The countdown has begun for the Sandy Lane Barbados Gold Cup. When nominations closed for the second and final subscription stage, 15 horses had paid up with the lone Caribbean invader being Trinidad and Tobago’s Just Call Me Roger.
Now owned by Paul Mouttet, he was a competitor in 2011 when he finished down the field. Fans will be hoping that he reports to the race with much improved form, ready to run his heart out for his country.
Fitness concerns surrounding the big guns, Apostle and Dancin David, and the lack of decent or consistent form makes this probably the most open of all Gold Cups.
A special Gold Cup rating commitee has come in for some tongue lashing in various racing quarters. Thankfully, its Gold Cup rating, which is totally different from the handicapper’s rating, won’t affect the weights in the Eastern Caribbean’s most prestigious race as it is a weight for age event.
Staying with the committee rating, Dancin David is top rated at 129 perfect, but the fire alarm was raised as Aristodemus, a winner at 1 570 metres, received a 126 rating raising the question of what has he done to earn such a high rating.
If it’s for winning the Victor Chandler Stakes and Trophy, then Show Me The Money has done that too, yet his new rating is 120. Before her Coolmore “Home Of Champions” Stakes and Trophy success this year over 1 800 metres, Daga, like Aristodemus had never won beyond 1 570 metres and yet her rating is 116.
Why would the most experienced Gold Cup horse Apostle get a rating of 122 having won at nine and ten furlongs, including two Coolmore’s?
How does Graeme Hill, who took last year’s Coolmore get a 105 rating?
Zoom, like Dancin David, a winner of a previous Gold Cup, is handed a 118 rating which further highlights the credibility and application of the ratings administered. Additionally, why is there a rating applied at the first nomination and then at entry?
What criteria is used to base these ratings? The public can be satisfied that no matter what Gold Cup rating is given, it won’t enhance the chances of any horse of lifting the coveted prize.
Canadian import Modimo, owned by Lewin Godding and seeking to represent Barbados, could add interest to the event.
However in accordance with procedures, eligibility and selection for the race, horses with the lowest Gold Cup rating shall be eliminated first sequentially in published ascending order.
Modimo, an unknown factor to racing in this part of the world, received a 99 rating. His owner by virtue of opting not to have a run on any of the three race days prior to the big day, has left his chances of making the final 12 squarely in the hands of the rating committee.
