Nuclear Affair getting ready for Post to Post 1,000 Guineas

Trainer Gary Subratie is confident that his charge, Nuclear Affair, will be in good shape for the 1,000 Guineas to be run at Caymanas Park on April 9. The race is sponsored by Post to Post betting company.

The Graded Stakes event which carries a purse of $3.95 million will be run over 1,600 metres or a mile.

The in-form trainer said that he was not happy with his chestnut filly’s exercise gallop on Wednesday morning.

“She (Nuclear Affair) has been doing very well up until this morning (Wednesday) where she kind of got away with the jockey (Andre Martin) during her exercise gallop. She went a little faster than I wanted her to.

“But we can reassess it and probably re-adjust her preparation programme because she went too fast, but overall everything has been looking good and she will definitely be in good shape for the 1,000 Guineas where I believe she has an excellent chance of winning. Right now, I am pretty pleased with her, but not with the workout this morning (Wednesday),” Subratie told the Complete Racing Guide.

“I will also have two other runners in the line-up, Classy Aviator and Golden Glory. I believe they have good chances in the race as they won really well the last time out and they have been training well also,” he added.

Owned by Michros, Nuclear Affair (Nuclear Wayne – Commandra Affair), ridden by Dane Nelson, won the 25th running of the $1.1 million Thornbird Stakes by an easy four-and-a-half lengths over Bird Catcher andBubbling Kitten going over 1,400 metres in a time of 1:27:0 minutes.

Dreamliner needs to step up for 2,000 Guineas

Dreamliner ended his last preparation ahead of the April 9 Post to Post-sponsored 2,000 Guineas with a below-par performance at Caymanas Park on Easter Monday.

Trained by champion Wayne DaCosta and ridden by Omar Walker, Dreamliner, the 2-5 favourite, ran disappointingly and could manage only third position behind Blue Dixie and Polly B in a Restricted Stakes event over 1,200 metres.

The three-year-old bay colt by Porto Santo – Golden Olympio raced prominently in third position behind Polly B (Rudolph Paige) and Zugulu (Odean Edwards) with Blue Dixie (Aaron Chatrie) on his inside approaching the final bend.

When asked to quicken the tempo by Walker in the straight, the Von White-owned Dreamliner was left flat-footed, finishing third by five lengths in the end.

“Today’s (Monday) performance by Dreamliner was horrible. He was one-paced up the straight, so it is just back to the drawing board for him and to get him ready for the big one – the 2,000 Guineas – which is just two weeks away,” DaCosta said.

Will In Charge makes his case

Will In Charge declared his Classic hand with a notable performance at Caymanas Park on Easter Monday.

Will In Charge (Adore The Gold – Gem Lea), under Jevvanne Erwin, had to fight hard to get the better of Gold Miner by a neck in a Restricted Allowance event over 1,400 metres. The winning time was 1:28:0 minutes.

After the race, trainer Robert Pearson said: “It was a good performance considering that the track is a little bit on the heavy side. I never liked how he was one-paced up the lane, but I think I know what I need to do with him. I will just have to make him run his own race. I tried something new with him today (Monday) and it never seemed that it suited him, so I will try something different come Guineas Day. Based on this run, I think that he has an outside chance in the 2,000 Guineas.”

Dr Train on the right track

Dr Train (Liquidity – Silver Mint), owned and trained by Harry Parsard and ridden by Robert Halledeen, came from third to last approaching the half-mile to beat Conclusion (Jerome Innis) and Dysfunctional (Omar Walker) by half a length in a maiden special weight event over 1,300 metres in 1:22:4 minutes.

It was something to behold as Dr Train finished the last two furlongs of the race. It was one of those performances which had mouths wagging, none more so than his rider.

“The run was very good and very encouraging as well. He came on very strong in the last furlong to win very well. Based on this run, I believe that if he starts in the 2,000 Guineas, he will run well,” Halledeen said.