KINGSTON, Jamaica – Headliners, fillies 1000 Guineas heroine Above and Beyond and Wow Wow, the impressive 2000 Guineas champion, had mixed fortunes on the day.
In the post parade, fillies Guineas runner-up Another Affair looked tuned to minute with her slender frame having greyhound-like features, while Above and Beyond was presented as an even more formidable specimen for the 81st Jamaica Oaks.
In front when passing the winning post for the first time, Another Affair led down the backstretch with Above and Beyond in pursuit. With 800 metres to come it was clear that there was going to be no question of a repeat of the six-length Guineas defeat for the front- runner this time. Another Affair ran with noteworthy determination in the home stretch until she succumbed to the relentless pressure of Above and Beyond 30 metres from the wire.
Trainer Anthony Nunes and the owners of Above and Beyond will have no difficulty acknowledging this half-a-length success in the ninth and feature event was due in no small measure to the skill and athletic ability of Dane Nelson, four wins on the day. Robert Halledeen also did an admirable job on Another Affair as well.
Trainer Gary Subratie’s Wow Wow lined up in race seven, the Bonnie Blue Flag Trophy seeking a 12th-straight win from 13 starts but was outstayed over the extended 1820-metre course by five lengths.
Top handicapper Toona Ciliata (Omar Walker), for Nunes’ second of the afternoon for three wins, was well in control over the last 800 metres.
Wow Wow suffered no dent in his reputation as he confirmed his potential as a top-class campaigner who will get the distance of the St Leger and the Derby with ease and compete successfully for the other big prizes as well.
Former champion Shane Ellis enhanced his reputation as one of the best ever in winning on horses who prefer shorter trips when he induced Edward Stanberry’s Shauna Cruise to win over the circular 1800-metre course. Distributing her speed and limited stamina cleverly, the mare enjoyed the handling by the two-turn specialist reinsman to win the opener by a head at odds of 5/1.
In race two over 800 metres, confirmed short-runner Golden Destiny (Oshane Nugent), drawn at unfavourable post position #2, was able to sprint diagonally in front of his rivals to the advantageous stand side rails, giving trainer Ryan Darby the first of two wins on the day.
Darby was to follow up in the fourth when Tevin Foster brought Mr Pantheon from among the backmarkers to score by three parts of a length.
Race three marked the commencement of a good day for champion conditioner Anthony Nunes and former three-time titlist Dane Nelson, with Big Bang from well off the early pace arriving in time over the 1600-metre journey.
Lady Carmen justified favourtism for 2018 champion jockey Anthony Thomas as the consistent mare obliged for trainer Steven Todd to win the fifth.
The sixth event went to the now fully acclimatised US-bred colt Chinamax (Dane Nelson), trained by Tensang Chung, for his maiden win after 21 starts.
Nelson’s third came in the eighth when moderate mare Quora, who specialises in seeing all her rivals for as long as possible, produced the requisite finishing speed to score victory by over three lengths for trainer Donovan Plummer’s third win of the season.
In the nightcap, Gary Subratie’s Soul Cure (Reyan Lewis) put her field in trouble in the upper stretch and sprinted well from that point to secure victory.
