She's A Maneater to shine in Diamond Mile

THE SHE'S A MANEATER-WILL IN CHARGE saga continues at Caymanas Park this afternoon in the $13.9m Diamond Mile, the race on which an entire racing season hinges with plots and subplots such as history, the Horse of the Year crown and trainers' championship at stake.

Simply put, should protagonist SHE'S A MANEATER win a second consecutive Diamond Mile, she would not only join her stablemate, SEEKING MY DREAM, as back-to-back winner of the Caribbean's richest race, she would earn $7.1m, trophy value included, all but handing Wayne DaCosta, an 18th and 12th consecutive trainers' title at Caymanas Park.

The many subplots include DaCosta aiming at a fourth consecutive Diamond Mile victory, a total domination of the four-year-old event, following SEEKING MY DREAM's victories in 2015 and 2016, as well as SHE'S A MANEATER aiming to complete back-to-back Superstakes-Diamond Mile triumphs, which would forever etch her name in local-racing history, overshadowing her Triple Crown-winning exploits of last year.

Cast as the antagonist is Robert Pearson's WILL IN CHARGE, the most improved horse in training this season. He has twice defeated the flying filly, blinding her with speed and pace on both occasions, the nine-furlong and 25-yard Legal Light trophy in April and, most recent, October's Gold Cup at seven furlongs - being in receipt of seven pounds from the filly on both occasions.

The handicaps and SHE'S A MANEATER caught up with WILL IN CHARGE in November's 10-furlong Superstakes, three furlongs longer than the Gold Cup. Carrying 121lb and enjoying a 12lb weight swing, SHE'S A MANEATER managed to chase and beat WILL IN CHARGE by a short head, locked in battle from the top of the two-furlong stretch run.

WILL IN CHARGE's dominant victory in the seven-furlong Gold Cup, followed by his stubborn loss in the Superstakes, makes him a tough horse to beat in the Diamond Mile, even with SHE'S A MANEATER still in receipt of five pounds.

However, the Gold Cup was one of those races in which everything came together at the right time for WILL IN CHARGE. SHE'S A MANEATER was terribly drawn at post-position one with topweight 126lb, terrible handicapping, which saw the filly giving up seven pounds, despite losing the Legal Light Trophy by a length to her rival, at the same handicaps.

She was slowly into stride and trailed the field after the first two furlongs. WILL IN CHARGE was up with the leaders and made a decision to grab the lead four and a half furlongs out from HOUDINI'S MAGIC, who had slipped past his obviously unfit stablemate, SIEMPRE BUENO, a scenario not even the most discerning pundit could have envisaged.

SIEMPRE BUENO, who had only one easy three-furlong work entering the Gold Cup, hasn't been back to the races since, explaining how HOUDINI'S MAGIC found himself on the lead in tame splits of 23.0 for the first two furlongs and why WILL IN CHARGE was able to have won the race from the half mile, while SHE'S A MANEATER raced sixth, with one horse behind her, two-turn specialist PERFECT NEIGHBOUR.

Missing from the Gold Cup were MR UNIVERSE, MONEY MAGNET and her stablemate, PEKING CRUZ, horses who are now in the Diamond Mile, all lighter than WILL IN CHARGE, who now has topweight 126lb.

SETTING PACE

None of the three are expected to be around at the end of a mile, but their effect on the first six furlongs of the race is what matters, ensuring a genuine grade one pace from the word go, which will spoil WILL IN CHARGE's hopes of launching an early attack to get away from SHE'S A MANEATER.

Jockey Omar Walker came to a very humbling realisation after SHE'S A MANEATER's Superstakes win, declaring in his post-race interview that "she now seems to like it longer", suggesting that she doesn't like to be rushed too early, which is exactly what happened in the Gold Cup when he looked up at the half mile and saw Robert Halledeen kick for home with WILL IN CHARGE, almost three lengths in front of him.

To have turned for home with topweight after a bad break and caught flat-footed from the half-mile, it was no surprise that SHE'S A MANEATER struggled thereafter and lost second-place to ANOTHER BULLET, who is nowhere in her league.

Take nothing from WILL IN CHARGE, he had every answer when she came calling in the stretch run of the Superstakes, losing by the intervention of the winning post during a bobbing of heads.

However, SHE'S A MANEATER has not lost a race this season in which MR UNIVERSE has set the pace, the Lotto Sprint and None Such Trophy, five and a half and six furlongs, respectively.

MR UNIVERSE is drawn right beside WILL IN CHARGE whereas PEKING CRUZ, who had mixed it up with him on the lead in the Caribbean Sprint, will be joining the fray from post-position 11, with 115lb, setting up what should be a cracking pace heading into the half mile.

SHE'S A MANEATER is lethal under these circumstances with Walker having an eyeful of all his rivals, unlike the Gold Cup when she had to dig herself out of post-position one and was at the rear of the field for the first two furlongs.

The super filly, thus, gets the nod to mow them down in what could be another thrilling finish.