Sugar Mike, ‘The Student’ in Durant field

SUGAR MIKE and Top Of The Class, the first and second placed finishers in last year’s Guardian Gold Cup, could face off for a second time in the Eric “Colt’ Durant Memorial Handicap at Santa Rosa Park, Arima, on May 31. The top money earners of last season are among a list of ten runners for which second subscriptions of  $400 were paid to be eligible to race in the 1725 metres turf contest. Last season, Sugar Mike won nine of 10 starts for earnings of $410,000. But the Bertwin Samlalsingh-owned horse flopped badly in his only start overseas, finishing one from last in Barbados Sandy Lane Gold Cup at Garrison Savannah on March 6.

Top Of The Class was the top money earner this past season, banking $426,250 for owners Merlin Samlalsingh and Rupert Leong Poi. The triple-crown winner bred to Freshly Squeezed/Crescendo, also collected a $1 million bonus from Colonial Life Insurance Company, when he added the Caribbean Champion Stakes to the three classics. Daredevil Hero has created an impact over long distances. The son of Devil His Due/Justified, broke New Millenium’s record for the 1800 metres distance in the Arima Race Club Cup Handicap  last month, before beating his three-year-old peers in  the Mentone Stakes last raceday. This “new kid on the block” is the only youngster to have stood his ground to compete against his older and more hardened rivals in the turf contest, which will act as the supporting spotlight race to the Guineas on Arrival Day.

Following are the horses for which second subscription were paid:  CASH WAGER, DAREDEVIL HERO, DOTTIE’S WAY, GAUTAMA, INVINCIBILITY, MISS LOVER LOVER, OUTSWINGER, PHANTOM BIDDER, SUGAR MIKE, TOP OF THE CLASS.