Ainsley Walters, Staff ReporterTRAINER PATRICK Chang's HE'SLOOKINGGOOD and Welsh Soutar's SIR CHACHA BABA are sound favourites for this afternoon's respective co-features at Caymanas Park, the 1500-metre Joshua Morrison Trophy fourth race and the one-mile Gladstone 'Puckoo' DeSouza Memorial for the 10th.
Punters, who were hoping to see a Caribbean-flavoured West Indian Thoroughbred Racing Association (WITRA) Classic, will have to settle for Allan E. 'Billy' Williams' MIRACLE MAN, last year's Governor's Cup, Derby, St. Leger and Red Stripe Superstakes winner, taking on Richard Azan's ROYAL COMMAND in a match race at 2000 metres.
SETBACK
Hopes of inter-regional racing received yet another setback with just two Jamaican horses set to face the starter following the unexplained absence of two Barbadian horses plus the pull-out of champion trainer Wayne DaCosta's DIGI 'N' JIGGY and NATURAL DESIRE from the 2000-metre event for four-year-olds.
Caymanas Track Limited (CTL), which should have put $1.5m to the beleaguered race, conceptualised to promote inter-regional racing, but for which no horse has ever travelled between islands, withdrew its half of the purse after the Barbadians' absence was confirmed.
Scheduled as the opening event at noon, the WITRA Classic will only offer betting on the opening triple, races one to three, as no win, place, exacta or quiniela wagering will be accepted by CTL.
However, the afternoon's co-features are stacked with betting options, starting at the 1500-metre fourth race in which HE'SLOOKINGGOOD is expected to land his second straight race after beating maidens out of sight on his fourth outing almost a month ago.
Title-chasing jockey Wesley Henry will again be aboard HE'SLOOKINGGOOD, who has trained really well, galloping six furlongs in 1:17.3 last Sunday morning, a time good enough to beat non-winners-of-three more so non-winners-of-two.
Exacta players could look to either CHING SING or RED ROCK to chase home HE'SLOOKINGGOOD. The duo finished second and third respectively behind UNCLE D & ME on May 3 with CHING SING a length ahead of the late-closing RED ROCK at 1400 metres.
POST POSITION
Travelling a half-furlong longer, RED ROCK, who is better drawn at post position seven, could enjoy a traffic-free run down the backstretch as opposed to CHING SING drawn down along the rail at post position one.
Later in the afternoon, SIR CHACHA BABA slips down in class for a crack at conditional $160,000 claimers, horses who have started at the level since January 20, and is confidently expected to outstay his 10 rivals at a mile.
The six-year-old gelding competed at the level on three occasions recently and was twice beaten into third place by out-of-class horses SIR MOHANDAS BABA and RED GENERAL springing to life.
In his third race at the level, SIR CHACHA BABA came storming at 1820 metres and just failed by a half-length to nab LADY BALLARI.
However, he signalled his readiness late last month with a third-place finish behind CORDITE and RED GENERAL on a $190,000 tag at a mile.
Barring speedy GENTLE ON LINE, who will ambitiously try to make all and can't be allowed to slip away under Henry, SIR CHACHA BABA should be closing too strong to be denied among conditional $160,000 claiming company.
