Fit Cruiser is a very safe banker

Orville Clarke, Gleaner Writer

The Pick-9 proved elusive once again at Caymanas Park on Wednesday and the carryover to tomorrow's meet stands at a whopping $3.1 million.

Although the card produced no major upsets, horses such as KING SOLOMON at 6-1, SKIPPING MICHELLE at 5-1 and TIME OF STORM at 9-2 derailed many. Seven punters with eight of nine winners won $27,134.00 each.

The Pick-9 will embrace races three to 11, the first Super-6 from one to six, the overlapping Super-6 from race six to 11.

We look at the second Super-6 which gets under way with a $180,000 claiming race over 1100 metres, in which Omar Walker's mount SANKOFA should not only start a firm favourite, but justify the support in a field of 13.

Trained by Paul 'Sleeper' Charlton, who has established a good strike rate with his small string of horses, including Wednesday's winner AOKI LEI, SANKOFA ran a much improved race (fifth, prominent) with 57.0kg behind TEEN QUEEN recently, and has less to do against conditional $180,000 claimers.

Now eased sufficiently in the weights, the sparingly raced eight-year-old gelding should prove too good for SHEISAMAJARANEE under leading jockey Dick Cardenas and SHEER BLISS, with Shane Ellis aboard.

Go one better

The stretch-running CRUISER, having finished second in his last three races, is confidently expected to go one better with Ellis aboard in the seventh race over 1820 metres, for which seven have been declared.

MADURA GOLD (Ellis up), now thrown in for a tag after campaigning in better company in recent months, is preferred to CLASS ACT and MING LEI in the eighth race (claiming $250,000-$200,000) over 1200 metres, while Walker's mount, THE RUNNING MAN (knocking at the door), should lead home old rival LITTLE CHUPS with Georgina Sergeon aboard in the ninth over 1400 metres.

The last two races should be won by a now lightly weighted HOMBRE (Georgina up, Lasix on) and the late-kicking SURREAL in the knotty-looking closing race over 1400 metres for three-year-olds. Their respective dangers are OASIS (Cardenas up) and the improving SECRET NATIVE.

SECOND SUPER-6 FANCIES