Fluffy for St Catherine

Orville Clarke, Sunday Gleaner Writer

Following a 13-month absence, Sunday racing returns to Caymanas Park today, the eight-race programme featuring the 3-y-o and up open allowance race for the St Catherine Cup over 1100 metres.

Sunday racing came on stream on November 29, 2009 with that historic meet which attracted record crowds to Caymanas Park. The second was held a fortnight later and also received overwhelming support, but with the off-track component missing from the equation Caymanas Track Limited (CTL) showed a loss in terms of sales.

The off-track betting shops will remain closed even though in recent weeks they have opened to facilitate simulcast racing on Sundays.

This time around Sunday racing is being promoted as a Family Race Day by CTL, with emphasis on the Kiddies' Village on the infield.

This will include activities for children (bounceabout, train rides, bungee jumping, etc.) in which children under 12 (accompanied) will be allowed free entry to the infield, while adults are required to pay. Provision has been made for the infield to include food courts and betting windows for wagering purposes.

On the track, there is a interesting feature race for the St Catherine Cup to be contested by six starters, including the recent course winner COMMANDER ZERO, stable-companion FLUFFY and TRIPLE ACCOUNT, who has won two of his last three races.

Indeed, of the six starters, only the out-of-form distance horse GO MY ROBIN could be safely overlooked in this sprint, as topweight MINISTEROFJUSTICE and BRASH & SASSY must enter the reckoning in a race of this nature.

Champion trainer Wayne DaCosta holds a strong hand with COMMANDER ZERO, now up in class, and the lightly weighted American 4-y-o filly FLUFFY, to be ridden by 3.0kg claiming apprentice Georgina Sergeon.

Hard to beat

Both have worked well in preparation for the race, but strictly at the weights. FLUFFY, who won six races from nine starts last season, should prove hard to beat with only 49.0kg.

A speedy sort, FLUFFY returns from a four-month absence well refreshed and should lead home COMMANDER ZERO and the Raymond Townsend-trained TRIPLE ACCOUNT.

Other firm fancies on the card are back in form veteran MEDICAL REPORT to upstage old rival ROMEZ once again in the opening race (high claiming) over the straight; late-kicking PRINCE ROHAN to catch rivals in the third over 1820 metres; LIL 'TIGER to repeat at the expense of recently disqualified winner ROYAL IMPACT in the fourth, RUN CHARM RUN in the fifth and CASHMERE GOLD in the sixth for maiden three-year-olds.