THE Calvin O’Sullivan Memorial Cup opens the two-day Easter weekend racing carnival at Caymanas Park today for a purse of $715,000.

The revelry continues with the closing session on Easter Monday featuring the 39th running of the 1,000 Guineas, a futurity race that launches the native-bred three-year-old Classic season.

The Calvin O’Sullivan will highlight a nine-race card that has attracted a capable Overnight Allowance field for three-year-olds and upward going 1,820 metres. Post time is set at approximately 4:35 pm with first post at 12:45 pm.

Despite looking quite competitive on paper, with a number runners that truly love this two-turn sprint, only four look certain to figure prominently throughout, with the winner likely to come from either Jet Setter, the imported filly Miss Boss Lady, Uncle Donny, and Double Button, also an imported filly. There are two others that include Hombre, the most consistent winner, and the one with best times going the distance. Dontsayaword is another who truly loves 1,820 metres, but may just lack the class to figure here.

This therefore leaves the battle to the aforementioned Double Button and Miss Boss Lady as the front-runners for the major share.

Both these fillies have been in good racing form, and with the choice of riders in leading jockey Omar Walker piloting Miss Boss Lady, and last year’s winner of the jockeys’ title, Dick Cardenas, on Double Button, the winner could easily come from these two.

However, the local stock are expected to be well represented by Jet Setter and Uncle Donny, as they too are in good nick to come hunting for the major share of the pie.

Uncle Donny, although having only one start for his four-year-old season, has been well prepared to meet this engagement, and with Shane Ellis remaining in the irons, will not be just making up numbers.

Jet Setter is one of the most gifted in the line-up and shows this by his consistent performances without really winning. He has not had a winner since last year August, but has been showing up in his races quite consistently, and has not earned from only two of his last 10 starts.

The last time Jet Setter journeyed over the distance he reared at the gates and was outpaced, but still managed to finish fourth in a time of 2:00.4. This is way below his capability and having trained industriously in preparation for this, it will not surprise to see the five-year-old gelding being unsaddled in the winner’s enclosure.

Prepared for the races by leading trainer Wayne DaCosta for owner breeder Winston Kong, Jet Setter, a chestnut by Region Of Merit out of Executive Profile (Dispersal) showed on last that he was rounding into useful form with a comfortable fourth-place finish going 1,200 metres, in a time of 1:13 flat. The time of one-fifth of a second behind the winner Kipling Weekend is informative and now, with another 650 metres to travel, should be right there on the shoulders of his rivals, with the lightweight still in tact for the claiming apprentice Renardo McNaughton. Uncle Donny, since his three-year-old success in the 2000 Guineas, has not managed to win, but is steadily catching the pace of the group and is light enough to be around at the finish, with Miss Boss Lady now sitting on level weights after their good run going 1,600 metres on last when Miss Boss Lady finished one half of a lengths to Aventura in a time of 1:39.4 with Uncle Donny finishing three fifths of a second fourth in a close encounter.

Ones To Watch

Race 1 Military Move (Shane Ellis)

Race 2 Naturally Evil (Winston Griffiths)

Race 3 Skipaway Prince (Dane Nelson)

Race 4 Jovoun The Master (Ameth Robles)

Race 5 Blast Them Away (Dane Nelson)

Race 6 The Grey Gullion (Shane Ellis)

Race 7 Tommy Fiddle (Omar Walker)

Race 8 Jet Setter (Renardo McNaughton)

Race 9 Stormy Cat (Orayne Sewell)