The Jamaica Two-Year-Old Stakes on Boxing Day, the final leg in the Supreme Ventures Limited-sponsored Triple Crown series, is shaping up to be a cracker after Marquesas announced himself with an emphatic win in the Dye Job Sprint last Saturday.

The Jamaica Two-Year-Old Stakes will be contested over one mile (1,600m) for a purse of $4 million, with the Anthony Nunes-trained Patriarch looking to become only the second horse to win all three races. However, the statement from Marquesas clearly states that excitement is in the air.

The Michael Marlowe-trained Marquesas ( Coded Warning – Islamorada) produced a strong run inside the final half-furlong (100m) to beat Brandy (Oneil Mullings) by three parts of a length going six furlongs (1,200m) in a Restricted Stakes event for native-bred and imported two-year-olds.

The final time of 1:13.1, after tracking splits of 22.4 and 46.2, says a lot about the ability of this bay colt who should be better at the longer distances. Come Boxing Day (December 26) we are in for a treat.

“Beautiful…I mean, it was a very beautiful performance from Marquesas and a very good ride from jockey Shane [Ellis]. The plan was to get a good break, sit close to the leaders and make the move leaving the half-mile, and Shane [Ellis] did a wonderful job to get him home quite convincingly,” Marlowe said.

Marquesas was down to test the very best in the Pick-3 Super Challenge Trophy recently, but due to a range of different issues, Marlowe opted not to take that exam.

“The Pick-3 Super Challenge Trophy was originally our target at first. However, the race came too quickly for us as it was just 10 days after he [ Marquesas] had broken his maiden, and so we decided not to start as we are taking our little time with him.

“We decided to skip that race and go straight to this one – the Dye Job – and at least now he would be cherry ripe for Boxing Day,” Marlowe said.

Marlowe then stated that they were going for the win in the Jamaica Two-Year-Old Stakes as the journey of a mile (1,600m) suits Marquesas.

“The journey won’t be a problem for us as he is bred to get a distance of ground and we are going into the race with the intention of winning. We want to win the Jamaica Two-Year-Old Stakes. We actually don’t know how good he is as yet, but the sky is the limit with this horse. Marquesas might be a blessing from the sky for us,” said Marlowe.

From an even start, Storm Born (Wesley Henry) shot into the lead, tracked by Esperanza (Dick Cardenas), Go Go Girl (Ameth Robles) and Brandy (Oniel Mulling), with Marquesas some five lengths behind among the backmarkers heading towards the half-mile (800m).

As the field headed towards the final bend, Brandy challenged Storm Born for the lead, with Marquesas switching off the inside rails and going six wide at the top lane for the stretch drive.

All seemed lost at the furlong and a half (300m) when Brandy took over, but Ellis produced his mount and Marquesas responded well inside the last half-furlong (100m) and got up in time for the win over Brandy. Storm Born held on well for third money.

“He ( Marquesas) is not really a sprinter as he prefers it longer, but he did what he had to do to win here, and that is encouraging as he showed his versatility. I had to get him on his game and so I kept on working him until he got going and once he got into the groove, I know that he would be gunning them down and he got up in time. He is a very good horse with a lot of talent and he is going places,” Ellis affirmed.