Mercedes after 2nd leg of triple crown

By Kent Layne

The Midsummer Creole Classic, the second leg of the Barbados Triple Crown, is set to take place this Saturday, July 13, at the Garrison Savannah racecourse. Top three-year-old filly Mercedes, undefeated in three starts this year, will face eight other horses in this anticipated event.
Scheduled as the final race of an eight-race programme, the Midsummer Creole Classic offers a purse of a purse of $40 000 plus subs totalling $35,000 for locally bred three-year-olds over 1800 metres, with a 6 pm start time.
Mercedes, owned by Kerland Felician and Stephen Jardine and trained by Richard Deane, won the Barbados Guineas – the first leg of the Triple Crown – in her last outing on April 30, defeating Lucious and Moschara.
A win for Mercedes would put her in select company. Only two horses, Incitatus in 1996 and Areutalkintome in 2009, have won both the Guineas and Midsummer Classic while remaining undefeated as three-year-olds. Both went on to win the Barbados Derby, completing the Triple Crown. Jockey Rickey Walcott will ride Mercedes, carrying 121 pounds from gate 7.
Show Time, who finished fifth in the Barbados Guineas but won the Royal Opera Breeders Stakes on June 7, ahead of Moschara and Heroes Day, is the only horse in the field with a win at 1800 metres. Owned and trained by Kenny Joseph, Show Time will be ridden by Delano Lopez.
Moschara, owned by David and Darren Matthews and trained by the latter, has been consistent. Eric Daniel will ride the 119-pound runner.
Sant Antoni, the last horse to defeat Mercedes (at 1100 metres last November), rounds out the top contenders. Trained by Romel Lovell, Sant Antoni finished fourth in the Barbados Guineas and will be ridden by Teshawn Hazelwood. The field is completed by Heroes’ Day, Lucious, Makossa Princess, Queen of the South and Papillion.
The first race of the day is scheduled for 2 pm. My selections are Mercedes, Show Time, Maschera and Sant Antoni.