Champion trainer John O’Brien and champion jockey Dillon Khelawan both will be seeking to continue their winning ways when the Arima Race Club bring racing to the table on Monday (September 1).
The feature race on the card will be the Grade One -Independence Cup over 1,800 metres on the turf course, and “Horse of the Year” for the past two years, Hello World, will again seek to win this race. Hello World, which has now won his last ten races on the trot, will be ridden by Khelawan with 57 kilos.
Stablemate Crown Prince will be ridden by apprentice Anthony Balroop and his impost will be lessened by three kilos. He will take along 54 kilos. The Stewards Cup winner of 2024, Sneaky Cheeky, will again be in the line-up and could be up to upsetting the favourite Hello World. She will be ridden by Tristan Phillips.
The big improver in the line-up is the Jonathan Lyder-trained El Chico Malo, which won impressively last time out. He will be partnered by Joshua Stephen.
Trainer Clive Rambaran has Striking Chrome entered and this one must be respected. He has run well in the Gold Cup and, once back to his best, could go close for Jovica Boodramsing.
The sixth and final horse in the feature is creole Midnight Lover, which is trained by Lester Alexis. This horse goes best on the turf and the Hall of Famer Ricky Jadoo will ride.
The Arima Race Club (ARC) will hold a six-race affair on Monday, and from the looks of it, all O’Brien, Khelawan and the Hello World look set to win.
Thirty-four horses have been entered for the six-race card.
The first race is scheduled for 12.45 pm on Day 8 of the ARC racing season.
ARC DAY 8 ENTRIES
R1: 12.45 PM - MODIFIED BENCHMARK HANDICAP - 3 YO AND OVER HORSES RATED 40-25 - 1,350M - $16,837
--3 1 Super Nova J O’Brien/R Jadoo 57.0
526 2 The Falcon JW Samaroo/T Phillips 55.5
234 3 Prince Connor C Rambaran/J Boodramsing 58.5
643 4 Creme De La Creme J O’Brien/D Khelawan 56.5
R2: 1.30 PM - MODIFIED BENCHMARK HANDICAP - 3 YO AND OVER HORSES RATED 30-0 - 1,500M (TURF)- $16,837
443 1 Uncle Ben M Boxie/J Boodramsing 57.0
656 2 Unbelievable F Defreitas/J Stephen 57.5
542 3 Capital Tee D Balwant/S Sookhan 53.5
754 4 Pure Strike K Lucas/T Philips 56.5
347 5 Crystal Alert G Mendez/D Khelawan 56.0
R3: 2.15 PM - MODIFIED BENCHMARK HANDICAP - 3 YO AND OVER HORSES RATED 50-35 -1,350M - $16,837
315 1 Schwarzenegger R Ramroop/A Balroop 57.0
114 2 Soca Ecstacy J O’Brien/D Khelawan 57.0
--- 3 Choc Nutt D Balwant/S Sookhan 49.5
212 4 Bourbon Blitz J O’Brien/R Jadoo 54.5
321 5 Valiante M Lutchman/T Phillips 54.5
R4: 3 PM - MODIFIED BENCHMARK HANDICAP - 3 YO AND OVER HORSES RATED 60-45 - 1,100M (TURF) - $21,429
--7 1 Summer Magic L Alexis/J Boodramsing 54.0
333 2 Princess Royal J O’Brien/D Khelawan 55.0
144 3 Little Lady G Mendez/R Jadoo 53.5
542 4 Uncle Rog R Ramroop/T Phillips 55.0
321 5 Mia’s Cat J Lyder/J Stephen 57.0
621 6 Forever Grand R Ramroop/A Baklroop 55.5
R5: 3.45 PM - INDEPENDENCE CUP (GR1) - OPEN TO ALL HORSES 3 YO & OVER - 1,800M (TURF) - $57,500
325 1 Striking Chrome C Rambaran/J Boodramsing 54.0
134 2 Midnight Lover L Alexis/R Jadoo 54.0
421 3 El Chico Malo J Lyder/J Stephen 57.0
413 4 Crown Prince J O’Brien/A Balroop 57.0
422 5 Sneaky Cheeky R Ramroop/T Phillips 54.0
111 6 Hello World J O’Brien/D Khelawan 57.0
R6: 4.30 PM - MODIFIED BENCHMARK HANDICAP - 3 YO AND OVER HORSES RATED 35-0 - 1,200M - $16,837
821 1 Mona Lisa R Fredericks/D Khelawan 58.5
51R 2 Twitter King K Lucas/J Stephen 56.5
462 3 Nuclear War R Ramroop/R Jadoo 56.0
464 4 Bold and Brave M Boxie/H Emamalie 57.5
323 5 Red Alert M Lutchman/A Balroop 58.5
222 6 Ukraine JW Samaroo/T Phillips 57.5
--4 7 Destiny J Lyder/J Stephen 56.5
765 8 Magnifico C Rambaran/J Boodramsing 58.5
