‘Greypatch’ eyes 2nd Bajan gold

Actually, his mission here is to go after gold a second time. In 1982, Arneaud brought over a horse named Bold Lewis to represent Trinidad and Tobago in the first ever Gold Cup — sponsored by Cockspur at the time — and the five-year-old wrote his name in local racing history by becoming the first horse to win the South Caribbean’s most prestigious race.

Bold Lewis was ridden by experienced Irish jockey Declan Gillespie, but Arneaud is now back with a horse not with the same credentials as Bold Lewis, and a jockey far less experienced than Gillespie.

His representative in Saturday’s 1800 metres event goes by the name of Salute The Colours, and his jockey will be the youthful Nela Mohammed, the champion jockey of Trinidad and Tobago.

Arneaud said it was good to be back in Barbados after so many years and he would really like to upset the odds with Salute The Colours.

The horse, which was expected to arrive in Barbados yesterday evening, was “fully prepared and ready,” the trainer said.

He said Salute The Colours was being prepared for the Gold Cup for some time, and part of his preparation involved him working on the grass track and going right-handed.

Arneaud added that when Salute The Colours arrived, he would not be doing any more work.

“I will just restrict him to walking and chipping on the track so he could get to learn the new surroundings.”

But Arneaud is not the only Trinidadian trainer going after gold. Veteran trainer Maniram “Boboy” Maharaj, who is very popular among local race fans, will be making his fourth attempt at winning the prestigious event, and he is hoping it will be fourth time lucky.

His entry Stravinskys Secret has been in Barbados for about two weeks now and has been winning some friends at exercise.

Earlier it was disclosed that Richard Dos Santos, a Trinidadian jockey who campaigns out of Woodbine, Canada, was booked to ride the horse, but Maharaj revealed yesterday that Dos Santos was no longer coming and he would have to look for a new jockey.

The trainer said he had two third places in the event, Style And Flair finished third to Chou Chou Royale in 1993, and Another Decision was third to Blast Of Storm in 2001.

His other attempt at the Gold Cup was with Propane.

Maharaj will also be represented by Salsa Moves in the $40 000 Spa Sprint Stakes & Trophy going 1100 metres.

He said Salsa Moves was very speedy and would be ridden by Pat Husbands.