With the cancellation of the lucrative Diamond Mile and Governor’s Cup races now confirmed, veteran trainer Gary Subratie believes that he stands a great chance of winning this year’s trainers’ championship at Caymanas Park.
The Superstakes, another of the cash-rich races on the calendar, is also in limbo, as the promoters, Supreme Ventures Racing and Entertainment Limited, struggle to find a date on a schedule that is becoming increasingly congested due to the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown.
“I think I can win it,” said Subratie. “If WOW WOW comes through like I expect him to, then I should (win the championship), because those races that he will be running in are the bigger purses for the year, which are the Classics,” said Subratie.
Subratie has finished third in the trainers’ championship for the last eight consecutive years. He will be banking on his three-old-colt WOW WOW, who is one of the hot favourites for this year’s Classics, to lead the charge for his first title.
“I think I have other horses that have good chances, and those are horses that are stepping up. I think that I have other horses in open allowance and up that can help me out, too,” Subratie said.
“I know that there won’t be any Diamond Mile and Governor’s Cup, and so those races are good money races, and so the bigger barns can’t get those easy money again, so let’s see what happens,” Subratie added.
He currently trails champion trainer Anthony Nunez by more than $5 million in the standings for this year’s title before racing was suspended due to the COVID 19 pandemic.
Subratie currently has 42 horses in his barn compared to Nunez’s 72. Former champion Wayne Dacosta, who is second in the standings, trails Nunez by just under $5 million and has more than 50 horses in his barn.
“Those guys have the numbers and I don’t have those kind of numbers. They have a lot of median horses like myself, but it is going to be a little tougher for me,” said Subratie.
Despite the cancellation of these races, Ryan Darby, president of the United Racehorse Trainers Association, believes it is still going to be difficult for anyone to upstage Nunez and Dacosta, who have won the last 19 championships between them.
“I don’t see anyone surpassing the top two trainers because it is not just the classic races, it is numbers and quality and the two top stables have the numbers and quality,” said Darby.
“Subratie is the sneaker and he is the most likely person to pull off an upset, but let’s see what happens when racing resumes,” he said.