Duke tipped to run away with Reggae Trophy feature
With the condition and distance quite suitable to his style of running, the Success Farm-owned Duke looks the prime candidate to take home the $2-million Reggae Trophy feature, the final event on the 10-race programme at Caymanas Park today.
The three-year-old and upward Open Allowance/Graded Stakes event is expected to be a sizzling contest going five furlongs (1,000m) straight, as there is a lot of speed present among the 10-horse field. If all the hot stepping sprinters live up to expectations, a tight and exciting finish could be on the horizon.
Duke is a very consistent run-on sprinter who has a known likeness for the five-straight. With a lot of speed anticipated on the front end, this trophy race is tailor-made for a come-from-behind sprinter like Duke.
Post time for the speedfest is scheduled at approximately 4:15 pm, with first post at 11:00 am.
Duke, a five-year-old grey horse by Casual Trick out of the Bop Lady MacBeth, has been well prepared by her trainer Gary Subratie for this race. A third-placed finish behind Eroy and Rojorn di Pilot over six-and-a-half furlongs (1,300m) on August 14 shows that he is in good form.
Patriarch and stablemates King Arthur and Eagle One should also be in the running for top honours here.
Patriarch, the current champion sprinter who finished down the track in his last two runs, has been timely prepared for this trophy race, and given his speed and a sizeable pull in the weights at 52.0kgs (115 lb) he could lead home rivals but going in front and having enough to thwart the run-on horses.
King Arthur was winner on last (August 28) at this level when going a mile and comes in as the top-rated horse in the line-up and will bear the brunt of the weight allotment at 59.0kgs (130 lb). Trainer Jason DaCosta has decided to go with journeyman Phillip Parchment in the saddle, rather than to slip off some weight as the inexperienced apprentice Mario Chung was listed as the rider when the overnight came out on Wednesday evening. King Arthur has already won over this trip in a time of 57.0 and has a good chance of making it two in a row.
Improving American-bred Eagle One has been doing well at this level all season, holding four wins from 13 starts. Eagle One has looked well at exercise and coming into this race at 51.5kgs (114 lb) could prove a strong contender.
Stranger Danger, also trained by DaCosta, could be the dark horse in this race. Based on current form, Stranger Danger is not expected to win as he has finished down the track in his last six starts. However, this foreigner, who has sparkled in the past is slowly getting his act together and based on exercise reports, could run his best race in recent times.
Ones to watch:
Race 1) Mr Lyndhurst/Justsaytheword/Prince Sammo
Race 2) Cup Cake/She’s A Mistake/Soul Treasure
Race 3) Sunset Silhoutte/Power Ranking/Deezi
Race 4) Corazon sin Meido/Silver Tapp/Sweet Surprise
Race 5) Stanislaus/Bruce Wayne/Diligent
Race 6) Thegoodlife/Faukland/Hilly’s Vision
Race 7) Lure of Lucy/Nuclear Noon/Hoist The Mast
Race 8) Jamai Raja/Rohan Kabir/Universal Boss
Race 9) Versatile Vision/High Diplomacy/Olde Wharf
Race 10) Duke/King Arthur/Patriarch