Confident vote for Top Of The Class

TOP OF THE CLASS has been an impressive winner of his last five starts and is expected to grace the Santa Rosa Park racecourse today to add the Carib Brewery Limited Trophy Caribbean Champion Stakes to his resume.

The Glenn Mendez-trained three-year-old has won all his three-year-old  races unchallenged in the very capable hands of Ricardo Jadoo, and it should be no different in today’s 21st renewal of the event which holds the spotlight on today’s ten-race programme. But today, the young pretender takes on the older generation in the staying event around two-turns. The son of Freshly Squeezed/Crescendo is unbeaten since linking up with Jadoo. He captured the Easter Guineas, Midsummer Classic and Royal Oak Derby to become the second triple crown winner since racing was centralised at Arima, and is now on course to create history in today’s 1800 metres encounter worth $60,000 to the winner. For winning this year’s triple crown, Top Of The Clsss banked $250,000, the first part of a Colonial Life Insurance Company incentive package, and could add the other portion of the $1 million lump sum if with victory over his seven rivals and so become the first to make a clean sweep of the four-part series.

With career earnings of $363,350 the front-running colt who has never given his backers any cause for concern, will become the first equine athlete in the history of the sport to surpass the magical $1 million figure in a season, and will set him up as the likely winner of  the “Horse of the Year” title. Top Of The Class has beaten the older horses once before when in receipt of lumps of weight. Today, he meets stronger opposition, most notably in stablemate Carnival Messiah, who faltered in this same race after winning the 2001 triple crown, Millenium Reign the other Royal Oak Derby winner in the field and the highly thought of Phantom Menace and Punto A Punto, oldest of the eight West Indian-bred runners. But Top Of The Class, by his hallops, seems to have gotten much stronger and his tactical speed and good stamina should see him prevail watched by an expected bumper crowd at home, and those privileged to see the event at the Woodbine racecourse in Canada and other North American tracks, where it will be transmitted in simulcast.  Today’s ten-race card sponsored by Carib Brewery Limited has plenty in store for punters.

Apart from the main event, there are three other supporting races of interest. Salsa Moves got off the mark in a competitive maiden event last month with a game front running performance. This son of Java In Flight/Meringue came back last raceday to again slaughter his juvenile opponents from wire to wire with his speed, winning by 14 ? lengths. This was only the colt’s fourth outing and he has shown progressive form in each. Salsa Moves is clearly on the upgrade and should have too much guns for his peers in the 1300 metres Malta Carib Trophy Caribbean Juvenile Sprint. Napoleon has set his sights on the Stewards Cup. But the roan grey was given a gentle re-introduction this season, and he  showed he has not lost any of his blinding early speed, and could put his four rivals to the sword in the Carib Beer Trophy Caribbean Sprint Champ-ionship over 1200 metres. The Stag Trophy Imported Juvenile Sprint has an abundance of raw talent, but it could pay to support Daredevil Hero, who ran a corker first time of asking from a light preparation.