WITH St Leger winner Thalita not present (choosing to be raced in the Derby instead) the Fitzroy Glispie-bred, -owned, and -trained Princess Sharon appears to be the front-runner to win the 84th running of the Jamaica Oaks, which is restricted to fillies exclusively, at Caymanas Park today.

Princess Sharon ran an impressive race to place third in the Jamaica St Leger over 10 furlongs on July 1, behind Thalita and stablemate Money Misery(colt). Princess Sharon competed in the St Leger, her fourth career race, and she made outstanding progress against the best competitors among her peers. The chestnut filly also did quite well. Princess Sharon is now the best-finishing filly from the St Leger, making her the one to beat in this race.

Bred by Soul Warrior out of the Legal Process mare Princess Shine, Princess Sharon is well-prepared for this, having galloped seven furlongs (1,400m) in 1:32.1 to beat stablemate Prince Marshall on July 29. The three-year-old chestnut’s excellent spin serves as an unmistakable sign of his preparation for competition.

Princess Sharon will be challenging to beat since she is a flexible horse that can make headlines as well as drop off the pace. Youville Pinnock is replaced by Tevin Foster in the driver’s seat.

The horse that won the 1000 Guineas, Mamma Mia appears to be the only one in the 12-horse field that may prevent Princess Sharon from winning this race.

The Jamaica Oaks, which carries a purse of $3.75 million, is positioned as the ninth event on the 10-race card with a post time of 4:45 pm. First race is at 11:45 am.

Mamma Mia is by far the most accomplished runner in the line-up with four career wins from nine starts and lifetime earnings of over $7.4 million. Mamma Mia was fifth in the St Leger after prompting the pace for most of the way.

The fact that the race is only open to fillies means that Mamma Mia should achieve this distance once more and could even put up a greater fight. It’s anticipated that the Jason DaCosta trainee will make a daring move from the front, and if Princess Sharon manages to capture her, that’s it.

The likes of Brown Skin Girl, Power From Above, and All For Love are competent enough to leave with a portion of the treats here.

After finishing third in the 1000 Guineas on June 3 behind stablemates Mamma Mia and Thalita, All For Love had a dismal performance in the Jamaica St Leger at 10 furlongs. Given that this is a filly’s-only race, All For Love is expected to run a significantly better race because she is bred to cover a lot of ground.

Brown Skin Girl looks the type of runner who is going to enjoy this trip. The three-year-old chestnut filly should run an honest race here and will be coming at them in the final stages of the race.

Power From Above found her groove on her third career start when beating rivals going 9 1/2 furlongs (1,900m) on July 8. Power From Above has the distinction of being the only filly in the line-up to win going two turns. Although she may have lacked the class of the top two runners in the field Power From Above will surely make her presence felt throughout the race and may go home with a slice of the cake. Champion jockey Dane Dawkins replaces Tevin Foster in the irons.

Ones to watch

Race 1) Vanquisher/Buff Bay/Big Argument

Race 2) Princess Sylvia/Great Wayne/Jungle Boogie

Race 3) Fault Line/Modern Miracle/Sure Curlin

Race 4) KD Flyer/Stanislaus/Three Card Guy

Race 5) Lion Talk/Bigmanbiden/Another Champion

Race 6) Monsieur Blue/The Exodus/She’s My Friend

Race 7) Simba The Lion/Victoriasmedallion/Queen Adele

Race 8) City Hawk/Wayne’s Princess/Mrs Lyndhurst

Race 9) Princess Sharon/Mamma Mia/Power From Above

Race 10) Hot Stepper/Velik