California Crown goes on a romp for Slicer trophy

CALIFORNIA CROWN, last year’s 2000 Guineas winner, did everything right as a 1-2 favourite should, going gate-to-wire in yesterday’s Trevor ‘Slicer’ Simpson Trophy, clocking 1:00.2 at five furlongs round, registering a two-and-a-half length win ahead of second choice SENSATIONAL MOVE.

Working brilliantly at exercise in his bid for back-to-back wins since coming off a five-month lay-up, the Hedge Fund-Dream Big colt broke sharply from stall six with Robert Halledeen, speeding away from A GIFT FROM BEN and JOY IS GOLDEN, trying to keep pace down the backstretch.

SENSATIONAL MOVE, expected to test CALIFORNIA CROWN on the lead, raced sixth off the pace, the five-year-old’s race all but over from the start after being squeezed between JOY IS GOLDEN and TALONA, losing several lengths at the off, made even worse by his next-to-widest draw in the 13-horse field.

With no matching speed on the lead, CALIFORNIA CROWN, who had blazed 1:05.2 for five and a half furlongs at exercise two Saturdays past, opened up on A GIFT FROM BEN and JOY IS GOLDEN while SENSATIONAL MOVE recovered to straighten third but well off the leader.

Asked to make a bid in the stretch run by Dane Dawkins, SENSATIONAL MOVE made gains a furlong out, a looming but vain threat to which Halledeen unnecessarily responded by drifting CALIFORNIA CROWN to mid-track, sparking a stewards’ inquiry.

However, CALIFORNIA CROWN’s unassailable advantage over a winded SENSATIONAL MOVE saved the day for Halledeen after his uncalled-for antics.

A surprise winner of last season’s 2000 Guineas with Halledeen aboard, denying stablemate and subsequent Jamaica St Leger winner, INTRESTNTIMESAHEAD, CALIFORNIA CROWN, having beaten overnight-allowance winners, will next face open-allowance runners with five wins from seven starts under his girth, his only losses being in the St Leger and Jamaica Derby.

Champion jockey Raddesh Roman and runner-up Tevin Foster both rode two winners on the nine-race card. Roman uncharacteristically won aboard a 10-1 longshot, Gary Subratie’s JUSTIN BIGTIME, who made all in the second, a six-furlong event for four-year-olds, native non-winners of three races and imported non-winners of four.

Roman closed his two-timer with Adrian prince’s 3-5 favourite TIGRAY EXPRESS, in the sixth at seven and a half furlongs. Foster landed the Eight Thirty Sprint for three-year-old maiden fillies with Matthew Williams’ LADY BABITA at five furlongs straight before booting home Steven Todd’s FIRST OFFENSE, gate-to-wire, at odds of 6-1 among four-year-olds, native non-winners of two races and imported non-winners of three.

Racing continues at the weekend with back-to-back meets, Saturday and Sunday.