The Guyana Cup is set to ignite the Rising Sun Turf Club next month
Dengue is incomparable to the Guyana Cup ‘fever’ that has the country spellbound. It is only 20 days away, and the intensity is so contagious that owners across the board (all levels) are ‘shopping’ as though Guyana Cup is their Xmas.
The country will witness an unprecedented day of racing on Sunday, August 11, 2024 with a 10-race card. It is the richest day of racing with the prize purse in excess of US$141,000.
Records are set to tumble with the calibre of horses being imported. Eleven runners will be shipped from Miami, Brazil, and Trinidad and Tobago in the next two weeks.
They will compete in the Guyana Cup, the Derby, the Sprint, and a major two-year-old race for Guyana-bred and Trinidad-bred juveniles, and the supporting six events.
Organisers confirmed, “The support amongst horsemen and patrons is immense. Never before in the staging of the Guyana Cup, interest has peaked so high. This race day created a hype of immense proportion. The horses arriving will further enhance our horse-racing status. Patrons will witness an extremely competitive and exciting race day, resulting in people flying in from all parts of the world to witness a spectacle.”
It is the 16th renewal of the Guyana Cup which will be staged at Rising Sun Turf Club (RSTC), West Berbice.
The inaugural running of this race was in 2007 when T&T-bred Ice Follies, trained by Therbhuwan Jagdeo, and ridden by Paul Delph, won for Jagdeo Racing Stables.
Four of the 11 horses this year will be arriving from Miami, three from Brazil, and four from Trinidad and Tobago.
The four US-bred runners are described as decent horses according to well-placed sources. They have competed in recognised races. All four will be competing in the Guyana Cup. Two of the three Brazilian-bred horses will compete in the Guyana Cup, while the other runner will compete in the 1000-metre Sprint Classic, which is one of the four Classic races on the 10-race card. Last year, Spankhurst, who was named Horse of the Year topping the consistent Bossalina, won the Sprint Classic for Jumbo Jet Racing Stables.
Defending champion Easy Time, owned by Master Z Racing Stables and trained by Nasurdeen Mohamed, scored convincingly from John Bull and Bossalina last year.
After his comprehensive victory – winning unchallenged in his comeback run over 1350 metres at Port Mourant one week ago, Easy Time is now the raging favourite to record the double.
Easy Time’s success last year was Mohamed’s second back-to-back training feat – having won with Alado for Master Z Racing Stable in 2022 at Rising Sun.
Owner/trainer Colin Elcock is not represented in this race, but is the ‘winningest’ trainer having won the race on four occasions.
No trainer or owner has recorded a hat-trick of wins in this race. However, trainer Mohamed, and Master Z Racing Stables could change the course of history should Easy Time score.
