Orville Clarke, Freelance Writer
Henry ... to ride Robicon.
MID-WEEK RACING continues at Caymanas Park today with a 10-race programme featuring the annual 1300-metre run for the Henry George Harrison Sr. Memorial Cup, a restricted allowance V contest for non-winners of two.
With most of the eight starters evenly matched, the race is expected to be
keen. However, indications are it will be decided among the quartet of TROPICAL STORM, VELOCITY, ROBICON and SWEET CHARMAIN.
The Steadman Curtis-trained SWEET CHARMAIN ran well for a long way in a circular nine race won by TOBAGO on June 4, leading for more than 1400 metres before the distance found her out.
Before that she caught the eye when finishing 7 1/4 lengths to NASATOL in a fast-run 1200-metre race in which she had VELOCITY behind in fourth and TABRO a well-beaten sixth.
REAL CHANCE
SWEET CHARMAIN had earlier won over 1200 metres on March 28 and with the opposition by no means strong, is back with a real chance of resuming winning ways from the convenient mark of 51.5 kg.
VELOCITY, who packs a good turn of foot, should also enter the reckoning on the strength of her fair fourth to NASATOL in the same race, while TROPICAL STORM, from the stables of leading trainer Wayne DaCosta, has been thereabouts at the finish in two of her past three races and should make it close with only 50 kg.
TROPICAL STORM did not do badly when finishing six lengths third to SHE'S A MAVERICK over 1200 metres on April 23 and should welcome the additional half a furlong of today's race.
Finishing heads on with her that day in fourth was ROBICON, who was staying on at the finish with former champion jockey Wesley Henry aboard. 'Callaloo' has the ride again today.
Since then, ROBICON has shown up prominently in two of her three races and with the opposition weaker than usual, she now has a glorious chance of notching an overdue win from the convenient mark of 50 kg.
The four-year-old filly from the stables of Garrett Arscott worked fairly well over 1200 metres last Wednesday morning and will report fitter than most.
EXPECTED WINNER
She seems ideally suited to the distance and should come into her own and win this trophy for her connections.
I am expecting ROBICON to race
in touch of the expected leaders TABRO and ANCIENT SOUL before pouncing a furlong out. She should win from TROPICAL STORM, SWEET CHARMAIN and VELOCITY.
Other firm fancies on the programme, which commences at 1:00 p.m. are the luckless UNIQUE SELECTION to upstage old rival SOY MUER in the fourth race over 2000 metres.
The much-improved filly LA REINA to complete the hat-trick at the expense of another progressive filly PASSPORT-MARIA in the fifth race over 1400 metres for native bred three-year-olds, LIGHT-NING BINGO to stave off BACHELOR OF ARTS in the sixth race over the straight and the lightly raced CHAIN OF COMMAND (Lasix administered) to release his maiden certificate on his second outing at the expense of the front-running RASTAMANIA and LADY POOJA in the eighth race over the straight.
