Phantom Bidder should not be opposed

THE first bunch of locally-bred two-year-olds will be on show at Santa Rosa Park, Arima, today, when they line up for a  900 metres race which will get the Arima Race Club 10-race programme off the mark.

The programme threatened with strike action from the grooms, who intended to withhold their labour was averted yesterday after discussions were held with the Racehorse Owner Association. The sprint which will start on the backstretch of the main course has attracted a field of nine runners, eight of which are from owner-trainer-breeder Maniram “Boboy” Maharaj’s barn, with the other entrant being saddled by Harold Chadee stable. Maharaj asked on Thursday the reason for him fast-tracking his juveniles said, he intends to dominate the early two-year-old events, and promised to win the first five races for babes this season. But the development of his bunch has been so swift that the astute trainer was in a quandry to pinpoint his leading contender saying, any of five could go in first time of asking in today’s opening event, the first for babes this season.

From what was seen on the gallops, however, the most advanced appears to be Melanie My Love, All Set To Battle, Java In Style, Laura’s Boy and Sunday Jewel. From this lot Melanie My Love seemed to be the most settled, and it could pay to side with the daughter of Tribal Chieftain/Melanie Samantha. A clear pointer also, is that champion jockey Rajpaul Rajkumar who rides first-call for the stable has chosen her ahead of the others. Phantom Bidder can register his fifth win at the track in the Stakes and Lower Handicap, feature on the today’s card on which all the events will be contested on the main course. The Nazir Ahamad-owned colt showed plenty of promise in his juvenile campaign, winning his first two starts before closing off the season with a third place finish behind Invincibility and Sure Ting.

This strapping  individual showed  he has trained on by getting his three-year-old campaign off to a successful start in February. Phantom Bidder  then followed up in game fashion two weeks later duly completing the double by a widening seven lengths. The son of Indian Charlie has shown his well being for today’s 1750 metres run with a sparkling exercise gallop over 1000 metres completed in a little over a minute. Should he reproduce that form, he will be hard to peg back and  just should not  be opposed in the staying event worth $35,000. There will be no racing on the turf course on which two races were planned today. Following an inspection by both the jockeys and officials of the ARC yesterday, the course was deemed unsafe.