War Hero a safe banker

Orville Clarke, Gleaner Writer

The Pick-9 starts anew after it was cornered by two punters at Caymanas Park on Wednesday, each receiving $1.5 million.

It restarts with the guaranteed minimum of $1 million. The Pick-9 will embrace races two to 10, the first Pick-6 from race one to six and the overlapping Super-6 from five to 10.

We look at the second Super-6 which gets under way with a competitive-looking race over 1600 metres for three-year-olds (non-winners of 3) to be contested by 11 starters.

There is an abundance of good form present in the recent winners CITY TRAIN, INDY QUEEN, MY BREDREN and HERROYAL-HIGHNESS, while others such as BURST OF ENERGY, MY LADY and PRINCE OF ARABIA will have their supporters.

Favourite

My idea of the winner is the utra-consistent HERROYAL-HIGHNESS who, despite finishing third to MY BREDREN over 1400 metres as the favourite on Decem-ber 4, enjoys a 5.0kg swing in the scales, sufficient to turn the tables on MY BREDREN and beat hat-trick seeker CITY TRAIN as well.

WAR HERO, who has been knocking at the door, gets the ideal trip (1400 metres) in the sixth race for maiden three-year-olds and should stave off ORDEROFDISTINCTION and REGAL RUN, while recent winner FREE FALL is tipped to repeat in the seventh race over 1300 metres, where LATIN KING and MOJITA JAM are twin dangers.

The eighth race over 1500 metres, confined to $180,000 claiming horses, should prove difficult to unravel, especially with the maximum 16 starters declared. However, GALLAVANTER has beaten better in the not-too-distant past, and following his good second to SHARRUKIN over 1400 metres recently, should go one better. Others such as DUST ROCK, MORNING CRUISE, recent winner LATENT POWER, BDELLIUM and MISS ATLANTIC STAR are worthy of consideration, but I would suggest multiple choices in this race for the Super-6.

Talented fillies

The talented fillies PRICELESS BEAUTY and SHE'S SMOKING should fight out the finish of the ninth race over 1400 metres for overnight allowance horses, with Canadian-bred PRICELESS BEAUTY preferred in her bid for the hat-trick.

I also like the late-running pair of NUTTIN BUT ZKAIRA and BEIJING BIRDNEST to fight out the finish of the closing Alex's Imports 'Dig Out' Handicap over 1600 metres for maiden three-year-olds, to be contested by the maximum 16 starters.

SECOND SUPER-6

(5) HERROYALHIGHNESS/CITY TRAIN

(6) WAR HERO

(7) FREE FALL/LATIN KING

(8) GALLAVANTER/MORNING CRUISE

(9) PRICELESS BEAUTY/SHE'S SMOKIN

(10) NUTTIN BUT ZKAIRA/BEIJING BIRDNEST