DaCosta now $1.47m clear of Nunes

Reigning 17-time champion Wayne DaCosta turned on the thrills at Caymanas Park yesterday, dominating the 11-race card with five winners to overtake and shoot $1.47 million clear of Anthony Nunes with two racedays remaining in their gripping battle for the trainers' championship.

DaCosta, who lost the lead on December 1 when his Horse of the Year, SHE'S A MANEATER, bolted at the gate and failed to defend her Diamond Mile crown, worth $6 million, started yesterday's meet trailing Nunes by $127,700.

Assisted by his protÈgÈ son, Jason, who flew in from Tampa Bay Downs, Florida, for the second consecutive year when the going got tough for his father, DaCosta yesterday pulled out all the tricks he had up his sleeve - five winners and a second-place finish with WINTER IS COMING - sending an ominous Game of Thrones message (pun well-intended) to Nunes, who could only manage one winner from nine starts, HOT ICE, in the 10th event.

DaCosta first showed his hand with down-in-class POKER STAR, a money-back winner with Omar Walker in the second event at five furlongs round. The former sprint champion made light work of $250-210,000 claimers, pulling up lame at the end with Walker jogging back to the winners' enclosure behind the six-year-old for whom 30-odd claims were submitted.

Though WINTER IS COMING was upstaged by Tensang Chung's DANOS LA PAZ in the following event at a mile, DaCosta's third down-in-class runner, BULLET RAJ, recently transferred to his barn, comfortably made all to dismiss $180,000 claimers at his favourite trip, five furlongs straight, with apprentice Tevin Foster.

DaCosta returned to dominate the back end of the programme, winning three of the last four races, starting with SERGEANT RECKLESS making all the running in section two of the Flossie McNeil Memorial with leading rider Anthony Thomas at six furlongs.

Walker won his second and DaCosta's fourth astride RAMBUNCTIOUS LINKS, taking over from BALAZO three and a half furlongs out to coast in a comfortable winner in the ninth at six and a half furlongs.

WELL-TIMED RUN

Nunes' victory with HOT ICE in the 10th was an intermission for the DaCosta show as the champion trainer responded immediately in the night pan with BRANDY, a well-timed run by Thomas along the rail, improving from fifth at the top of the straight, to outfinish the brave MY SUPER GIRL, who had mixed it up with BAD BOY TRUMP from the start of the mile race.

Nunes, who has four of the top five runners in Wednesday's Jamaica Two-Year-Old Stakes, which has a winner's purse of $2 million, is expected to come roaring back at DaCosta on Wednesday's Boxing Day meet.

DaCosta, however, has a down-in-class pair, STORM and JAMAICAN CITIZEN, along with stable star, SHE'S A MANEATER, as a three-timer on the 11-race holiday card, which could push the championship to next Saturday, the last race meet of the season.