THE 76th running of the Jamaica Oaks, the Classic race which features only three-year-old fillies running over 10 furlongs, takes place tomorrow at Caymanas Park. The Oaks this year is sponsored by Caymanastogo powered by B3 Development Group and McKay Security Limited.

The Oaks is set to be quite a competitive event despite the presence of the talented winner of the 1,000 Guineas Puddy Pooh, as the distance is much more testing and certain jockey changes have added new dimensions to the possible outcome of this Classic race.

The logical candidates to win should come from Puddy Pooh, Mom’s Student, Berranca, Gypsy Flash, Dream Come True, and Nothingbutthebest.

The other six runners (Commanding Aviator, Forest Flame, Granville Greta, Nicole, Sweet Dimension, and Vintage Ruckus) should not affect the outcome in any appreciable way.

Puddy Pooh: owned, trained and bred by Richard Azan, Puddy Pooh strode to a superlative win in the first Classic of the 2015 season, the Post To Post-sponsored 1,000 Guineas and will start the firm favourite. The Adore The Gold – Shaha filly has talent and class and based on her previous performances and exercise gallops to date will easily cover the distance. Reports from her stable are that Puddy Pooh is in fine fettle and is working well. Omar Walker is on board again and should be the one to beat. Puddy Pooh did her last major gallop on Sunday morning (April 19) cantering nine furlongs and galloping the last five and a half furlongs in a time of 1:08.1 minutes. It is really difficult to imagine Puddy Pooh losing this race.

Mom’s Student: ran her heart out to finish second in the 1,000 Guineas by five lengths. Mom’s Student (Region Of Merit – The Principal) led until the final furlong and a half in the 1,600-metre event, and should run out of steam tomorrow with an additional 400 metres. If left unchallenged, Mom’s Student will cause serious problems and might go all the way. Her trainer Fitzroy Glispie has over the years developed quite a knack for training fillies, so it would not be surprising to see Mom’s Student coming to the fore. She last galloped on Saturday morning (April 18) cantering nine furlongs and galloping the last seven furlongs in a time of 1:34.2 minutes. She is coming ready to upset.

Berranca: is a big, long-striding chestnut filly, who was caged in on the inside between horses approaching the final bend in the 1,000 Guineas, and was 10 lengths adrift of Puddy Pooh and Mom’s Student at the end. Going two extra furlongs and with a clear path, Berranca should be running on when it matters most and might get there in time. Shane Ellis now rides in place of Dane Nelson, thereby giving more tactical support to the chances of Berranca. Berranca worked on Saturday morning (April 18) cantering nine furlongs and galloping the last six in an easy 1:16.1 minutes.

Gypsy Flash: finished a surprising fourth at 99-1 in the 1,000 Guineas, and based on her running style should relish the 10-furlong event. Her final surge should count when the race is being decided. Should run another good race.

Dream Come True: ran no race when finishing sixth in the 1,000 Guineas but has the capability to do better here. She will have to step up her performance to a much higher level to win the Oaks. Dream Come True will relish the 10 furlongs of the Jamaica Oaks and can challenge with a decent run, but it is unlikely she will win.

Nothingbutthebest: very disappointing when finishing 16 _ lengths in eighth position in the 1,000 Guineas. Is expected to run her best race yet. Nothingbutthebest was very impressive when releasing the maiden tag, winning by 10 lengths in 1:27:4 minutes for 1,400 metres, and only needs to reproduce that effort to have a chance in this race given the nature of this field. Significantly Dane Nelson replaces Shane Ellis for the Oaks. One to watch.