The focus on Saturday, the fourth day of the Arima Race Club (ARC) local racing season will be on the resumption of punters attending local racing after almost a year away from the club in Santa Rosa Park in Arima. On Thursday the club announced that under the Gambling and Betting Act, the Regulations relevant to coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, it permit the attendance of patrons up to a maximum of fifty per cent (50%) capacity at the days programme.
The ARC emphases that patrons must continue to observe the requirements of wearing face masks, the need to undergo temperature tests, sanitize and /or wash hands at the designated locations and maintain social distancing. Social Distancing Officers (SDOs) will be in attendance to ensure the guidelines are observed.
Champion racehorse and Horse of The Year 2020 - Making Headlines will make his eagerly-awaited seasonal debut today at the Santa Rosa Park, Arima. Despite not racing on the surface Making Headlines has galloped well on the surface and is expected to make a winning turf debut for owner Ruthven Smith.
He will be challenged by the Glenn Mendez trained General JN, which won impressively on his debut on the turf on New Years Day in the Sian's Gold Sprint is going to give my selection a run for his money on his second race on the grass.
Making Headlines was the champion sprinter-stayer of 2020 and his improvement over the past five months has been phenomenal. He will take the world of beating under champion jockey Brian Boodramsing.
I expect that O'Brien will have his champion ready to win the first time out in Saturday's main event, the Modified Benchmark Handicap for Horses Rated 80 and Over on the Turf Track over 1,500 metres.
General JN showed a liking for the grass when winning last time out and with that experience under his belt could surprise
Six horses are slated to face the starter in the $16,100 purse event with both General JN and Making Headlines allotted 60 kilos each and handing out weight to all their rivals. However, none of their rivals looks capable of taking advantage of the weight differential.
Root Of Jesse which won the major events on the turf in 2019 is a turf specialist but he has not been at his best for a while now. Then there is Early Bird which won the Stewards Cup in 2019 and needs shorter. The Harriram Gobin trained Commanding Fashion has lost form and will need to show marked improvement to have any say in the event, while Tiz A Vibe looks to be outclassed in this company.
So it comes down to the big two and with Making Headlines and General JN. The former has shown he will go on the surface while General JN has shown that he can handle the turf. I give the vote to Making Headlines who could be anything racing on the surface for the first time.
Post time for the first event on Saturday is 1:15 pm.