By Ainsley Walters, Staff ReporterIT'S CHAMPION trainer Wayne DaCosta vs Philip Feanny in this afternoon's 1300-metre Digicel Irish Jamaican Stakes $1 million feature event at Caymanas Park.
Feanny has hauled out the best horses in his barn, a fivesome led by Horse-of-the-Year I'MSATISFIED and Derby-winning stablemate A KING IS BORN. American-bred SPIRIT OF JAMAICA is another potent Feanny runner joined by stable companions RAKKADASH and SATISFIER.
Even though outnumbered, DaCosta's pair of Americans, FORGOTTEN HERO and speedy METEOR MAN, is a lethal combination which, if utilised according to how the race is likely to shape-up, stands a grand chance of upstaging Feanny's charges led by I'MSATISFIED with Winston Griffiths aboard.
A winner in North America, four-year-old FORGOTTEN HERO comes in at a featherweight 45.5 kilos with Peter Bryan possibly going a pound over.
Undefeated in his past three races from four starts locally, FORGOTTEN HERO put away Open Allowance company with ease on Independence Day and has actually skipped two races at the level to take on the best middle-distance runners in Grade I.
DaCosta's runner has been blazing the exercise track in preparation for his showdown with Feanny's top trio, I'MSATISFIED, A KING IS BORN with Wesley Henry and SPIRIT OF JAMAICA toting hot apprentice Paul Francis.
What FORGOTTEN HERO has going for him is being in receipt of ridiculous amounts of weight from all his rivals, obvious class and stable companion METEOR MAN, who's capable of keeping Feanny's speedsters and Patrick Chang's AWESOME POWER totally honest on the lead.
The American colt should be able to comfortably settle off the pace before making his move swinging into the lane, getting first run on the leaders ahead of I'MSATISFIED who will run with 59 kilos, almost 30lbs heavier than FORGOTTEN HERO.
The pace should be hot and although A KING IS BORN totes only 49 kilos the 2000 Guineas and Derby winner could get a rude introduction to Grade I's sustained pace, speedsters gunning it from the start and the finishers closing even harder for the kill.
That's where I'MSATISFIED, FORGOTTEN HERO and SPIRIT OF JAMAICA will make their presence felt. FORGOTTEN HERO's winning times in his past two races were solid performances, posting 1:32.1 for the RJR Classic with 57 kilos last month, the exact time METEOR MAN clocked when beating Feanny's bunch, I'MSATISFIED included, in the Grade I Chairman's Trophy in June.
I'MSATISFIED will be a tough cookie as usual, loping down into contention before attacking the leaders as he did in his two Stakes wins this season, the last being a dead-heat with SPIRIT OF JAMAICA in the She's On Wheels Trophy mid-July.
However, the big weight could take its toll on I'MSATISFIED at 1300 metres and FORGOTTEN HERO is classy and light enough to outfinish the Horse-of-the-Year and his stablemates.
Meanwhile, Winston Griffiths should push his three-week tally with Wayne DaCosta to six from six after the first three races tomorrow afternoon.
YOUNG FOR ALL in the one-mile opening event and two-year-old CRUCIAL POINT in the 1200-metre Digicel Cup should keep the Griffiths/DaCosta three-week strike rate at 100 per cent.
Doing duty at DaCosta's barn in the absence of suspended champion jockey Trevor Simpson, Griffiths should win his second race aboard YOUNG FOR ALL in two weeks. He has only stablemate WITHALLMYHEART, who has looked improved, to fear. The four-year-old filly comes in light with Bryan and will try stealing a march on YOUNGFORALL.
Similar to YOUNGFORALL, CRUCIAL POINT's main danger is one of his own, stable companion HEARTOFAMAVERICK with Shane Ellis up. A record buy at the last Yearling Sale, HEARTOFAMAVERICK has looked improved at exercise since winning on debut mid-July, even getting the better of CRUCIAL POINT at exercise by about a neck Monday morning.
However, CRUCIAL POINT is undefeated from four starts and has never been led in a race. He should hop to the front from his favourable rail draw and slip away leaving the three.
