Champion trainer John O’Brien seeks to win yet another President’s Cup on Monday—Labour Day—when he attacks the Grade Three event with three horses. O’Brien has the 2021 Derby winner Stroke of Luck, the 2020 Derby and Triple Crown winner Wise Guy and the talented Super Bird engaged in the 1,900 metres feature on the main track at Santa Rosa Park, Arima.
The top conditioner hopes to continue his winning ways and continue his dominance of local racing as he has horses to stop the Horse of the Year 2021, Affirmative.
The Shivam Maharaj-owned horse carried all before him last year and did the Stewards Cup/Gold Cup double for the young trainer Krishna Sahadeo. Affirmative has come back as good as ever this season and will take some stopping for new trainer Ramesh Ramroop.
However, the horse which holds the beating of Affirmative over his head is Stroke of Luck. This horse met Affirmative on May 14 when he beat Affirmative by 3/4-length on a sloppy main track.
Today, he meets the champion on worst terms. This means Affirmative will be handing out six kilos to Stroke of Luck. This certainly gives Stroke of Luck the chance to beat him again, and with the youth on his side, he could do just that. But, champions usually never go down without a fight and should Affirmative be back to his best, the weight may make no difference.
The Lester Alexis-trained Arsalan must be respected after his good win on the turf where he is unbeaten. With a sloppy track, he must be respected. Desert Dancer is not one you can easily discard as he has the form to upset them all. The Terrance Thomas-trained 2021 Guineas winner Just Exhale must be taken seriously while Pawan Putra, who is arguably the most improved horse in training, must be respected.
My vote goes to Affirmative which will be ridden by Dillon Khelawan for the first time.
Post time is 1.05 pm.
ARC DAY 11 CARD
R1: 1.05PM - NATIVE BRED 3 YO MAIDENS - 1,500M (TURF) - $13,915
-62 1 Davindra L Alexis/D Kwelawan 57 Will go close
--- 2 Davina C Rambaran/N Flavenney 54 Debut
--7 3 Mona Lisa R Frederick/N Flavenney 54 Newcomer
--6 4 Lambada J O’Brien/B Boodramsing 54 Can take this
-49 5 Shareef C Prime/R Jadoo 57 Outside shot
R2: 1.45PM - MODIFIED BENCHMARK HANDICAP - 3 YO AND OVER HORSES RATED 40-25 - 1,200M - $13,915
-17 1 Empress Hassan T Thomas/N Mohammed 51.5 Can take this
842 2 Perfect Saint H Singh/J Boodramsing 56.5 Good run last
214 3 Feel The Heat M Lutchman/R Jadoo 57 Needs further
336 4 Schwarzenegger R Ramroop/B Boodramsing 51.5 Can go close
654 5 Pure Strike K Lucas/T Phillips 57 Running on
R3: 2.25PM - MODIFIED BENCHMARK HANDICAP - 3 YO AND OVER HORSES RATED 70-55 - 1,200M - $17,715
212 1 Soca Symphony J O’Brien/A Poon 56 One to beat
446 2 Leonardo Angel T Thomas/D Khelawan 57 Chance
648 3 Fast’N’Furious M Lutchman/J Boodramsing 54.5 Running on
634 4 Patta Patta M Lutchman/R Jadoo 54 Weighted to win
311 5 Game Changer J O’Brien/B Boodramsing 51.5 Hattrick seeker
R4: 3.10 PM - MODIFIED BENCHMARK HANDICAP - WI BRED 4 YO AND OVER MAIDENS AND HORSES RATED 25-0 - 1,100M - $14,415
724 1 Country Sign G Mendez/D Khelawan 57 Will go close
565 2 Goldforfree R Ramroop/J Arneaud 45 Outside shot
422 3 Kobe M Lutchman/R Jadoo 50 Must win this
177 4 Con Te Partiro F DeFreitas/A Poon 51 Respected
450 5 Gold For John K Lucas/J Boodramsing 49 Chance
351 6 Fulfill C Roberts/B Boodramsing 49.5 Repeat
675 7 D’Hummingbird K Lucas/N Samaroo 53.5 Can go close
382 8 Zelda C Roberts/N Mohammed 54.5 One to catch
684 9 Lady Hamilton C Rambaran/T Phillips 51.5 Coming to hand
359 10 Redhotfillypepper L Alexis/R Balgobin 52.5 Respected
R5: 3.50 PM - MODIFIED BENCHMARK HANDICAP - 3 YO AND OVER HORSES RATED 35-0 - 1,500M (TURF) - $13,915
221 1 Comandante M Lutchman/R Jadoo 55 Repeat
242 2 Infortheglory B Nurse/J Arneaud 56 Can take this
617 3 Atta Girl Silvy M Lutchman/D Khelawan 57 Ready to win
363 4 Thunderbird R Ramroop/T Phillips 54.5 Will be around
324 5 Cactus Treasure R Ramroop/N Samaroo 57 Outside shot
558 6 The Big Saint R Frederick/N Flavenney 53.5 Can surprise
653 7 Princess Alex T Thomas/R Balgobin 57.5 One to beat
873 8 Dancing Sun R Ramroop/A Poon 56 Good run last
R6: 4.35 PM - FERNANDES BLACK LABEL RUM-PRESIDENTS CUP (GRADE 3) - OPEN TO ALL HORSES 3 YO AND OVER - 1,900M - $30,000
347 1 Just Exhale T Thomas/R Balgobin 48 Outside shot
371 2 Arsalan L Alexis/N Samaroo 48 Loves turf
212 3 Affirmative R Ramroop/D Khelawan 57 One to beat
836 4 Desert Dancer C Rambaran/T Phillips 51 Can surprise
151 5 Stroke Of Luck J O’Brien/B Boodramsing 51 Challenger
417 6 Pawan Putra M Lutchman/R Jadoo 51 Stretches out
325 7 Wise Guy J O’Brien/A Poon 54 Respected if rain
151 8 Super Bird J O’Brien/J Boodramsing 51 The speed
R7: 5.20 PM - MODIFIED BENCHMARK HANDICAP - 3 YO AND OVER HORSES RATED 50-35 - 1,350M - $14,415
431 1 Finishing Touch L Alexis/D Khelawan 58 Seeking repeat
146 2 Supremacy M Lutchman/R Jadoo 54.5 Can take this
638 3 Market Leader K Lucas/D Butcher 57 Respected
633 4 Sexy Eyes H Singh/N Samaroo 57 Can take this
820 5 Maha Raja L Alexis/J Arneaud 57 The speed
507 6 Mafia Man D Chadee/N Flavenney 56 Big shout
222 7 Manos Ariba C Roberts/J Boodramsing 57.5 In great form
224 8 With Honors J O’Brien/B Boodramsing 55 Will go close
970 9 Twitter King K Lucas/A Poon 56.5 In tough
156 10 Davinci Code M Lutchman/D Khelawan 57 In and out
719 11 Prince Connor C Rambaran/T Phillip 56 Chance