Man Of Class leads ‘Boboy’ five timer

MAN OF CLASS handed Top Of The Class his second straight beating, winning the Allowance feature on yesterday’s ten-race Arima Race Club Day 14 programme at Santa Rosa Park, Arima. Tactical Bid and champion jockey Brian Harding set off to cut out the early fractions with $1 million “The Student” and Man of Class stalking. And the crowd gave a big roar when jockey Ricardo Jadoo urged Top Of The Class into the lead 600 metres out in the 1750 metres race worth $13,000 to the winner.

But young rider Lorne Keizer quickly ranged up alongside “The Student” and 200 metres out was going the better and went on to win by half length. Tactical Bid rallied again inside the final 100 metres to just get the better of Top Of The Class by another half length for second. Owner-trainer-breeder Maniram “Boboy” Maharaj will well remember yesterday, saddling the winners of the first three races, then the feature and final event. First his Bold Fapp took the opener, then Mandela scored in the second and Jave Takeover won the third, all of which he owns. And after watching his Salsa Moves waltz into second in the sixth race, he saddled Man Of Class in the ninth, then Undisputed, which is owned by Zubay Muzaffar in the finale.

The star rider of the day was Keizer with three winning mounts, two for the Maharaj stable.  Apprentice Sheldon Rodrigo was also astride two of Maharaj’s winners, while another apprentice Gary Laban also booted home two winners. There were some stunning upset winners, the first being Caribbean Kiss which rewarded backers with $33.90 and $3.70 on the tote. Cornerstone was a mild surprise paying $16.70 and $6.70 with Lovely Honoree giving backers $18.10 and $4.70, and it continued with Final Set paying $11.30 and $4.00 and later Man Of Class $14.50.

The trifecta dividend on the Sou Sou Moni-Chief Of Staff-Adoring Ruby combination was a handy $6,542.20, and with 2Sharp in fourth, the superfecta was a handsome $11,239.70. Another superfecta on the Cornerstone-Hatrick-Bajan Connection-Hyarima combination paid $8,464.90, while that of Caribbean Kiss-Soul Asylum-Rebel Music-Sky Storm Rising returned a dividend of $5,242.50. And there were several trifecta dividends which went over the $1,000 mark.