Toona Ciliata goes to the Superstakes with confidence
Toona Ciliata threw down the gauntlet in no uncertain manner to his more established and senior campaigners for the upcoming Superstakes (10 furlongs) with a quality performance in the Errol “Big Sub” Subratie Memorial Trophy race at Caymanas Park on Saturday (September 14).
Toona Ciliata, who went down narrowly to stablemate Supreme Soul in the recent Jamaica St Leger, gave his best run to win the one-mile (1600-metre) event in an impressive time of 1:37.3. Toona Ciliata’s final time was just three-fifths of a second off the class record of 1:37.0 set by Blue Dixie in 2016.
To make Toona Ciliata’s performance even more noteworthy, it was the first time he was racing in Overnight company.
The three-year-old chestnut gelded son of Soul Warrior – Red Gold not only looked charged for better things to come, but also gave his trainer a second hold on the “Big Sub” Trophy in its fourth running. Second place went to Uncle Vinnie trained by Gary Subratie who was the victor of the other two editions of this trophy race. The third spot was occupied by Summer Sun.
The stirring performance would have left any trainer proud.
“Since the St Leger, he ( Toona Ciliata) has matured nicely. He has grown, he has put on weight and he has settled into his training and at this time, I think that he is fulfilling his potential.
“Running today (Saturday) was the way I expected him to run. Going a mile in 1:37.3 is pretty quick and running against older horses for the first time, he dealt with it as one would have expected a decent older horse to have done. It, therefore, makes me pleased and very proud of him,” Nunes said.
With this encouraging run from Toona Ciliata, what is the next engagement for him?
“Once he remains healthy and sound, our goal for him is to run in the Superstakes (October 5). This sets him up nicely once he remains healthy and fine as he has Bigdaddykool, She’s A Maneater and Supreme Soul as his chief contenders and now he fits in as one of the best three-year-olds adding to the glamour and competitiveness of the event,” Nunes stated.
