BY JIMMIE, Star Racing Writer
IT COULD BE 'bye-bye Trevor Simpson' tomorrow afternoon as Trinidadian Brian Harding is expected to win at least five races at Caymanas Park.
In a month of Trinidadian glory starting with the Soca Warriors' qualification to Germany 2006 followed by Brian Lara setting a new mark in Test runs scored, another sports star from the twin-island republic looks set to make his mark in history.
Harding, locked on 88 winners with Simpson atop the jockeys' standings, is set to launch a marauding attack on tomorrow's nine-race card starting with CHING SING in the first event at 2000 metres.
The Trinidadian has eight rides on the midweek card to Simpson's seven, securing, by far, the better mounts in their race for the 2005 jockeys' title.
After booting home CHING SING, who is expected to go all the way among three-year-old maidens, Harding looks hard to beat aboard DON'T STAY NAKED in the third, PATAS DE FUEGO in the fourth, SOY MUJER in the fifth and STEAD GOLD at 1000 metres straight in the nightcap.
CHING SING, caught inside the final furlong at 1400 metres by REGAL SERENADE last Wednesday, faces an easier bunch tomorrow and should use his superior speed to slip away from rivals down the backstretch.
DON'T STAY NAKED will have to be caught at 1300 metres in the third race, running on a claiming tag for the first time. Pitted against $420,000 claimers after beating non-winners-of-three last month, Wayne DaCosta-trained DON'T STAY NAKED should have fit EMMVEEPEE and SPYRIT for company before taking charge entering the stretch run where JACK SPARROW should be his only danger coming from behind.
PATAS DE FUEGO has been neatly worked down to conditional claiming company by Richie Todd and the gamble should be on tomorrow with Harding called in to replace Everton Stone at 1500 metres.
The chestnut gelding returned from a nine-month lay-up two Wednesdays ago among $200,000 Claimers after finishing third among similar runners at a mile in February. Last Wednesday, Todd entered the gelding at 1000 metres straight among $160,000 claimers and watched him finish 10 lengths off PRINCE MOHAWK's 1:00.1.
Slipping further down in class, among conditional claimers and at a favourable distance, PATAS DE FUEGO should use his back class to land the gamble.
JACKPOTS AT $1.5M
NO TEAR at 23-1 in the third and MAJOR MAYER at 15-1 in the fourth crushed all Pick-9 bets, sending bettors back to the drawing board for tomorrow's $1m guaranteed payout. However, there were 22 correct Super-6 combinations each worth $42,322, pushing that bet back to its $500,000 guarantee.
SOY MUJER, who lost in a pretty good time behind PRETTY HILLY and PRIME SUNDOWN earlier this month at a mile, should provide Super-6 and Pick-9 players with a good banker in the fifth at nine furlongs.
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