It will be ‘A Luta Continua’ at Caymanas Park today, with top three-year-old Classic winners and stablemates, Derby winner, Seeking My Dream and 2000 Guineas winner, Ali Baba, continuing their battle for Classic win number two in the Jamaica St Leger.

Sponsored by ISP Financial Services Limited, the Native-bred Futurity event is the principal race on the 11-race card that has attracted a field of 11, going 2,000 metres.

The Jamaica St Leger brings to a close the three-year-old Classic season. It is at the penultimate stage on the card and is set to go to post at approximately 5:05 pm with first post at 12:15 pm.

Throughout the history of the Jamaica St Leger, it is known for throwing up unlikely winners. This year, though, with the Wayne DaCosta pair of runners, Seeking My Dream and Ali Baba, so dominant in their achievements, it will take a Herculean performance from one of the other nine runners in the race to go one better than they will.

Seeking My Dream, owned by Parliamentarian Derrick Smith Snr, is a chestnut colt by Seeking The Glory out of Alsafra (Legal Process). Bred to get the distance of the St Leger and beyond with great comfort should he lose it will not be to none other than Ali Baba, whose class will tell.

Being involved in such a hectic three-year-old campaign could leave frayed edges in a horse’s racing life. However, judging from the manner in which both horses have responded to their individual preparation for another test of stamina run, it is hard to see any of the other runners separating Ali Baba and Seeking My Dream at the finishing line.

No amount of data gathered on horse racing will ever make the sport an exact science, there are too many variables with which to grapple. The best that one can hope for is most of what is assumed goes according to expectations. The St Leger, therefore, can be whittled down to four principal runners — Ali Baba, to be ridden by Robert Halledeen; Seeking My Dream, with Omar Walker up; Kronus with Shane Ellis in the saddle, and Original Train, the mount of Winston Griffiths.

With enough said about the favourites and looking at the two most capable runners to have an impact on the outcome: the presence of Ellis aboard the Richard Azan-trained Kronus should be instructive. Were the stables of Anthony Nunes had any semblance of a chance of even going close with any of his runners, Ballon D’Or and Southern Cruise, then Ellis, who is first choice rider, would not be riding Kronus.

The late-blooming son of Liquidity is not here, therefore, just to make up numbers which mean there is healthy stable confidence. Probably from the fact that Kronus defeated Seeking My Dream at the distance by a neck prior to their Jamaica Derby run which Kronus lost be 11 lengths. Kronus has, however, looked well in his exercise preparation.

Original Train finished behind Kronus in the Derby, but has since worked just as well as did Seeking My Dream and Ali Baba coming into the St Leger.

Be that as it may, the Image Maker bay colt may lack the class to impact positively on the outcome of the St Leger having finished behind both Kronus and Seeking My Dream in a similar race before the Derby.

Ones To Watch

Race 1 Cruising Motion (Robert Halledeen)

Race 2 Cover Drive (Douglas Badaloo)

Race 3 Italiano (Robert Halledeen)

Race 4 Love Train (Richard Mitchell)

Race 5 Danish Brown (Rayan Wilson)

Race 6 Technocat (Shamaree Muir)

Race 7 Brave Prospect (Orayne Sewell)

Race 8 Janiboutice (Paul Francis)

Race 9 White Marl (Richard Mairs)

Race 10 Ali Baba (Robert Halledeen)

Race 11 General Togo (Sadiki Blake)