The Jetsam Awards on Friday provided very few surprises. The one debate was the award of Champion Imported Sprinter to Crime of Passion over Control Unit who won the Sprint Championship in December.
Crime of Passion did perform well in the early part of the season, but Control Unit was his superior in the championship event. The Jetsam business is now completed. It is now time to move on with 2016.
We have seen a number of performances which suggest that 2016 could be the best season in the last three years, in spite of the economic circumstances. Let us look at some of the classes.
Three year olds. Based on what we have seen on the track to date and the reputation and breeding of some of the unraced three year olds, we are in for an exciting season if all of the chief protagonists remain sound. Top of the class is Jetsam Champion Two Year Old, The Gatsby.
This Jamaican bred colt has been spectacular in his three starts and he could be anything. He displayed tremendous precocity in 2015 and his bloodlines do not scream stayer so it will be interesting to see how he fares as the distances get longer. Owner Merlin Samlalsingh might not be too dismayed if he fails to fire over the longer distances since he also has the most obvious pretender to the crown in first time winner, Academy Award.
This colt, also Jamaican bred, is a half brother to Momentum and should not have any staying issues. His sire, Performing Magic, is only known in these parts as the sire of Criminal Intent, and that could introduce an element of doubt, but Academy Award looked very special in winning his debut.
The horse he beat, another first time, Crown of Kings also looked extremely useful. This one, is by the same sire as his owner's Urban Knight and so also has strong bloodlines. Crown of Kings has an equally promising stablemate in Magical Victory who stayed on quite nicely to be second to The Gatsby in the St James. He has ground to make up but was a lot less forward than his conqueror that day. These four are the proven four but there are any number of unraced three year olds that could have a say in the big three year old races.
Then, there are the locally bred contenders. Again, these have been very lightly raced but we have seen many promising performances. The top locally bred three year old to date has been Desert Dancer. This one however, is bred, and has shown, that he might be better at the shorter distances.
Having said that, we said the same thing about Criminal Intent, who subsequently caused a major upset in the Midsummer Classic. In addition to Desert Dancer, Mint Condition, Saragon, Big Money and Fast N Furious has shown a lot of promise and these five are the early top ones amongst the locally bred. The fillies are led by Newthinginthong and Latin Dancer but one suspects there is a lot more talent still to be unearth in the distaff division.
The imported class. We have all of the returning champions–Transpire, Crime of Passion, and Thisonesforron. They are joined by Control Unit, who has already followed up his Stewards Cup victory with an equally game victory in the Sian's Gold Sprint. Connections will no doubt be keen to see how far they can stretch his stamina.
The Aga Stables duo of Bergeron Rodeo and Holy Man are likely to be joined by the sidelined stable mate Clermont County and this trio will give their connections a lot of fun. Also returning from the sidelines are Patriot Legend, who looked exceptional on his debut before sustaining an injury in his subsequent start, and Danube Waltz, who looked very versatile with a penchant towards the longer distance. The oldstagers Sacred Trust and Scotus are still around and will be competitive on their day.
The younger generation could be led by the highly regarded and expensive Whisper Light, who flopped on his debut before being diagnosed with a breathing disorder. If this one recovers adequately, he could be anything. Takeoneforjoey after burning pockets in his first four starts, found his groove on the turf and could develop further. An extremely competitive class.
The older creoles might not include three-time Jetsam Champion, Bigman in Town, in 2016 but we await to hear more from connections about his injury. His absence throws this category wide open. Momentum is still around but it is amazing that this one has not won since his 2014 Derby victory and connections have even tried him on the turf on a couple of occasions but to no avail.
A change of equipment might be the next option. On the turf, Dark Treasure returned with a vengeance in the Caribbean Turf Championship and he can continue to prove his versatility since he is equally adept on either surface. Masterpiece and Royal Empire showed new dimensions when narrowly touched off by Dark Treasure and could make things interesting going forward.
A few of last year's classic generation will also make the contests interesting. We have Derby runner up Charismatic Groom leading the vanguard and among the speedier types, there is Bergeron Boy, Criminal Intent and Swept Away. Among the staying types, we have Risky Trial and a returning Man to Come who will try to compete with the elders.
Once the administrators don't get in the way, we should see some competitive events. The framing of the races will be most important and of course, there is the economy to consider, but racing has survived a difficult economic environment on more than one occasion in the past and it will no doubt do so again.