KINGSTON, Jamaica - As the excitement builds for the 2024 three-year-old Classic season, all eyes are on the pivotal prep races ahead: the Thornbird Stakes for fillies and the Prince Consort Stakes for colts and geldings. Both the Thornbird and the Prince Consort are competed over seven furlongs.
A fresh contender has emerged for the Classic offerings with in the form of bay colt Captain Sparrow, sired by Savoy Stomp and out of Rackam’s Mistress, under the guidance of Anthony Nunes.
Bred by Derrick Brandt, Captain Sparrow was initially unassuming in his March 16 debut, trailing Shany Star by 7 ½ lengths, his inexperience on the track evident.
However, his transformation was quite noticeable on March 30 over seven furlongs. With Reyan Lewis at the reins, Captain Sparrow bided his time behind the frontrunners, swept wide at the turn, and unleashed a blistering finish to shake off his maiden status by a commanding 3 ¼ lengths, clocking in at 1:30.2 with impressive splits of 24.3, 49.0, and 1:16.0.
Trainer Nunes expressed his satisfaction to Quickgallopja.com, saying, “Yes, I am pleased with this win by Captain Sparrow. He demonstrated his preference for the longer distances, which is a good sign going into the major Classic races.”
The burning question now is what lies ahead for Captain Sparrow. Nunes elaborated on his plans, “The Prince Consort is scheduled for April 14, which is basically two weeks after his victory run, that is way too short for Captain Sparrow. Yet, I may have no choice but to run him in the Prince Consort as there is a scarcity of options. The good thing for Captain Sparrow is that he came out of his last race in good order. A final decision as to whether or not Captain Sparrow participates in the Prince Consort will be made shortly,” Nunes shared.
