The John O’Brien trained Thisonesforron will be attempting to write his name into the annals of horse racing history when he goes to post for the Gold Cup on Boxing Day (December 26).
Thisonesforron has won the Gold Cup for the past two years and will attempt to become the first horse to win three Cups at the centralised venue, Santa Rosa Park in Arima.
Last year, Thisonesforron won for trainer John Leotaud after being confidently ridden by Kerron Khelawan in much the same manner that he won in 2016 in the Grade One 2,000 metres event.
The Great Friends seven-year-old brown horse, was beaten last time out in the Grade One - Stewards Cup when he had to settle for third behind Whisper Light and stablemate Rocket Wheels.
Last time out, Thisonesforron travelled up easily at the far turn but failed to produce the goods when needed. Going over this longer trip, Thisonesforron will be in his element and it will take an exceptional horse to lower his colours.
One such horse could be the unbeaten Glenn Mendez trained Cape Canaveral which won the Derby in impressive fashion for owner Merlin Samalasingh. Ricky Jadoo will again be aboard and with improvement, this thoroughbred could well spoil another O’Brien party. Cape Canaveral has been improving steadily and in receipt of six kilos from Thisonesforron could go close to winning.
Mendez also has the talented Stewards Cup winner Whisper Light in the field and we all know he has his kinks but he is a talented racehorse. Should he walk with his ‘A’ game and best behaviour then we could be in for a treat in the Gold Cup which was robbed of much interest with the withdrawal of the favoured Princess Suri from the Shaffique Khan stable. The Errol Stable-owned Whisper Light has been ridden with restraint in his last two starts but his regular manner of racing is being at the front. Should he adopt that tactic this time around he could have them all running.
Another challenger which seems to have a great chance is the Shivam Maharaj owned Stockyard which has the ability to beat the top class horses. He has not been at his best for the past three months but he is being prepped for a big run in the Gold Cup and he could go very close or upset them all under Ronald Ali hands.
With so much on the line for the top thoroughbred, a historic victory for Thisonesforron, maintaining his unbeaten record and attempting to win the "Horse of The Year" title for Cape Canaveral along with the Stewards Cup/Gold Cup double aspiration Whisper Light, this event is worth going miles to see.