Orville Clarke, Gleaner Writer

The remarkable grey gelding NASATOL, having finished a close fourth to SUPER DAVE over 1200 metres in better company last Saturday, will be hard to beat in today's Caymanas Park feature race for $600,000-$550,000 claimers over 1400 metres.

Today's 10-race, programme marks the first leg of the two-day Easter Carnival which continues on Monday with the annual renewal of the Easter Sprint (overnight allowance) over 1100 metres. Eleven races are slated for Monday.

Incidentally, the race, which NASATOL is fancied to win, moves into the spotlight after the scheduled grade-one feature for the Legal Light Trophy over 1820 metres had to be postponed due to insufficient entries. It has been rescheduled for Saturday, April 18.

Robert Darby's NASATOL is one of eight horses declared for the feature. The eight-year-old son of Pan N Jac-Extraordinaire, who has won 21 races from 76 career starts and over $6.7 million in stakes, has everything in his favour today, including in-form jockey Richie Mitchell.

Outpaced under top weight of 57.0kg in last Saturday's fast-run sprint, NASATOL made good headway from below the distance to finish 2-1/2 lengths fourth, almost heads on with third-placed THE GUARDIAN, despite running very wide at the home turn.

In the process, he had horses of the calibre of MINISTEROFJUSTICE, ENGLISH STORM and SLOGAN behind.

That performance was a clear indication that NASATOL is fully sound and now eased in the weights looks hard to oppose in a race of this nature.

Still, he can expect worthwhile opposition from the consistent 10-year-old gelding SATISFIER, the fleet-footed GOOD SENSE, the fit-looking American horse JET SKIER and down-in-class ACCOMPONG, who looks tempting at the weights with only 52.0kg and title-chasing Dane Nelson aboard.

Bigger danger

ACCOMPONG, however, has not been training as usual and combined with his tendency to give away lengths at the start, a bigger danger to NASATOL could well be SATISFIER.

The veteran campaigner was narrowly beaten by THE SMOKER over 1500 metres on March 18, but prior to that scored decisive back-to-back wins over middle distances and should ensure that NASATOL (who truly loves to win races) is kept on his toes.

Other firm fancies on the card are the speedy APES HILL to make all in the first race, ESCAPE THE FATE to stave off REGAL DELIGHT in the fourth, MING LEI in the sixth, the fleet-footed TWIST OF FATE to go all the way in the seventh and MAHARANI in the ninth.