Double The Honey well set to rebound

Orville Clarke, Gleaner Writer

The Pick-9 for tomorrow's Guineas raceday at Caymanas Park offers an attractive carryover of $2.5 million, thanks to a 25-1 upset by REDS THOMAS in the third race last Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Super-6 starts anew on the well-supported 11-race programme - the first from one to six and the overlapping Super-6 from six to 11.

We look at the second Super-6 which gets under way with a $250,000 - $210,000 claiming race over the straight five course to be contested by 12 starters, including the profound course specialist MARK TO MARKET, who bids for his third win over the course this season.

He slammed a good field on a $350,000 claiming tag on March 5 and although reporting under new management (claimed), is actually down in class tomorrow and should prove too strong for SEVEN FOUR SEVEN and the down-in-class CRUCIAL CAT.

A large field of 15 four-year-olds and up (non-winners of two) is slated for the seventh race over 1200 metres and this one should take a lot of unravelling.

Horses such as FACE TRACKER, CROWN JEWEL, DIVINITY, BUSY, SAN ANTONIO, SAINT JACORY and the recent winner TIME OF STORM will have their share of supporters, but preference is for the four-year-old colt SAN ANTONIO, who wasn't disgraced as the favourite on March 23 when finishing a close third to EMERGENCE over the straight when toting topweight of 57.0kg.

Trained by Richard Azan, SAN ANTONIO has been eased a bit in the weights and with in-form claiming apprentice Richard Mairs now taking the ride, the hint should be taken. The son of Western Classic should win from FACE TRACKER, who was an unlucky loser when narrowly beaten (just failed) by GRANDI ELANI over the round five course last time out, and DIVINITY, whose running as the favourite last Saturday was too bad to be true.

ZIXX, who scored a 39-1 upset over 1500 metres on February 26, steps down in class ($180,000 claiming) for the eighth race over the same distance, and with Trinidadian champion jockey Brian Harding taking the ride, should have little difficulty in winning ahead of FLAWLESS TALENT and EARTHWINDANDFIRE.

Next on the programme (9th race) is the 1000 Guineas for native-bred three-year-old fillies over 1600 metres, to be contested by the maximum 16 starters. Among the starters are top contenders TREASURE GIRL (Brian Harding) and and NIPHAL (Shane Ellis), both trained by Gary Subratie, as well as the lightly raced but impressive RIGHT MARKER from the Noel Ennevor stables, along with MEA CULPA and CARIDAD.

Preparation

TREASURE GIRL romped both the Eight Thirty Sprint and Hot Line Stakes prep races, and having worked well in preparation for this race, gets the nod over RIGHT MARKER and NIPHAL, an easy winner of the recent Thornbird Guineas Trial Stakes.

The highly thought of American colt DOUBLE THE HONEY should take a lot of beating in the open allowance sprint where MINISTEROFJUSTICE looks his principal danger. And it should be the impressive 'trial stakes' winner UNCLE KEN (Subratie again) with Ellis up to lead home the front-running SARAGOSSA (Andrew Ramgeet up) from the Anthony Nunes stables and the Subratie-trained BIG MAN BOYU in the 2000 Guineas, the closing race on the card.

SECOND SUPER-6

(6) MARK TO MARKET/ SEVEN FOUR SEVEN(7) SAN ANTONIO/FACE TRACKER

(8) ZIXX/FLAWLESS TALENT

(9) TREASURE GIRL/RIGHT MARKER

(10) DOUBLE THE HONEY(11) UNCLE KEN/SARAGOSSA