Go with Royal Dame in ‘Starter’

TURFITES will have a real headache in finding the winner of today’s feature Starter Allowance at Santa Rosa Park, Arima, on Day 11 of the Arima Race Club season. The race over 1100 metres with a total purse of $23,000 has a small field of six runners, and the one to take the top slice of the purse can be either of them. But the vote goes to newcomer Royal Dame, a three-year-old Ameri-can-bred filly from the Glenn Mendez Stable. This daughter of Pentelicus/ Royal Mum has been showing great speed at gallops and in receipt of 9 kilos from Fortunate Flag, shoud be just good enough to win it.

But it is far from a two-horse race with speedy locally-bred Java Takeover , Sparklin Hero and Life In the Sky holding the engagement. There are two races for the three-year-old West Indies-bred horses, with Sequin the choice for the first, Race 5, with the debutant Treasure Trove likely to follow her home. In the other, the finale also over 1200 metres, Cuatro Tempo, the full brother of last year’s Royal Oak Derby winner Mucho Tempo, is set to make his long awaited debut.

But while he comes with fashionable bloodlines, the Jamaican-bred Border Dispute should be the one to be on. The day’s nine-race programme is timed to begin at 1 pm. Meanwhile, five horses have failed to pass the veterinary surgeon’s inspection and will be out of action today. The five are: Race 3 — Politics; Race 4: Lady Banker, Intheline-offire; Race 6: Redoubled, Affirm Decision.