Originally?scheduled for last week, the Barbados Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association Sales Graduates’ & Queen’s Plate Race Day has been given the all-clear to be held tomorrow at the Garrison Savannah.
The decision was handed down by the board of directors of the Barbados Turf Club at a meeting held after last Saturday’s posponement by the race course stewards due to a water-logged track and inclement weather.
The final day of the ten-day second season will see the two-year-old juvenile fillies competing in the Female Sale Graduates Futurity Stakes (Condition race) over 1 100 metres.
In the last decade race fans have been privileged to monitor the growth of several fillies who have blossomed from such races to win the Barbados Derby. These include Pan Woman, Mirabel, Zouk, Fresh Milk, Leave It To Me and Kendal Moon.
Though still young to this sport, seven of the 11 entered have shown glimpses of ability by placing in the top three at some point.
The first to visit the winner’s enclosure this year was the Raphael Green-owned Capere, who took the Kabul Allotted Weights race for two-year-olds over 1 000 metres.
In that event her performance matched her looks and she rewarded her connections with a smooth 1 ¼ victory on the good-to-soft track.
For this victory she earned a four-pound rise for the next start from the handicappers.
On that occasion, the Victor Cheeseman-trained filly weakened tamely and was beaten by six-plus lengths on a soft track by the colt Chimichurri in the Junior Kadooment Condition Race over 1 000 metres.
She will need to improve and should be competitive again.
Verkauf was the second filly to enter winner’s enclosure taking the R.L. Seale and Company Limited Trophy (Allotted Weights) over 1 100 metres.
That victory for the Lord Michael Taylor-owned filly was a quick improvement on her fourth-placed finish in the Junior Kadooment Condition Race despite a two-pound weight increase.
With a further three pounds in her next start in the Kathleen Taylor Memorial Condition Race over the same distance, she secured a creditable third position in a closely contested event. Based on her last effort it makes her the obvious appeal here.
The Diana Jones-owned Secret Of Success, after two eventful first tries became the third filly to turn in her maiden certificate, scoring in the Kingdora Condition Race over 1 100 metres.
With further improvement still to come, it will be interesting to see how she handles a five-pound weight increase and the outside draw.
Trainer Andrew Nunes handles Gorgeous for owner Lady Williams and he owns Southern Light, both of whom were very impressive as soon as they became aware of what was going on during the home stretch run of the Kingdora Condition Race.
Gorgeous, in particular, had surrendered plenty ground at the start, by coming out slowly before running on to capture second place, with Southern Light third.
The C.N. Parravicino-owned Chatter Box ran a gallant second behind Chimichurri when she closed from a long way despite never being a threat to the winner. Next out, she was a modest fourth behind Verkauf.
The Anderson Ward-trained Dipitinmoney trailed in third in the first two-year-old encounter behind the winner Capere.
She failed to confirm that improvement as anticipated and was unplaced in her next two efforts.
