Orville Clarke, Freelance Writer
MUSICAL MAESTRO (right), ridden by Dane Nelson, powers home ahead of the fast-finishing ACCOMPONG (second left), with Paul Francis aboard and MUCHO GUSTO (left), under champion jockey Omar Walker, in the million-dollar feature for the Betting, Gaming and Lotteries Trophy (Open Allowance) at Caymanas Park on Saturday, August 8. ACCOMPONG returns to action today and is favoured to land the Nigel B. Nunes Memorial Trophy. - Contributed
Following back-to-back race meets with no trophy races, today's 10-race programme at Caymanas Park features the annual renewal of the open allowance race, over the circular nine course, for the Nigel B. Nunes Memorial Trophy.
Trainer Anthony 'Baba' Nunes holds a fairly strong hand with two runners and could post the winner of this race - which is run in memory of his father - for a second consecutive year.
He saddles MUCHO GUSTO and AD INFINITUM, both of whom are enjoying good form, but Nunes could find back-to-form ACCOMPONG standing in his way.
AD INFINITUM won the Joseph Ashenheim Memorial Bowl over 2000 metres in the pretty good time of 2:07.2, on July 26, and in-form Dane Nelson again has the ride. Significantly, Nunes posted last year's winner, IL CAIMANO, and also won it in 2005 with PITTACUS.
High hopes
The high-profile, second-generation trainer must have high hopes for his two horses as MUCHO GUSTO, under customary rider Shane Ellis, is not too high in the scales, with 57.0kg, to rebound, after finishing closeup third in his last two races.
MUCHO GUSTO was installed favourite to win an open allowance sprint on August 9, but reared at the start and, in the end, finished well into third place, a mere length adrift of the winner, NASATOL. And, prior to that, the four-year-old son of Law Of The Sea-Sweet Desire was two lengths third to MUSICAL MAESTRO and a fast-finishing ACCOMPONG in the valuable BG&LC Trophy over 1400 metres on August 1.
The race is not necessarily confined to ACCOMPONG and the Nunes pair, as others such as recent winner DR SOCRATES, now up in class, and the consistent but somewhat unpredictable FIRST IN THE SAND, cannot be discounted.
While having every respect for the Nunes pair of horses, ACCOMPONG, with a mere 50.0kg, and veteran lightweight jockey Robert Reid aboard, looks a cinch at the weights, providing he leaves the gates promptly.
ACCOMPONG ran a blinder in defeat on Independence Day (August 6) when finishing three lengths third to the season's top stayer, ALLIEDFORCE, in the Prime Minister's Stakes over 2000 metres, this after he was involved in a bumping match with the runner-up IVAN THE TERRIBLE (whose rider was subsequently suspended) in the last furlong.
ACCOMPONG, who is trained by Gary Griffiths for Phillip A. Azar, was actually a narrow leader early in the straight but was hit off his stride by IVAN THE TERRIBLE approaching the distance. In the circumstances, he did well to finish third.
However, based on his fast-finishing second to out-of-class MUSICAL MAESTRO in the BG&LC Trophy race on August 1, relegating MUCHO GUSTO to third, ACCOMPONG (blinkers off) should score an overdue win, denying the Nunes pair in the process.
Other firm fancies on the card are MARKET TRAIN in the second race, GABROUSHE in the third, WHEEL N DEAL in the fifth, ROYAL DREAMER in the sixth and LA'S DANCER in the eighth.
