By Orville Clarke, Freelance WriterTHE topline three-year-old PEACE & LOVE will receive an acid test at Caymanas Park today when he takes on the second eleven, so to speak, in the Ambassador's Trophy feature (Starter Handicap 1 & 2) over 1700 metres.
Post time is 12 noon and 11 races are scheduled.
Offering a total purse of $330,000, the race has attracted nine starters and with nearly all showing good form, it should be an intriguing contest.
Among the starters are BODY & SOUL, SIR MOHANDAS BABA and DELAY OF GAME, all of whom were winners last time out, as well as the recent winner ZEEDON.
Also present, to further complicate matters, are SHE'S SO LOVELY, SPEED FREAK and ALEXDIMASTER, all of whom ran well recently, along with proven campaigner BLOOR AND BAY and of course, the late kicking three-year-old gelding PEACE AND LOVE who flopped in the April 7 Track Price Plus 2000 Guineas as the firm second favourite.
Despite that setback, the question is whether PEACE AND LOVE, useful 3-y-o that he is, can prove competitive this high up the ladder at this stage of his development. I think he has the ability to win in present company on the strength of his close second to PHAREAL in the Prince Consort Stakes over 1400 metres on March 17 when finishing like a runaway train under topweight.
Something obviously went amiss in the 2000 Guineas won by his old rival MILLIMETRE. PEACE & LOVE (outpaced) could only manage 11 lengths sixth, but it should be recalled that he had MILLIMETRE just behind when awarded the rich Red Stripe 2-Y-O Breeders Stakes over 1400 metres in the Stewards' Room last November. Trained by Percy Hussey, the son of Bold Demon - Infinity has the ability to collar them in deep stretch from his convenient mark of 50.0kg. Having worked well since the 2000 Guineas, PEACE & LOVE, a live Derby prospect, can definitely rebound in a race of this nature with the useful Kenyatta Davis up.
His main rivals are the Jose Pinchin-trained pair of ALEXDIMASTER and BLOOR AND BAY, along with the stable-companions BODY AND SOUL and SHE'S SO LOVELY, both from the camp of champion trainer Philip Feanny.
ALEXDIMASTER shoulders topweight of 57.0kg, but this will not deter the stretch running American five-year-old gelding who has stepped with better in the not too distant past.
A bigger danger to PEACE AND LOVE in my book is BODY AND SOUL, who ran on strongly to catch her front running stable-companion SHE'S SO LOVELY and REVIEWING on March 7 over a mile, winning by a neck. The five-year-old mare by The Medic out of Papal Queen has moved impressively at exercise in preparation for this race and her chances must be rated highly from the lenient mark of 50.5kg.
Other firm fancies on the card are PRINCESS ALEXANDRA (simply too light) to romp the first race, PUREJOY (gets the ideal trip now) to make all convincingly in the 5th, SEAMASTER (could now be aimed too low) to beat course specialist SLEWPY's VALLEY and TOP FRENCH in the 7th, STANDING ALONE (stepping down, little to beat) over SUB ZERO and CAPTAIN JACQUES in the 8th, FRAULEIN (fit, truly enjoys the straight) to upstage stable-companions ROYAL CONNECTION and QUEST FOR GOLD in the 9th and PALMETTO XPRESS (down considerably in the weights now) to humble the unbeaten American colt PLEASANT WOOD and COMING WEST in the closing race.
