Smart-looking field for George Hosang Trophy
A smart-looking field of Overnight Allowance horses (three-year-olds and upward) dominated by trainer Wayne DaCosta will contest the $715,000 George Hosang Trophy sprint feature at Caymanas Park today.
The trophy race, billed as a seething event that highlights the day’s nine-race card, has attracted a competitive field of seven going 1,000 metres straight and scheduled to go to post at approximately 2:15 pm. First post is at 1:15 pm.
Leading trainer DaCosta has fielded a battery of four runners with his dizzy-footed undefeated American-bred four-year-old bay filly Hupomone, even among these looks to have the edge in continuing her winning ways from where she left off in June of last year when she fizzed rivals for five consecutive nimble-footed victories on local soil.
Owned by Laurence Heffes and Eric Martin, Hupomone is by Omega Code out of Blazing Fizz (Slew Gin Fizz) bred by Big C Farm in the USA. She has worked industriously for her re-entry, scorching the track on her last workout last Saturday morning with a brilliant turn of foot after being clocked in a time of 58 seconds flat for 1,000 metres straight with 45.1 seconds recorded for the first 800 metres.
This is brilliant stuff and should this Omega Code filly manage to reproduce this quality of performance even when fully tested, then the track record of 56.1 for the distance jointly held by Musical Maestro set on November 22, 2006 and Ministeroffinnance set on November 22, 2008 could change barns.
Ironically, Dane Nelson who was aboard Ministeroffinance in his record-equalling run will continue in the saddle aboard Hupomone.
Nelson piloted Hupomone to her three wins as a three-year-old and was a winner on the American filly when going straight for the first time over today’s trip that ended in a time of 57.1 seconds.
Hupomone faces a bit more competition for her four-year-old debut run from her stablemates Double The Honey, Kal Kal and Cantare along with the lightly weighted Smokin Man, who has the third best time of 58 seconds flat over the distance among competitors.
To be ridden by the season’s leading apprentice, Prince ‘Daggermaster’ Holder, Smokin Man with only 53.0kg is expected to be on the headline with the favourite and although allotted the heaviest impost in his last 10 races is expected to be still there battling away at the end.
While Cantare, the mount of apprentice Renardo McNaughton, is slow over the trip, the hard-charging Double The Honey, the mount of Devon A Thomas is expected to hand Hupomone his stiffest challenge. A very versatile sprint type Double The Honey has the second best time of 57.4 and rounding into useful form will be coming at the leaders when this is being decided and any hiccup on their part, despite top weight of 57.0kg, then this late-kicking and quick-footed six-year-old bay horse could get there just in time to be unsaddled in the winner’s enclosure.
Ones To Watch
Race 1 Luminious Triest (Shane Ellis)
Race 2 Antoinette (Dick Cardenas)
Race 3 Hupomone (Dane Nelson)
Race 4 Checkitout (Shameree Muir)
Race 5 Deliciosa (Kuri Powell)
Race 6 Titan (Dane Nelson)
Race 7 Patch Of Fire (Orlando Foster)
Race 8 Royal Vibes (Dane Nelson)
Race 9 My Money (Shane Ellis)