Saturday.

Stable companions

Briefly, ROYAL IMPACT (consistent) is preferred to FAREED in the seventh race over 1100 metres, while the stable companions NEW KINGSTON and MR SKILL should fight out the finish of the eighth race over the straight for the George HoSang Trophy.

Both are conditioned by champion trainer Wayne DaCosta, but with stable jockey Omar Walker electing to ride the progressive American horse NEW KINGSTON, following his good second to FOREVER MINE recently, he is preferred to the very speedy MR SKILL, with former champion Wesley Henry aboard.

Then, take Henry to boot home consistent FLYING FIRETAIL in the closing $180,000 claiming race over the straight in which the maximum 16 will run.

SUPER-6 FANCIES

(4) MONACO/MISTER INFORMATION

(5) BURNING CIELO/FABULOUS

CONNECTION

(6) QUATRO MORI/SHE'S THE ONE

(7) ROYAL IMPACT

(8) NEW KINGSTON/MR. SKILL

(9) FLYING FIRETAIL/MUSTANG