Slam Eagle to soar in Percy Martin Memorial Cup
A colt, a gelding and a filly — Thorn, Aldebaran and Slam Eagle — headline Division One of the $715,000 Percy Martin Memorial Cup feature at Caymanas Park today.
Division Two, on the other hand, looks a straight fight between Miracle Speed and Stop A Gap, the 4-5 morning-line favourite.
Division One is set for approximately 1:15 pm, while Division Two is set at 3:20 pm with first post at 12:40 pm.
The 1,000 metres straight dash, a maiden special weight contest for native-bred three-year-olds, drew a field of nine with Thorn projected as the early 1-2 favourite.
Prepared for the races by top-two trainer Anthony Nunes, Thorn, a bay colt by War Marshall out of Bellerosa (Great Above) and bred Henry Jaghai, will be making only his second appearance in an official race over the distance.
Owned by Elias Haloute, Thorn ran well in the first part of his debut race on April 25, but was relegated to 2 1/2 lengths third close home against two belligerent opponents in the latter stages of the race. He returns over the course a much better animal and with Lasix administered, could be more resolute this time around with stable rider Dick Cardenas remaining aboard.
Filly Sam Eagle has more official runs under her belt than her chief rivals with six starts but none over the straight course, as was the privilege of Thorn and Aldebaran. Her fifth career start would have been her first over 1,000 metres straight, but that met with disaster. Her rider fell at the off. She returned the following race on the round course to earn her only purse to date with a third place finish and is once again readied for her second attempt over the straight.
Trained by Lawrence Freemantle for owner Anastasia Stables, Slam Eagle is by Storm Craft out of It’s In The Groove (Natural Selection) bred at Orange Valley Estates Ltd. One who seems to possess the requisite speed to go all the way, Slam Eagle looked well-co-ordinated in her preparation at exercise for a challenging effort. And with jockey Richard Mitchell being called upon to replace the claiming apprentice Richard Cole, the filly looks poised for a capital effort.
