Superluminal powers home

SUPERLUMINAL yesterday fought off TIMEFORARMS from three furlongs out to win the 10-furlong Kenneth Mattis Memorial in a thrilling finish, holding on grimly to score by three quarters of a length at odds of 5-2.

Carrying topweight 56.0 kilos in the 10-horse field, SUPERLUMINAL, the 2015 St Leger winner, disputed the lead with no-hopers MONTEGONIAN and DANOS LA PAZ down the backstretch before taking over four-and-a-half furlongs out.

Sent on by jockey Paul Francis at the half-mile marker, SUPERLUMINAL shot to the lead but was soon challenged by 7-2 chance TIMEFORARMS with red-hot claiming apprentice Anthony Thomas hunting a fourth winner on the 12-race card.

However, five-year-old SUPERLUMINAL, who had finished last in his previous race, found extra and accelerated off the home turn when eight-year-old TIMEFORARMS tried to pull level entering the straight.

HOVER CRAFT, a joint 5-2 favourite with champion jockey Omar Walker aboard, loomed large into third off the turn and came with his challenge in mid-track.

However, SUPERLUMINAL, down in class among overnight allowance runners, stayed on strongly against the rail to repel a determined TIMEFORARMS, ridden to the max by Thomas, but just was not good enough, even with an eight-pound advantage.

SUPERLUMINAL flashed past the winning post in a time of 2:08.2 with TIMEFORARMS on her tail, a hard-fought three quarters of a length. HOVER CRAFT stayed on for third, a length-and-a-half behind TIMEFORARMS.

Though he lost a tough race astride TIMEFORARMS, Thomas was again the man, easily closing the programme with 8-5 favourite ROYAL GIRL, completing a four-timer, his 14th winner in four racemeets.

The two-kilo claiming apprentice got things rolling with EARTH ANGEL at 2-1 in the fifth race before scoring back-to-back winners, BROOKLYN at 5-1 in the eighth and CHIEF PROSPECT at 4-1 in the ninth.

Thomas' latest heroics in his purple patch have propelled him to fourth in the jockeys' standings on 29 winners, one ahead of Aaron Chatrie and 12 behind third-place Wesley Henry.

Omar Walker remains comfortable atop the standings with 65 winners, ahead of SHANE ELLIS on 43, well on his way to a sixth jockeys' title after partnering champion trainer LOOSE CANNON to victory in the sixth race.

Racing continues at Caymanas Park on Saturday.