KINGSTON, Jamaica - THE talking points related to the well-being of the principal contenders for the 2021 $4.5-million Jamaica St Leger naturally dominated the pre-race analysis of pundits for the 95th renewal of this Classic.
The fact of the matter is the preparation of the top three finishers in the 2000 Guineas – namely winner Miniature Man in addition to Nuclear Noon and Further And Beyond, the first and second runners-up – bore no resemblance to normality.
In traditional terms it was 1000 Guineas winner She’s A Wonder and eventual hero Calculus meeting the criteria of the expected timely schedule of preparation exercise appearances.
In addition, there were legitimate questions raised over the possible endurance limitation (Calculus excepted) in terms of these horses’ ability to find the requisite stamina over the 2000 metres of the testing gallop for the season’s second Classic programme as the featured ninth and final event on the programme.
It was therefore hardly surprising that 7/1 chance Calculus, sired by Sensational Slam out of the imported Bernardini mare Trinket Box, performed over a distance of ground exactly as his pedigree suggested he would.
Nothing travelled better than the sturdy bay colt over the 2:08.4 duration of the race as Calculus outstayed closest rival Further And Beyond (Dane Nelson) by nearly seven lengths.
The 1000 Guineas heroine She’s A Wonder (Reyan Lewis) abandoned customary front-running tactics and stayed on well enough for third just over a length in arrears.
Calculus was transferred to the barn of title-chasing trainer Gary Subratie following a 13-length seventh-place finish in the 2000 Guineas. Schooled by champion Anthony Nunes prior to the Guineas, he did express optimism concerning the colt’s ability to be a genuine contender for the Classics following victory in the Sir Howard Stakes.
Owner Chevan Maharaj of 2019 Triple Crown fame with Supreme Soul trained then by Nunes, could not therefore have taken the decision to switch to the services of Subratie lightly. Conversely, given the outstanding performance of Shane Ellis on Supreme Soul in giving this owner an all-pervading lifelong memory, what must have been easy and in fact a no-brainer for Maharaj was to engage the former two-time champion reinsman to partner Calculus.
Presented with yet another opportunity to demonstrate his propensity for applying the requisite, almost magical skills to the demands of Classic races, Ellis therefore enhanced his well-chronicled reputation with this win. It was perhaps an easier reality than even he thought was possible, and in his post-race interview expressed enthusiastic optimism over Calculus’s chances in the Jamaica Derby a month hence.
The opening event, as most form players expected, went to the free-scoring seven-year-old gelding Cartel (Anthony Thomas) for a fifth victory from seven starts this season and 11th overall in a 35-race career, as well as the first of two wins on the card for the joint champion jockey. With this win, veteran conditioner Johnny Wilmot kept up his good 2021 strike rate with this 14th win alongside another 12 combined second- and third-place finishes from only 52 starts.
Speaking of strike rate, former top flight reinsman-turned-trainer Fitzroy Glispie saddled No Identity in the day’s third for win number five, with six combined other placings from a mere 16 starts this year.
No Identity was ridden by Phillip Parchment for the hard-working jockey’s first success of the season and he followed up for a double by scoring in the seventh event with trainer Marlon Anderson’s Star Boy Flyer.
King Antholew (Javaniel Patterson) trained by Rowan Mathie released his maiden certificate at odds of 6/1 in the fifth while 1000-metre straight course specialist K D Rocket (Dane Dawkins) confirmed his affinity for the trip at odds of 5/2 for the first of the Subratie double on the card.
Supporting the featured Classic, the $1.15-million 1500-metre King’s Plate gave the opportunity for Thomas to showcase his immense riding skills and tactically astute awareness in closing his double. Turning for home in front with the Jason DaCosta-trained 2020 Derby winner King Arthur, he anticipated the threat of the 2020 St Leger hero and Horse of the Year Nipster’s fondness for the preferred far rails path.
Approaching the distance, the gap on the rails appeared invitingly for Robert Halledeen aboard Nipster. However, deploying right-handed use of the whip Thomas on King Arthur narrowed the expected running room legitimately, forcing Halledeen to abandon his decision for an inside path to deliver his challenge which therefore saw him switching to the outside alternative. To increase the pressure on his main rival, Thomas made a quick change to left-handed use of the stick.
This induced an immediate response from King Arthur to improve his advantage, thereby defeating Nipster by just over a length.
With the Subratie double including the St Leger triumph and DaCosta’s success in the King’s Plate, it was another great occasion for second-generation trainers. This race day, in more emphatic qualitative terms, they added in excess of $3.5 million to their current combined stakes earning. These successes also increased the 2021 tally of victories by this training cohort to 185 wins from this year’s 414 races to date – this in a jurisdiction of more than 100 currently licensed operatives.
The Training Feat Award is presented to Gary Subratie for the success of Calculus, who has been under his care for less than a month, and the Best Winning Gallop accolade goes to the colt for his display of improved speed and stamina. Given his superb execution of his winning strategy on King Arthur, Anthony Thomas is the recipient of yet another of his fairly frequent Jockeyship awards.
