Racing hits new heights in 2003

The 2003 racing season hit new heights, and eyes will now be focused on the Arima Race Club to see whether they can maintain the ideas and attractiveness to keep their newly won clientele satisfied this season.

Our 2004 season got off  to a flying start with a Jockeys’ Championship and three feature races on a 10-race New Year’s Day programme. The Betting Levy Board Day in mid-December and the Guardian Holdings Limited-sponsored Boxing Day racecard which followed at Santa Rosa Park, Arima, were filled with excitement from start to finish, reminiscent of past Christmas meetings at the Queen’s Park Savannah, Port-of-Spain. The Betting Levy Board Stewards Cup, which held the spotlight on BLB Day created quite a stir, and the dash dubbed the sprint championship of the South Caribbean may have acted as an appetiser for the final round of the 2003 season.

The 1200 metres event, which brought together Cash Wager, Napoleon and Sugar Mike, the top three finishers of the previous year against some budding stars, may have played a part in stirring interest, which can be interpreted as a revival of the  Sport of Kings locally. The 11-race programme on Boxing Day in which the St James Stakes, St Ann’s Stakes and the Guardian Gold Cup were the main attractions, was a bumper one, fielding 111 runners, which gave the races not only a competitive look but made for attractive betting. Turfites sensing the sport is on the way up were again bitten by the bug, being privy to a top drawer clash in the Guardian Life Gold Cup on Boxing Day between the two stars of the season, Top Of The Class and Sugar Mike.

Top Of The Class who captured the Triple Crown series and the Caribbean Champion Stakes won a $1 million bonus offered by Colonial Life Insurance Company for accomplishing the feat. This son of Freshly Squeezed/Crescendo also earned for owners Merlin Samlalsing and Rupert Leong Poi a further $448,350 in stakes money to become the biggest money earner of all times. The tough chestnut’s fan club grew with the season and he was voted the Most Exciting Racehorse 2003 by turfites in the Racehorse Owners Association People’s Choice Awards.

Sugar Mike was the dominant force in the top bracket, sweeping all before him. The American-bred colt, won nine of 10 starts, twice with the top impost of 60.5 kilos, his sole defeat coming in a  1725 metres event on the turf. The hype which preceded the clash saw railbirds split down the middle in their choice. But one is only left to say class prevailed at the end, when Sugar Mike cruised  past Top Of The Class after the top turn to win the 2000 metres event by five clear lengths in the new record time of 2:03.52. And that record showed the class and how dominating the Bertwin Samlalsingh-owned colt was during the past season.  It was the fifth record he had posted, and has also set him up for the ‘Horse of the Year’ award.

The attractive incentives given to owners in 2002 by the BLB began to bear fruit at the latter part of the 2003 season, with some of the importations showing immense ability and signs that they will be ready to take on their more hardened rivals later this season. The unity shown by the major racing bodies has also helped racing’s  forward thrust. Both have had the desired effect, bringing out turfites in droves to fill the stands to capacity, with Boxing Day and New Year’s Day easily rated the best seen since horse racing was centralised at Arima in 1994. But what was also good was that the big turnout was not there only to see the well put-together events at the back end of the season.

In line of 10 they wagered heavily, spending $1.9 million through the windows on Boxing Day,  narrowly missing out achieving their best ever handle, because French Academy was withdrawn and $73,000 had to be refunded. It would seem a new leaf has been turned on New Year’s Day which was also well supported. Let’s hope turfites respond in the same manner over the coming days, which the BLB and ARC would of course welcome, and which will help them to fast track other major plans on the drawing board, which includes refurbishing the stands and expansion of stables.