There are plenty good races to support the two features on the Courtesy Breeders Classic and Juvenile Race Day which signals the start of the Barbados Turf Club’s third racing season tomorrow at the Garrison Savannah.
Race eight on the nine-race card will see this year’s Derby winner Voldemort making his first local track appearance after his fifth-place effort in the Trinidad and Tobago Derby. He is set to receive three pounds from the top weighted Captain Sully whose handicapped package is 128 pounds.
The Federico Handicap for three-year-old and older horses rated 65-47 and open to horses rated 46 and below over 1 800 metres will see old stager Dunwiddat and Stratfords Lad share the same weight as Voldemort, and should have have some say in the final outcome of this exciting event.
Local Speed, who finished off last season in great form winning three on the trot, is now down to take 123 pounds. He will have to dig deeper to be victorious in what could easily be the day’s most competitive race.
Easter Monday, tackling 122 pounds, has never performed better in his life, with this being his toughest assignment. It will be interesting to see what he is really made of.
The bottom weights of 114 pounds will be shared by two live contenders; Super Lady, who was a grand second in the Derby, and Jasmine a gallant fourth. Potentially they can upset the apple cart.
The Zoom Handicap for three-year-old and older horses rated 80-60 over 1 100 metres will see the return of beaten Derby favourite Noble Intent. He carries 120 pounds, which is ten pounds lighter than the top weighted Blue Diamond Racing entrant Run For Your Money.
Notorious for his front- running style, Noble Intent is not expected to have things his own way. The speedy Who’s My Girl, packing 126 pounds, returns from a long lay-off seeking to make it a hat-trick of wins. Best known for her speed, the pressure will immediately be thrusted on her legs which have dogged her career.
If she can give the field the slip she will, however, be required to keep that momentum going as the main challenger will keep her busy till the very end. Run For Your Money’s class speaks for itself but there is a question of weight.
Where in the past he has never dominated when asked to burden anything over 126 pounds, he remains a worthy opponent. Joshua, shouldering 122 pounds, is another runner on the card.
Well bred, this son of Janak, out of China Silk, just appears to be getting faster and better with every gallop and speed is definitely his game.
The other four will have plenty of catching up to do whether it is on the pace or coming from off the pace. The Price Is Right, since her return to the track, has developed the unusual habit of reluctantly leaving the gates with her opponents thus costing her a real crack at recording a long overdue win.
Racing starts at 12:30 p.m.
