Nunes makes strong statement of intent

BY RUDDY ALLEN OBSERVER RACING WRITER

Friday, January 02, 2015    

A clear statement of intent was made yesterday, the first raceday for 2015, by trainer Anthony Nunes to 14-time champion Wayne DaCosta. The statement ,which came after Nunes saddled three winners following the first five races of the 10 on offer, was that Nunes really means business this year. His winners were Royal Assault, the first horse to win a race in 2015, Lord Storm and Locked and Loaded.

“A really good to start the season. I am very happy for the three winners, but it is the start; there is still a very, very long way to go,” Nunes told the Complete Racing Guide.

A rejuvenated Royal Vibes under a never-say-die ride by Shamaree Muir took the feature event, the Caymanas Track Limited (CTL) Fan Appreciation Day Trophy. Royal Vibes (Royal Minister – November Lace), who was sent off as the joint 3-2 second favourite, broke well but was surprisingly held off the pace set by Hologram Shadow (Andre Martin) and stable-companion All Correct (Shane Ellis) for most of the way.

Turning for home in third position, Royal Vibes responded well to the urgings of Muir as the five-year-old bay gelding got up in the nick of time to nip All Correct on the wire, winning by a head in the Overnight Allowance event for three-year-olds and upwards going over 1,820 metres.

Twenty-one-to-one long shot Sir Frederick (Kuri Powell aboard) came in third position. The winning time was 1:56:1 minutes.

“This is an overwhelming victory for me today (yesterday) as I outdid one of best jockeys at the Park in Shane Ellis. I knew that I was going to win the race from the half, but it turned out to be a hard-fought victory. But I am happy with it as a win is win,” Muir told the Jamaica Observer.

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Nunes makes strong statement of intent

Perfect Neighbour returns for Nigel B Nunes Mem Cup

DERBY and St Leger-winning colt Perfect Neighbour, who missed winning the Triple Crown by a head, put his three-year-old season behind him and returns to the track for his prep for the upcoming Superstakes in the $786,500 Nigel B Nunes Memorial Cup Open Allowance feature at Caymanas Park today.

Trained by champion and leading trainer Wayne DaCosta, Perfect Neighbour will face his sternest test to date while facing seven of the best local bred and ripened three-year-olds in the field of eight in this stamina-testing sprint going 1820 metres.The Nigel B Nunes Memorial headliner of the 11-race card is the penultimate race on the card and is set to go to post at approximately 4:55 pm with first post at 12:10 pm.Owned by Alfred A Lee and Jeffrey Mordecai, Perfect Neighbour, following a seven-week respite, returns to competitive racing in good heart, and with age and weight in his favour will give a very good account of himself, but this is no age-group fling.Commanding Chief, with Winston Griffiths in the irons, Typewriter with Shane Ellis astride, Raging Prospect, who, has shown great maturity since turning four, Military Move, who truly loves this distance and the pesky Exotic Gold are not in the race to fill space — far from it.Winning is the name of the game and all the runners in this field know how to win and the value attached. Earning is an important consideration for trainers, but winning is paramount.In a race such as this, the bigger picture is the upcoming Superstakes, and all these runners are expected to perform in a manner to give their trainers a guide as to how well preparation is progressing.Typewriter blew up over the stamina-testing journey of 2,000 metres on last when faced by some seasoned campaigners. Now four, Typewriter, who like Perfect Neighbour, won the final legs of the Triple Crown last year is in an easier spot, and having won twice over the distance in very good times, will be seen to better advantage despite being still saddled with the big weight.Truth be told, only the top campaigners have beaten Typewriter this season and now lowering his sight could register his third win of the season.With no Mark My Word and Classy Prospect with which to contend, Commanding Chief is presented a glorious chance to get among the top boys. Probably not genuine A1 material, Commanding Chief went down on last by 3/4 of a length to Classy Prospect going 2,000 metres when apprentice-ridden.Be that as it may, he comes back for the Nigel G Nunes Memorial Cup well prepared, and to be piloted by top reinsman Winston Griffiths, could go one better after failing by a similar margin of 3/4 of a length behind the imported horse Reasonable Press over today’s distance on June 29 when ridden by Shane Ellis.Ones To WatchRace 1 Gold Price (Dick Cardenas)Race 2 Rastaraven (Percy Williams)Race 3 Sheza Bosslady (Dane Nelson)Race 4 Austin Luke (Dane Nelson)Race 5 She Knows Best (Kuri Powell)Race 6 Reign Of Deftiny (Orlando Foster)Race 7 Princess Niyah (Dane Nelson)Race 8 Zen Zen (Rayan Wilson)Race 9 Lincoln Lawyer (Omar Walker)Race 10 Commanding Chief (Winston Griffiths)Race 11 Vana Pospect (Shamaree Muir)Former champion jockeys, Omar Walker (left) aboard El Cliente, and Dick Cardenas (right) atop Midnight Launch get down to serious business with the former prevailing to win the second race on Sunday’s ninerace card at Caymanas Park. (PHOTO: HURBUN WILLIAMS)

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Perfect Neighbour returns for Nigel B Nunes Mem Cup