Friday evening could be a very significant day in the lives of owner Lewin Godding and trainer Victor Cheeseman as their three-year-old filly Nekitta will be striding to add the Barbados Midsummer Creole Classic to her Triple Crown quest.
This filly by Feet On Flames out of Black Bird, having already secured the first leg of the series – The Barbados Guineas over 1 570 metres – now has to hold off ten challengers at the Garrison Savannah.
She has defeated four of the 11 entered in The Guineas: Vanity Affair who turned the tables on her in the Fillies Guineas, The Price Is Right, Sweet Bottom Sarah and Janak’s Gold.
Nekitta’s record at 1 570 metres is fairly ordinary with just one win in five attempts.
But lest we forget, she flashed past the post first in two of those events only to be later disqualified for failed urine samples.
Vanity Affair has the most impressive record at the middle distance, with three wins and a second in her four attempts. She is also the only horse in the field to have earned over $100 000.
Based on her impressive record and relatively easy victory in The Barbados Fillies Guineas, Vanity Affair will likely start as the race favourite.
But the main mitigating factor is the distance, 1 800 metres, which none of the entries has tried before.
The other question is whether Nekitta can win this race to become Barbados’ seventh Triple Crown winner.Â
Breeding suggests most of the horses would have no problem going the distance, so it comes down to a matter of class. At the moment there is not a big gap between these horses, but ratings tend to favour Vanity Affair and Nekitta.
The others can fit into small groups according to their ratings, competition, consistency and distance results.
Knight Rider is rated 73, Khartoum, 72, and Sweet Bottom Sarah, 69, followed by Cabin Boy, 71, The Price Is Right, 69, and Janak’s Gold, 70, with Sirius Black, 66, Conrad Prince, 65, and Zouk’s Girl, 52, bringing up the rear.
