KINGSTON, Jamaica – “This horse is special, in fact, she is beyond special.”
Those are the words of trainer Gary Subratie to Quickgallopja.com on Sunday (Jan 14), the day after the exnihilating performance of Desert of Malibu in the six furlong St Catherine Cup.
The five-year-old US-bred chestnut mare by Malibu Moon out of Lady Digger, with Dane Dawkins in the saddle, created anxious moments for her connections and backers by stumbling of the gates.
Madelyn’s Sunshine (Tevin Foster) shook off Emperorofthecats (Shavon Townsend) to set the fractions, establishing a good lead on the rest of the field. At this time, Desert of Malibu was sensibly not rushed by Dawkins, who bided his time.
When the horses entered the straight, it was Madelyn’s Sunshine galloping resolutely, who still held the advantage. At this stage, Desert of Malibu was increasing her tempo, going quickly by horses.
Reaching top speed in the final furlong, Desert of Malibu swept by a still fighting Marylyn’s Sunshine, to win by a length in a final time of 1:12.3 after splits of 22.2 by 46.1.
It was the fifth success for Desert of Malibu from six career starts.
“What I can tell you is that Desert of Malibu will complete her conditions before stepping up in grade. At present, she still has a Open Allowance opportunity, which Desert of Malibu will enter, before moving to Grade One.
“She came out of Saturday’s (Jan 13) race in good nick. We will continue to monitor her progress, as we prepare for the next engagement,” Subratie shared with Quickgallopja.com.
When asked how does he feel to have the two best mares (Atomica and Desert of Malibu) in his barn at this time, a smile of satisfaction emerged on Subratie’s face.
“Yes, to have these two, Atomica and Desert of Malibu at the same time, is beyond real.
“They are both super talented horses as evidenced by their performances on the race track.
“You have to understand that Atomica and Desert are different horses, both with unique racing gifts,” the trainer shared.
When asked when the two shall meet, Subratie was non-committal.
“We will see, time is the master.”
