The Arima Race Club stages its Labour Day holiday card on June 19th with two exciting feature races expected to draw a nice holiday crowd.
The top class horses will be in action in the Santa Rosa Dash over 1200 metres while the top three-year olds will contest the first leg of the Triple Crown when the Guineas is run off over 1800 metres.
The Santa Rosa Dash will feature the expected clash between Teniente Coronel and Bigman in Town but they will have to contend with the Glenn Mendez duo of two times Stewards Cup (and last year’s Santa Rosa Dash) hero Control Unit and the enigmatic Whisper Light, winner of the 2016 Diamond Stakes and last year’s Stewards’ Cup runner up.
Teniente Coronel has won his last three starts in facile manner culminating with an easy win in the Arima Race Club Cub on May 30th over 1800 metres. Prior to that start he had comfortably dispatched Whisper Light and Control Unit over 1350 metres so will go into Monday’s event as a prohibitive favourite.
He may not however, have things as easy on this occasion. Bigman in Town skipped the Arima Race Club Cup for the Santa Rosa Dash as he is a much better sprinter than stayer.
He is however, not getting any younger and may not have the speed of his rivals on this occasion. The Mendez pair both have explanations for their performance against Teniente Coronel since the distance is not Control Unit’s optimum while Whisper Light was having his first start of the 2017 campaign after a break of almost four months.
Speed will be a premium on Monday with the other runners likely to be running to pick up any minor end of the purse should any of the principals duel themselves into defeat or run below par. This is sure to be a very exciting event.
One will have to go back very far to discover the last time the first leg of the Triple Crown was run off so late into the season.
The ARC took the decision last year to compress the triple crown series with even the Derby be run off ahead of its traditionally established date of September 24th. This experimental year will reveal if the move was a success. This year there is no exceptional performer in the shape of a Momentum, Academy Award or The Gatsby.
In fact, the favourite may even turn out to be the locally bred Caesar Country who has won his first two starts in impressive fashion. This colt is a son of a Derby winner, Pride N Glory, and a full brother to the third place finisher in the 2014 Derby, Glorious Country, so he is bred for the job.
He won the Royal Colours Classic over 1350 metres on his debut and then beat a decent bunch of older handicappers over 1750 metres in his Guineas prep on May 30th.
Lying in opposition are the St James winner Battle Cry, who will be making his seasonal debut in this event; St Ann’s winner Leading Lady, who has already beaten the colts in the Infallibility Stakes over 1750 metres; the Merlin Samlalsingh pair of Valorous, the beaten favourite in the Infallibility Stakes when second and impressive once raced maiden winner, Galaxy. Mr Samlalsingh was responsible for the one-two in 2016 and must fancy his chances of doing similar on Monday. In addition to these four Jamaican bred animals, there are other promising types such as the speedy Nuclear Assault and Rocket Wheels, the improving Juneau and the somewhat disappointing of late, Lord Silver, also expected to face the starter. With there being no outstanding runner, punters are sure to be in for a thriller.
The ARC has a new President and a number of new members of the management committee, including yours truly, and the commitment is to guide a revival in the fortunes of local horse racing.
We look forward to receiving your feedback on how we are doing.
