God of Love in fine nick ahead of $1-m dash
God of Love’s third-place finish behind the well-decorated Mahogany on last should be more than enough indication of his readiness in the top-rated $1.05-million Non-Restricted Overnight Allowance event to kick-start the three consecutive race days of thoroughbred racing at Caymanas Park today.
Stepping down to this level on May 7, God of Love came home 11 lengths behind Mahogany and Ras Emanuel over six furlongs (1,200m). Then, God of Love pressed the headline before he weakened in the straight.
The six-year-old bay gelding bred Adore The Gold out of the D’Wildcat mare Shanda D, God of Love should have benefited from that effort, and given his consistency at the higher level, this one should be easy pickings for him. Robert Halledeen remains in the saddle for Fitzgerald Richards.
The three-year-old and upward contest, going five furlongs (1,000m) on the round course, is positioned as the eighth event on the nine-race card with a post time of 4:45 pm.
Of the other runners in the 10-horse field, Solid Approach, Miniature Man, The Good Witch, Lure of Lucy, and Laban are also capable runners in this quick dash.
Solid Approach returns to competitive racing from a 241-day break for this. The Cajun Breeze offpsring last raced on September 22 of last year when she finished down the track behind Make Up Artist in a six-furlong call as the favourite. Solid Approach has been timely prepared for her seasonal debut and, although she would need the run to find herself again, could put in a surprisingly good shift.
Miniature Man finished down the track on his seasonal debut behind Mahogany over six furlongs on May 7. The Jason DaCosta trainee is working himself into nick and this quick sprint provides the opportunity for him to do so.
American-bred The Good Witch (Tale of the Cat–Witch Craft) makes her local debut with a record of three wins from 22 starts. Looks like a useful sort, but it is a wait-and-see situation for The Good Witch. The fact that Dick Cardenas is in the saddle, a good run is expected from the Adin Williams trainee.
Lure of Luck ran a cracker when finishing third behind stablemate King Arthur and Duke in the Lady Geeta Trophy (six furlongs) seven days ago. Then Lure of Lucy pumped the headline before giving way to the top two in the straight, finishing five lengths behind the winner.
If Lure of Lucy can reproduce that effort, then she will surely be among the principals when the winning post arrives. This foreigner has to be caught.
Laban, meantime, finished behind the out-of-class Billy Whizz and Santorini at nine furlongs seven days ago. Laban is going to be more appreciative of this distance and another pleasing run is expected.
Also on tap is the $920,000 Awesome Power Trophy feature, a native-bred three-year-old maiden condition race (fillies) going seven-and-a-half furlongs.
Hidden Valley, owned by NYA and trained by Hall of Fame conditioner Richard Azan, is tipped to defeat rivals here. The chestnut filly finished second behind Pretty Girl over six furlongs on May 7 coming off a five-month break. Now in an easier spot, Hidden Valley should be hard to deny here. Desha, She’s My Friend, North London, and Never On A Sunday all are expected to put in good efforts.
Ones to watch:
Race 1) JamalJames/Sir Arjun Babu/Isotope
Race 2) Turnonthelight/Cartel/Casual Affair
Race 3) Dezzy The Genius/Royal Vibes/Graydon
Race 4) Madelyn’s Sunshine/Golden Wattle
Race 5) Atonement/Heart Of A Lion/Letters in Gold
Race 6) Plutologist/Euphoria/Run Jaya Run
Race 7) Hidden Valley/Desha/North London
Race 8) God of Love/Lure of Lucy/Laban
Race 9) Mine That Cat/Positive ID/It’s A Boy