Thalita, Legit Boss out front as Triple Crown gets underway
Thalita and Legit Boss, from the top two powerhouse stables of Jason DaCosta and champion Anthony Nunes, respectively, are expected to kick-start the Supreme Ventures Limited Two-Year-Old Triple Crown series with another titanium battle in the 18th running of the $3.25-million Cash Pot “Only One For Me” Trophy feature at Caymanas Park today.
This will be the third time that Thalita and Legit Boss will meet in a competitive race, with both having already had a win over each other. Thalita, however, is the more accomplished of the two, with two victories from three starts under her girth, while Legit Boss only visited the winners’ enclosure once from two outings.
The series will continue with the second leg on November 26 — the Pick 3 Super Challenge Trophy over seven furlongs (1,400m). The third and final leg of the series — the Jamaica Two-Year-Old Stakes over one mile (1,600m) — will be disputed on December 27.
Thalita became the leading two-year-old after completing back-to-back wins in the recent Princess Popstar over five-and-a-half furlongs (1,100m) on October 8. Then Thalita produced a late run in deep stretch along the inside rails to win the event by a length and a quarter, going away from Legit Boss in a time of 1:06.1.
Prior to that, Thalita was a comfortable 6 ½-length winner in a maiden special weight event over five furlongs (1,000m) round in a zippy 1:00.2. She was, however, beaten by Legit Boss on her debut, finishing third behind the speedball at three furlongs (600m) on August 1. Thalita will welcome this extended trip of the Cash Pot and, given her running style, will not be easily beaten.
Legit Boss, after leading for most of the way, was just got caught close home by Thalita in the Princess Popstar. The Casual Trick offspring has been training well since that defeat, but facing Thalita once again and with the distance increased, it does not augur well for her chances. However, two year olds improve in the blink of an eye, so don’t rule out a winning possibility for Legit Boss. Legit Boss is fitted with a tongue-tie for this race, and that is an indication that she is prepared to hold her gallop.
The Cash Pot “Only One For Me” Trophy, a Restricted Stakes event for native-bred two year olds, is the seventh event on the 11-race card with a post time of 2:35 pm. The first post is at 11:00 am.
Looking at the other four runners in the line-up, one cannot rule out the chances of recent winner Mamma Mia, also trained by DaCosta. Mojito, Royal Ash, and first-time starter Show Girl have no chance of winning this race.
Mamma Mia, a chestnut filly bred by Soul Warrior out of the Royal Minister mare Princess Geeta, made an encouraging debut when making one move to win the Betting, Gaming, and Lotteries/TOBA Heroes’ Sprint over five furlongs round on October 16.
Meanwhile, after his third-place finish behind Atomica and Brinks in the August 6 Jamaica Derby Classic race, Blue Vinyl returns to take on rivals in a three-year-old and upwards Open Allowance call for the Cash Pot “Super Dash” Trophy.
Blue Vinyl had a successful Classic campaign, winning the 2000 Guineas and the Jamaica St Leger. Blue Vinyl is not known for his sprinting prowess, with this race more looking like a prep run for the longer major event to come.
The race, however, should see the likes of Dejae’s Boy, Duke and Madelyn’s Sunshine battling out for top honours.
Ones to watch:
Race 1) Ianzha Links/Silver Fox/JJThestriker
Race 2) Faukland/Always Vigorous/ZD Eye
Race 3) Duke of Springs/My Time Now/Stormy Lady
Race 4) Party Princess/Flying Bullet/General Mubaraak
Race 5) Salah/Kingswood/Miss Linda Wray
Race 6) Daddy Jones/Atlantic Blue/Chinamax
Race 7) Thalita/Legit Boss/Mamma Mia
Race 8) Real Bigman/Anchorman/Asurety
Race 9) Ha Gow Siu Mei/Babylike/Freedom Street
Race 10) Madelyn’s Sunshine/Duke/Blue Vinyl