CHACE THE GREAT: The fastest of them all
The standard in sprinting is now being set by the bred in utero Chace The Great.
A performance of true excellence in the six-furlong (1,200m) None Such Sprint Trophy on Saturday against most of the country’s leading sprinters, cemented Chace The Great’s claims as not only the most-improved horse but also the top sprinter currently in training. Chace The Great won in a time of 1:11.3, comprising splits of 22.2 and 44.4 seconds in sloppy underfoot conditions.
“ Chace The Great is a really nice horse and he is showing improvement each time he races. I think that he is one of the best sprinters we have now, and he is still coming on nicely.
“The Caribbean Sprint Championship on Superstakes Day is our main objective and I believe he (C hace The Great) is right up there. I hope that he can win the race.
“It was a reasonable performance by Chace The Great here today (Saturday) and we are getting there, as he is on the improve.
“Today (Saturday) he did what he had to do for the victory and I am happy with him,” said trainer Dwight Chen, the man mainly responsible for the upsurge in performance of the four-year-old chestnut gelding.
Ridden by in form apprentice Anthony Thomas, Chace The Great was smartly out of the starting gates and quickly hooked up front with Sir Budget (Oneil Mullings) on the lead, just a neck down in second place.
Leaving the half mile (800m), the two continued to blaze the trail, separating themselves from the rest of the field headed by the tough-knocking Campesino, the mount of Shane Ellis.
Coming into the lane under confident handling, Chace The Great took control of the race and began to draw away from the field, but began to drift inside the final furlong (200m) of the event. By then, however, his rivals were too far behind to close the gap.
Campesino, Gary Glitter (Ameth Robles) and Houdini’s Magic (Wesley Henry) chased the winner in that order to the line, but remained well behind.
For Thomas, it was another notch on his recent belt of winners. The young apprentice then revealed that before Saturday he had never ridden Chace The Great.
“The first time I rode Chace The Great was Saturday. I listened to the trainer who suggested that I watch [on tape] the races that the horse had run before. I did that by myself and also with the trainer (Dwight Chen).
“I am really happy to ride the winner of such a big race. I am happy and grateful,” said the young rider from St Mary.
