By Orville Clarke,
Freelance Writer
TEN starters have been declared for today's Caymanas Park feature for the Rameses Trophy, a Restricted Allowance I for native and imported two and three-year-olds over 1600 metres. Post time is noon.
Among the starters are recent winners UNBRIDLED NUMBER and MISSISSIPPI MARCH. The Philip Feanny-trained MISSISSIPPI MARCH turned in a vastly improved performance minus the figure eight to win by four lengths from DESPERADO over the distance on November 18, clocking the good time of 1:40.4.
UNBRIDLED NUMBER, on the other hand, beat DESPERADO by only a neck over 1700 metres on October 28, but the son of MAVERICK is improving and should make a race of it.
In addition to UNBRIDLED NUMBER and the more appealing MISSISSIPPI MARCH, others such as CHUCKY, PRINCESS AKEEM, GONE SOUTH, PRINCESS ZARA and the imported two-year-old JAMAICAN RUNNER should help to complicate matters for punters.
There is little to choose between PRINCESS AKEEM and PRINCESS ZARA, trained by brothers Andrew and Anthony Nunes respectively.
Both fillies finished heads on for second and third behind SEDUCTION over 1400 metres on October 28, with PRINCESS AKEEM getting up in the final strides to claim second from PRINCESS ZARA.
PRINCESS ZARA came back to finish a good fifth to BLACK AMERICAN over 1800 metres in the valuable WITRA Distaff on November 11, a race in which PRINCESS AKEEM finished a remote eighth.
On the strength of her showing in the Distaff, PRINCESS ZARA can upset the applecart at good odds. In a way, there is not much to choose from among PRINCESS ZARA, PRINCESS AKEEM and the free running CHUCKY.
All three should figure prominently in the outcome, but I suspect they will fall victim to the lightly raced American filly JAMAICAN RUNNER, who is potentially a better animal than any of her opponents.
JAMAICAN RUNNER was installed an overwhelming favourite to win over 1100 metres on November 4, but hurt her chances by being slowly into stride and failed by a neck to catch HERCULES.
Back in action well trained and much improved, this free-running filly from the stables of Jose Pinchin will prove hard to deny.
Being by Runaway Groom out of the Green Dancer mare Mr. Bojangles, JAMAICAN RUNNER is bred to get a mile and with connections going for bang in form jockey Trevor Simpson, the filly is tipped to make all from her convenient mark of 53kg.
Other firm fancies on the card are the consistent SIR RAMNATH GUPTA to romp home in the fourth race over 1500 metres, WINLOC SUPERSTAR over HYDE PARK and NUCLEAR POWER in the fifth, the well-forward debutant RUN BUZZ RUN over fellow newcomer ISSEY MIYAKE in the sixth, recent runaway winner STORM GATE to repeat at the expense of KYLE'S DANCER in the ninth and JET'S COLONY, having stepped down, to win the closing one mile race at the expense of FIGHT TO WIN, BLANCHE and CRIMSON TIDE.
