Royal Assault confirmed his growing status as a horse of considerable worth when he produced a good sprinting display to win in the War Zone Sprint Trophy feature at Caymanas Park last Saturday.

After finishing second in his last three outings, the Anthony Nunes-trained and Shane Ellis-riddenRoyal Assault made no mistake this time around as the chestnut colt byBlue Pepsi Lodge –Mayken, who got a good break, went straight to the lead and powered home convincingly by four lengths in the Restricted Stakes event for native-bred three-year-olds going over 1,100 metres.

Action Man, under apprentice Linton Steadman, finished strongly for second place ahead ofDreamcometrue (Aaron Chatrie astride), whileDwayne Star, the mount of Dane Nelson, completed the frame.

Royal Assault, owned by Preferred Racing, stopped the clock in a career best 1:05.1 minutes after setting splits of 23:0 and 46:0 seconds.

His victory was made a little easier asRoad Wi Seh — who was unleashed on the outside by jockey Richard Mitchell for his run entering the straight, and seemed to be gaining on the leader — fell at the furlong pole and broke one of his front legs.

Nunes said that this was a long overdue victory for his colt.

“We were a little bit frustrated as we thought he (Royal Assault) would have won this condition race already and go up to the Overnight Allowance level to compete but he has been beaten by some good horses of late and so he was due to get it right.

“The last race on the Supreme Ventures Limited-sponsored Diamond Mile race day going 1,300 metres, suggested that maybe the distance was a little too long for him and he would have preferred it shorter. Actually 1,100 metres is his best trip as he won all of his four races over the distance,” Nunes told the Jamaica Observer’sComplete Racing Guide.

Nunes further stated: “This race doesn’t have anySilver Cloud orBuzz Nightmare, so we expected that he would get there pretty easily and that was what he did and I am happy for him.”

The second-generation trainer said that he expects his colt to perform well in the class above.

“

Royal Assault is a nice sprinter and running 1:05.1 minutes is a good time, but the track is a little fast as he is a 1:06-minute horse which is still a good time and he will now go up to Overnight Allowance and once he remains fit and healthy he will do well. He is young at age three and he will (get) better with age and I am looking for good things from him in the near future,” he said.