JASON CLIFTON
SOCA HARMONY flexed her muscles on Saturday on the penultimate day of racing for 2023.
In the day's feature event at the Santa Rosa Park, Arima, The Stewards Cup was opened to top-class horses with all entrants facing starter Wayne Campbell.
C'est la vie with veteran rider Ricardo Jadoo showed her class jumping straight to the front, followed by Making Headlines, In The Headlines and Just Exhale in that order. As the field continued their journey, the favourite Soca Harmony was to the back of the pack.
Coming to the 800m mark, Soca Harmony began taking prisoners one by one like a freight train. As the field approached the 400m bend Soca Harmony was two lengths off the leader.
Eventually, champion rider Brian Boodramsingh asked the filly to produce a little more and she willingly obliged leaving the two leaders trailing. But with 50m from home, her stablemate Crown Prince chased in vain as the filly was already clear and took the contest by one and a quarter lengths.
In the day's first feature, which was the Nursery Stakes for the babes, favourite Headlines Again broke away from the race day handlers and headed right back to the paddock.
Champion trainer John O'Brien took the decision to send the filly back to the start. After returning to the gates to take her place in the contest she was quickly settled and successfully loaded. When the field was eventually sent, another filly from the O'Brien yard Creme De La Creme jumped to the lead with Red Alert giving chase followed by Authenticity and Headlines Again in that order.
As the field approached the 400m mark the contest began to take shape with Headlines Again motoring into the lead and eventually opening up on her rivals with Authenticity chasing in vain.
Racing action will take a two-week break and resume on Boxing Day with the staging of the St James/St Ann's Stakes, a grade-two event for West Indian-bred two year olds colts/geldings and fillies over 1,350m on the main track, and Gold Cup open to top-class horses travelling 2,000m on the main course.
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