Alert The Ship to dock in feature

PUNTERS looking for a decent betting proposition ahead of Caribbean Championship Day and the customary Christmas Meeting which follows, should look no further than Alert The Ship in the Handicap 1 and Lower feature at Santa Rosa Park, Arima, today. Kenneth de Silva jnr-trained superbly-bred Gold Alert/Turn My Ship colt has already raised eyebrows in some of his victories this season on the sand and he can step up the ladder to take today’s competitive looking 1700 metres spotlight race on the Arima Race Club Day 33 card, to be run off on  the turf, but which looks certain to be shifted to the main course after persistent showers which fell in the area yesterday morning.

The three-year-old has made steady progress since outclassing his rivals in a conditional maiden event in May, cruising in by three lengths from Gray Warrior,  with the other rivals strung out like a line of washing. “The Ship” failed in his next outing when upped to the Allowance bracket but bounced back to winning ways soon after in his first try over a distance of ground. Kept over the 1750 metres distance, he was on the pace throughout only to find This Cat Is Back hard to peg back. Alert The Ship then gave another sign that he has arrived and ready to climb further by scoring readily over Carnival Messiah and Phantom Bidder.

The pattern shows he has improved tremendously and is clearly well above those standards. And “The Ship” is also nicely weighted to make his presence felt in the seven-horse feature, for which the handicappers must come in for praises for a job well done. Fantastic Story has also been impressive this season, but at age three, may find conceding lumps of weight to his three-year-old peers, and racing on level terms with tried and tested performers such as Top Of The Class, Outswinger, and Dotties Way, too tough. Top Of The Class has given a good account of himself while racing among the elites.

The triple crown winner of  last season looks a picture of health and is taken to fill the runner-up spot ahead of his lightly-weighted stablemate Sure Ting.   Smart And Lucky could run his opponents ragged in the Allowance sprint, the supporting feature on today’s nine-race programme. Trainer John O’Brien’s lightly raced Dance Brightly/Rare Indication offspring has two sprint records to his name from only four starts. He had been on the sidelines with injury since June but showed he has not lost any of his blinding speed with some impressive clockings at gallops, and is taken to ward off Lit D’Amour and Fortunate Flag in the 1200 metres.