Mojito to shake and stir rivals in The Kingston feature
MOJITO, last season’s champion two-year-old, returns for his second appearance this year in what should be another success for the grey colt in today’s third running of The Kingston feature event at Caymanas Park.
The Kingston, a Graded Stakes race over seven and a half furlongs (1,500m) for native-bred colts and geldings, is the final preparatory leg on the “Road to the Triple Crown” and provides a total payout of $3 million.
Mojito, trained by Hall of Famer Richard Azan, made a winning start to his three-year-old campaign in the seven-furlong (1,400m) Prince Consort Stakes on April 9. Mojito easily won by 5½ lengths in a comfortable 1:26.2. Mojito, the Savoy Stomp–Fiftyshadesofgray progeny, is bred to cover a lot of land, making today’s journey pretty pleasant for him. With his class and talent Mojito should once again put opponents in their place on his road to another victory.
Coming into this race the far-striding runner was easy in his gallop, having worked 1:15.3 over six furlongs (1,200m) on Sunday, April 30. Dane Dawkins, the champion jockey, is still in the saddle at a high weight of 57.0kgs (126lb).
The race is positioned as the 10th and final event on the card with a post time of 5:15 pm. First race is at 11:45 am.
The presence of undefeated runners Huntsman and Ability should make the race very exciting as they are two Classic prospective runners with a lot of skill and, more importantly, more room for progress.
Huntsman, who hails from Ian Parsard’s high-powered stables, won by 17 lengths on debut on April 15 in a maiden special weight race for native-bred three-year-olds over today’s distance. Huntsman clocked a time of 1:33.4 (24.0 x 47.1 x 1:12.4) to complete the distance. The chestnut colt appears to be the likely one to really test the favorite but we’ll have to wait and see how much he’s developed since his maiden victory. Reyan Lewis is the rider.
Ability, trained by Patrick Lynch, has raced twice before, winning both times with distinction. His most recent victory came on April 29 in the AnyBet 10th Anniversary Trophy over six furlongs, which he won by six lengths in a time of 1:12.4. Ability is anticipated to be in the thick of things in The Kingston, which may lead to some extremely stressful moments for the top two runners here.
Anthony Nunes’ Anonymous is the dark horse in the line-up that might surprise. The bay colt was observed making progress in the Prince Consort Stakes, finishing fourth behind Mojito. Anonymous is anticipated to have a good trip and may challenge for the exacta slot here.
Rejected Raja, trained by Robert Pearson, could also do well in a race as such nature. He ran the race of his life to finish second behind Mojito in the recent Prince Consort Stakes. With the question of distance out of the way Rejected Raja is expected to run well once again.
Burning Valor, Whizz Kidd, Ridge Liner, Secret Admiral, Sensational Move, Kai On The Go, and Modern Miracle comprise the field.
Ones to watch:
Race 1) Slam Dunk/Captain Calico/Veliki Vicki
Race 2) True Al Sky/Custer/Wowza
Race 3) Hopenperseverance/Magic Bullet/Legal Opportunity
Race 4) Prissie/Salud/Last Dance
Race 5) Golden Syrup/Roaring Thunder/Captain Philip
Race 6) Sensational Satin/Blu Attitude/Breaking Storm
Race 7) Johncrowjeff/Denbigh Life/Casual Peach
Race 8) Nefertai/Tekapunt/Rainsville
Race 9) Duke/Eagle One/Power Ranking
Race 10) Mojito/Huntsman/Ability