Orville Clarke, Freelance WriterTODAY HAS been designated Trainers' Association Day at Caymanas Park. Azan's Home Depot has joined forces with trainers in sponsoring the nine-race programme which features as many as seven trophy races, four in memory of trainers.
The co-feature races on the card are the inaugural running of the Azan's Home Depot Trophy, a Restricted Allowance V non-winners of two) for four-year-olds and up over 1200 metres to be contested by 11 starters, along with the 3-y-o and up Restricted Allowance I (non-winners of two) for the Jamaica Racehorse Trainers' Association Trophy also over 1200 metres.
The Azan's Home Depot Trophy, which offers a total purse of $340,000, should see SUPERHEAT, SHADE OF BLUE, QUEEN'S HALO, PRINCESS ARIZONA, REGAL WISDOM and LADY PHAGWAH in contention where it matters.
SHADE OF BLUE should again prove the fastest of all and despite her tardy habit, could hold on grimly to the end. SUPERHEAT, who was highly fancied at 5-2 that day, finished like a runaway train under the apprentice Douglas Badaloo and just failed.
With 1200 metres right up her street, SUPERHEAT with former champion jockey now riding for trainer Glenville Morrissey, is tipped to go one better from her convenient mark of 52.0kg.
In addition to SHADE OF BLUE, she can expect stiff competition from the lightly weighted pair of QUEEN'S PAL and PRINCESS ARIZONA, both well capable of winning, and especially the sparingly raced 4-y-o filly LADY PHAGWAH who despite not racing from April, has trained well in preparation for this trophy and could prove the fly in the ointment with only 48.0kg.
The JRTA Trophy has attracted 10 starters and after weighing the pros and cons, I am convinced that victory will go TOUCH THE POWER, a lightly raced 3-y-o gelding who has been burning up the track at exercise to meet this engagement.
RESOUNDING MARGIN
To be ridden by four-time champion Charles Hussey for his brother Percy and mom Ruth, TOUCH THE POWER won by the resounding margin of 16 lengths in maiden company on his debut over 1500 metres on June 28. As a result, he was installed a 3-5 favourite for a 1800-metre race some 18 days later, but finished last of the nine runners after bleeding profusely. By virtue of his glowing exercise reports, however, TOUCH THE POWER who galloped six furlongs in a brisk 1:15.2 easily on Monday morning, should prove too good for main rivals COZY PROSPECTOR, CORDITE and FORMULA ONE, all fit animals.
I also like JACK DE PRINCE to turn the tables on old rival MICHELKA in the Gerry Skelton Memorial Cup over 1100 metres following his close third to 'Horse of the Year' I'MSATISFIED in the recent Red Stripe Caribbean Sprint, a race in which he had the free running MICHELKA behind; the Hussey-trained TO SIR WITH LOVE to win the opening Rameses Trophy race at the expense of HOOKEDONJAZZ and the lightly raced but well prepared GUIDANCE to upstage LOGICS and JACK DE FREAK in the Earl Admas Memorial Trophy.
