Horse of the Year Will In Charge makes his first appearance for the season when he takes on old foes She’s A Maneater and Chace The Great in the Lady Geeta Trophy feature at Caymanas today in what is expected to be a cracking race over six furlongs (1,200 metres).

Will In Charge last raced on December 1 of last year when he won the ultra-rich Diamond Mile, beating Bigdaddykool by a short head going one mile (1,600m) in a very impressive time of 1:37.0 minutes. Not really a sprinter but Will In Charge packs sufficient class to win over any distance he chooses, and although coming off a four-month break and facing She’s A Maneater and the speedy Chace The Great, Will In Charge should still run a very good race on his seasonal debut.

However, the horse they will have to beat is She’s A Maneater, former Horse of the Year and Diamond Mile winner. She’s A Maneater started the season with an impressive win going seven-and-a-half furlongs (1,500m) in the Chairman’s Trophy, beating Chace The Great by three lengths in a quick 1:32.0 minutes. Based on that run, although it takes her forever to get going, She’s A Maneater should be sharper for this one and will only go down fighting.

The Graded Stakes event for three-year-olds and upward is the fifth race on the card of 10 races and will go to post at 2:40 pm with first post at 12:15 pm.

She’s A Maneater is pretty much at home here as the reigning champion sprinter has won over the distance before on September 8, 2018 when she galloped home by one-and-a-quarter lengths in the None Such Trophy, beating Chace The Great in the process in a time of 1:10.4 minutes. If she is anywhere near that form, then it won’t be a race here.

She’s A Maneater, having galloped five-and-a-half furlongs (1,100m) in 1:06.3 on Saturday, has a glorious chance of making it two from two in 2019. Omar Walker remains in the saddle carrying 57.0kg (126 lb).

Will In Charge has not raced below seven furlongs (1,400m) in his last 18 starts and the last time he ran over six furlongs was on December 5, 2015 where he finished in fifth place. However, he is a completely different horse now and should be given maximum respect here.

Will In Charge showed he is still on top of his game even though he has not raced since December 1, 2018 when he won the Diamond Mile, galloping a fast 1:05.1 minutes for five-and-a-half furlongs on Sunday. Based on how this race is expected to be run, Will In Charge is going to be just off the pace more than likely to be set by Chace The Great before making a move three furlongs out and if he hits the front is going to be very hard to tag. Jockey Robert Halledeen, despite his showboating antics in the Diamond Mile, has retained the ride.

Chace The Great ran a really good race last time out even though beaten three lengths by She’s A Maneater over seven and a half furlongs on March 23. The former sprint champion gave up the running at the furlong pole and if given a more patient ride here, Chace The Great is going to cause anxious moments for the favourites. He carries 51.0 kgs (112 lb) with Trevor Simpson in the saddle.

The other runners in the seven-horse field are Perfect Neighbour, Another Bullet, Money Magnet and Campesino. Of the last, Another Bullet and Money Magnet can get in the thick of things.

Ones to watch

Race 1) Superbolt/Bad Boy Trump/Five Star

Race 2) Ballon d’Or/Vice Royalty/Council Of Trent

Race 3) Chief Of State/Secret Law/Alexa’s Star

Race 4) Instagram/First Selection/Astro

Race 5) She’s A Maneater/Will In Charge/Chace The Great

Race 6) Sunshine Cat/Thundereble/Twilight Eruption

Race 7) Fly First Class/Golden Destiny/Miss In Kiss

Race 8) Scoobert/Sir Ian Links/Black River

Race 9) Universal Boss/Reggae Gone Grammy/Dyna’s Pride

Race 10) Bay Commander/Late N Draty/Aldebaran