Close with Cold Ground

Orville Clarke, Gleaner Writer

The Pick-9 starts anew for a second connective raceday after it was caught by 11 punters at Caymanas Park last Saturday.

The Seek Back-to-School race meet, featuring the $1 million Seek Exercise Book Trophy race over 1300 metres, has attracted strong support and the competition promises to be keen.

The Pick-9 will embrace races two to 10, the first Super-6 from race one to six, the overlapping Super-6 from five to 10. We look at the second Super-6 which gets under way with the Seek Composition Plaque high claiming race over 1400 metres to be contested by 10 starters. The winner will more than likely come from the quartet of MAJOR MAYER, SKY FORCE, BULLET LINE and the one I like best, LIKKLE BIT, to be ridden by champion jockey Omar Walker.

Trained by Ian Parsard, the six-year-old bay gelding beat MAJOR MAYER and BULLET LINE convincingly over 1600 metres on June 25 and, on the strength of that performance, should rebound with another win.

SKY FORCE, who last won in overnight allowance company back in January but has failed to follow up in seven subsequent races, could prove the biggest danger to LIKKLE BIT.

Next on the programme is a tough-looking $180,000 claiming race over 1400 metres for the Seek Pack Plaque in which 14 starters have been declared. With horses such as PASSA PASSA, HEY TRAIN, ZIXX, GENERAL CURLIN, LADY GORAKHPUR, GHOST RAPPER and RULE BY SECRECY all having good claims, I would implore punters to use multiple choices in this race.

The Ryan Darby-trained HEY TRAIN, now dropped in class, should make a brave bid with the trip ideal, while ZIXX looks tempting at the weights, RULE BY SECRECY is on the rebound and GHOST RAPPER could be aimed too low this time around. The winner should come from this group, but I like GHOST RAPPER, who has beaten better in the not-too-distant past.

Fast-finishing favourite

THE RUNNING MAN and SPIRIT WAY, both knocking at the door, should fight out the finish of the seventh race for maiden three-year-olds over 110 metres. The Margaret Parchment-trained SPIRIT WAY looked all over the winner in a 1300-metre trophy race when ridden by apprentice Vijay Ashley on August 10, only to be gobbled up by the fast-finishing favourite ACTUS REUS in the last 100 metres.

Given the shorter trip, SPIRIT WAY (Ashley again) has a glorious chance of holding on, but with Walker down to ride late-kicking THE RUNNING MAN, the son of Vanadium is given the edge.

KACEY POPS' KID has been proving expensive to follow, but it's now or never for the Wayne DaCosta-trained gelding in the eighth race over 1200 metres for maiden four-year-olds and up, to be contested by 14 starters. RIVER GOLD and SHE'S SO SHY are twin dangers.

The classy American colt DOUBLE THE HONEY (Dane Nelson up), from the powerful DaCosta stable, should lead home stable-companion CASSANOVA BOY under leading jockey Shane Ellis in the fifth running of the Seek Exercise Book Trophy race (open allowance) over 1300 metres, in which 11 will face the starter. Then close the programme with the St Leger runner-up COLD GROUND (Winston Griffiths up) as a banker in the Seek Customer Trophy over 2000 metres.

SECOND SUPER-6 FANCIES