Who will mine gold?
ONE of local thoroughbreds’ most prestigious races, the Alex’s Imports Gold Cup, is set to captivate the imagination of racegoers on a seething 10-race card at Caymanas Park today.
An exciting field of seven fleet-footed three-year-olds and upwards Graded Stakes runners will go postward to answer the call going 1,400 metres for a purse of $1,600,000 at approximately 4:30 pm. The first post is at 12:05 pm.
This is a very competitive race with probably only two runners in the field that may lack the class to compete on level terms. The next five –Potcheen who won the event last year and stablemate Uppa Tune; Perfect Neighbour and yard-mate Fortuneonehundred along with recent winner Uncle Taf, are the stock from which the winner will emerge.
Trainer Harry Parsard has a very strong hand in the event with Uppa Tune and Potcheen. Both are equipped with the instruments to take this field apart. So too are the Wayne DaCosta pair of Perfect Neighbour and Fortuneonehundred. Nonetheless, it is easier said than done when taking into serious consideration the pace shape of the call. All these horses possess speed while even the known stayer, Perfect Neighbour, is no mug when it comes to sprinting, and with Robert Halledeen remaining aboard, should the front runners go too fast too early, then this five-year-old bay son of Natural Selection will be poised to pounce late and may get there just in time for the major share of the spoils.
But so too can the Parsard pair with four-time champion jockey Omar Walker having the leg up on last year’s winner Potcheen, and Paul Francis who won aboard Uppa Tune in his last two trophy races, gunning for a third consecutive success.
Uncle Taf and the American import Fortuneonehundred come to the grade with appealing form. Neither may win but could prove a handful to get back to with only a feather of 50.0 kg and 51.5 kg respectively to tote.
Uncle Taf, though up in grade, will enjoy 1,400 metres while Fortuneonehundred has been confined to short sprints in most of his races. He has, however, shown marked improvement in his performances, having recorded two victories in his last two races while galloping over 1300 metres. He has now been thrown into the deep end but with much in his favour. Be that as it may, Fortuneonehundred has shown enough to suggest that he is improving and could demonstrate that he is much better than previously thought of.