At least one trainer has admitted that his aim is to stop the rampant thoroughbred, Scrumpum, in his tracks when the second leg of the Antigua Turf Club (ATC) Triple Crown Series is staged on June 17 at the Cassada Gardens Race Track.
Assistant trainer, Ted Lewis, for Advance Credit, formerly Demolition Man and the only horse to have captured the coveted Triple Crown prize, said a particular strategy has been devised going into the race that he believes will snap Scrumpum’s dominant showing at track thus far.
“The riding that the jockey will be doing this time will be much more superb because we sat with him [Jeff Jacobs] and we told him, this is what is going to happen and this is what you have to do to defeat the Scrumpum and there will be no Triple Crown winner in Antigua this year, none,” he said.
The APUA inet Sir Cuthwin Lake Super Sprint will be staged over 6 furlongs and carries a purse of EC$9,375 with EC$5,000 going to the winner.
Scrumpum has dominated races at the gardens, winning his last six races, including the first leg of the Triple Crown, the Antigua Black Pineapple Stakes held three weeks ago.
Public Relations Officer (PRO) for the turf club, Ajahni Sheppard, said the focus leading into the anticipated race, is providing a good surface for horses to ready themselves ahead of the event.
“We just hope to keep the track as loose and as soft as possible. We are not getting much rain but dragging the track as much as possible will help to keep it the way the horse like it so, for right now, we are just making sure that the track keeps in good condition so we don’t have much injuries going into the next race so we can have a good race on the 17th,” he said.
Running in the Antigua Black Pineapple Stakes, Scrumpum running out of the God’s Grace Stables, clocked a time of 1:38.76 to outrun Advance Credit and He’s Sensational over a distance of 8 furlongs.
One other favourite going into the anticipated showdown, The First Lady, again disappointed fans after getting a late start out of the gates to finish at the back of the pack.
