JAYLEN, ridden by Larris Allen, staves of the highly fancied ESQUIRE (Doushane Gordon) by a length to win the third race over 1820 metres at Caymanas Park last Sunday. JAYLEN was an even-money favourite. - Colin Hamilton/Freelance Photographer
It's Gold Cup Day at Caymanas Park, the popular 1400-metre race attracting a star-studded field of 11, including last year's winner AHWHOFAH.
Offering a total purse of $1.3 million, the Gold Cup has had a long and colourful history.
It was first run as the Benson & Hedges Gold Cup for 'A1' horses in 1967, victory going to the popular imported horse KILLOWATT, who repeated the feat the following year with lightweight jockey Cleveland Suckie again riding for trainer Valbert Marlowe.
KILLOWATT won for a third time in 1970 to leave an indelible mark on the event.
AHWHOFAH, the current champion sprinter and a leading contender for 'Horse of the Year' honours, has been allotted top weight of 60.5kg, in effect allowing lumps of weight to each of her opponents.
new rider
She will have a new rider, former champion Shane Ellis replacing champion jockey Omar Walker (her customary rider), who has been sidelined with a broken collar bone sustained in a spill on October 31.
Conditioned by champion trainer Wayne DaCosta for owner/breeder Winston Kong, the four-year-old filly by Royal Minister out of Executive Profile has won five grade one races from nine starts this season, two of these under 60.5kg.
Although representing the class horse of the field, the question is whether AHWHOFAH can give away so many kilos on this occasion to so many lightly weighted and talented horses, such as this year's 1000 Guineas and Oaks winner SAINT CECELIA (48.0kg), the outgoing 'Horse of the Year' ALSAFRA (49.0kg), as well as LADY HASTINGS (50.0kg), a recent runaway winner of the valuable Imported Mile; not to mention the American filly HONEYOFALADY (48.5kg), who holds a victory over her in the None Such Sprint on October 17.
AHWHOFAH (working well) will have to be at her very best if she intends to upstage either SAINT CECELIA or HONEYOFALADY at these handicaps.
burning up the track
My idea of the winner is the Spencer Chung-trained SAINT CECELIA, who has been burning up the track at exercise in preparation for the race, galloping five furlongs in an eye-popping 58.2 seconds last Sunday morning.
The free-running chestnut filly by Burning Marquee out of She's On Wheels impressed on August 29 when winning the Seek Exercise Book Trophy over 1300 metres in the smart time of 1:17.2.
Although managing only sixth in the recent Superstakes, this after chasing shock winner HOMBRE to the last furlong, SAINT CECELIA gets the ideal trip on this occasion and will not go down easily with only 48.0kg and in-form Panamanian jockey Dick Cardenas aboard. She has the speed to set off in front and should stave off HONEYOFALADY and the stretch-running AHWHOFAH.
I also like SAEED to win the fourth race for the Andrew H.B. Aguilar Memorial Cup, MUCHO GUSTO to go one better in the fifth, CONEYISLANDBOY in the sixth, DR STEPHANIE over RAJPUT in the eighth and the recent disqualified winner DOLLA WIN in the 10th and final.