THUNDERING HOOVES: The horses spread across the track in the Digicel Barbados Guineas on Monday. From left to right: Mahogany Bird, Vandross, Chica Buena, Fresh Milk, the eventual winner, Royal Emblem, Mystical Magic and Houdini. (Picture by Charles Pitt-Grant.)

by TYRONE EVELYN

FRESH MILK went a third of the way of becoming the second horse since Zouk to win the Triple Crown by slamming her field in The Digicel Barbados Guineas on Monday.

The Guineas was the first leg of the three prestigious races, with the other two being The Pinnacle Feeds Midsummer Classic and The United Barbados Derby.

The Sunset Farms-owned, Boston John-trained filly's performance in winning the Guineas was particularly outstanding, as she had the early speed to stay within striking distance of the pacesetting duo of Vandross and Royal Emblem, and the finishing speed to quicken away from her field in the straight.

Her easy win on Monday confirmed her status as the leading three-year-old around, and has set her up with the perfect opportunity to become the second Triple Crown winner.

The way jockey Paul Leacock rode her in the Guineas also suggested she should have no problems in staying beyond the 1 570 metres Guineas distance, so that when she steps up to longer distances these should hold no terrors for her.

Royal Emblem looked particularly good in the parade ring, and his second place behind Fresh Milk was not surprising. He too should improve with time.

The surprise performance came from the DeVere Davis-owned, William Clarke-trained Mahogany Bird, who ran his best race to date to finish a staying-on third.

One never expected him to finish ahead of Gudfridie for instance, as the Haydn Nicholls-trained colt had beaten him into fifth position in their previous race which went over 1 800 metres.

Mahogany Bird has considerable scope for improvement, and one can expect him to improve even further as time goes on.

The Gay Smith/Edward Walcott stable was represented by three animals in Golden Moon, Zoom and Mystical Magic with the former performing the best by finishing fourth.

Monday was the fourth time he had met Fresh Milk and the latter has come out on top three times. It is clear that Fresh Milk is the better of the two and he will be hard pressed to turn around placings with the filly on a regular basis in their future encounters.

Mystical Magic had won his previous two starts but both wins were against inferior fields so his unplaced performance on Monday was not that surprising.

Royal Emblem, which finished second, came out best of the Lord Michael Taylor/Clifton Racing trio, while The Welsh Wizard, stable jockey Anderson Ward's choice, and Exploding Lady were somewhat disappointing.

However, this does not rule out their chances in the other legs of the Triple Crown, especially The Welsh Wizard, who should relish the 2 000 metres of the United Barbados Derby.