By Orville Clarke, Freelance Writer
LIL' COUNTRY BOY (Trevor Simpson) (right), leads home RAKKADASH in the Laurence Heffes Plaque over 1000 metres round at Caymanas Park last Saturday. - Ian Allen/Staff Photographer
THE FEATURE event at Caymanas Park today is the inaugural running of the Monica Todd Memorial Cup over 2000 metres, confined to $140,000 claimers. Post time is 12:30 p.m.
The race, run in memory of the late owner/breeder Mrs. Monica Todd (the mother of trainer Richie Todd), has attracted nine starters including hat-trick seeker CLEVER STAR.
The 7-y-o grey gelding is coming off back-to-back wins over 1100 and 1300 metres. He continues to look fluent at exercise and in present frame of mind is a danger to all, even going this far.
COMPETITIVE RACE
While CLEVER STAR will have his supporters, others such as down-in-class FOREST FRESH, UNWANTED, MEADOW STAR, SUMO and DIAMONDANDDAGGERS should ensure a competitive race, all being effective over the distance.
FOREST FRESH and UNWANTED are expected to carry the bulk of the betting and, to my mind, should have the finish to themselves.
When both horses last met over the circular nine course on May 17, FOREST FRESH led home UNWANTED by 1 1/2 lengths. UNWANTED, however, is slightly better off at the scales and should make it real close, especially over this her favourite trip.
Still, FOREST FRESH is preferred, having advertised his well-being on September 27 when holding off WARRIOR by half a length at a mile, this on a $160,000 claiming tag.
The free running eight-year-old gelding from the stables of Lawrence Freemantle led all the way and with nothing fast enough to extend him on the lead today, should have enough in store to stave off the lightly weighted UNWANTED and MEADOW STAR who seems on the rebound. In-form jockey Clive Lynch again has the ride.
Meanwhile, one of the most interesting races on the card is the ninth, a Restricted Stakes for native and imported two and three-year-olds to be contested by eight starters over 1100 metres.
The race brings together the unbeaten filly PRINCESS CHIONESO, CITY LIGHTS, DUBAI EXPRESS and the 2-y-o filly SEA LAD, all impressive winners last time out. Add to that quartet the useful 3-y-o colt TURBULENCE and it promises to be an intriguing contest.
PRINCESS CHIONESO won over the distance in the smart time of 1:06.2 when lifting the Titania Trophy in post-to-post fashion on September 20 and, like CITY LIGHTS and SEA LAD, now bids for the hat-trick. She continues to look the part at exercise and is going to make a telling bid from her convenient mark of 52kg.
Still, both PRINCESS CHIONESO and top weight DUBAI EXPRESS, a runaway winner over 1200 metres on September 24, will have to run real fast in order to upstage the Percy Hussey-trained filly CITY LIGHTS, who won back-to-back races by wide margins on July 26 and August 20.
In the latter race she beat subsequent winner DUBAI EXPRESS into third place and should lead home the lightly weighted importee SEA LAD (working well), who has tremendous scope for improvement.
I also like RESTLESS WARRIOR to make all in the first race, SIR VISHNU KUMAR in the fourth, ZULU PRINCESS in the fifth and CRUCIAL TIMES over RUNDUMPLINRUN in the sixth.
