59 horses in action on Easter Monday

A total of 59 horses have been entered for day four of the 2023 racing season to be held at Santa Rosa Park, Arima on Easter Monday.

With a bumper crowd expected, punters will witness two feature races on the holiday card with the running of the Chief Commander Classic, a grade three event, which will be open to native-bred three year olds going over the distance of 1600m. That race is slated for 3.45pm.

In this co-feature event, a total of eight runners will face starter Wayne Campbell. Of the contenders in the event, Nuclear War is the only colt which will be coming up against seven very impressive fillies. After missing out on the Royal Colours Classic due to injury, Firecracker will be making her return to racing. This outing for her may not be an easy one as she will see an uphill battle in the likes of Princess Royal, Blinding Lights and In The Headlines all coming from the barn of champion trainer John O'Brien.

The feature event, the Champagne Stakes, another grade three event, will be contested at 4.25 pm. The race will be run over 1600m.

This event has attracted a quality of nine runners with John O'Brien sending out four entrants in the likes of Stroke Of Luck, Crown Prince, Super Bird and Soca Harmony all looking to take the major prize.

When punters journey to Santa Rosa Park, former Champion Apprentice now full-fledge rider Rico Hernandez will be back on home soil again after he campaigned on the Canadian circuit for the last two years.

Post time for the seven-race card is at 1pm.