The 2008 racing season will really heat up on Saturday with the 1000 Guineas for fillies and the colts 2000 Guineas taking the spotlight.

With very few quality horses around, a lot of attention this season has been focused on the three-year olds as they prepare for the upcoming Classic season.

Two colts, the Wayne DaCosta-trained COMMANDER ZERO and ROYAL IMAGE, trained by Anthony Nunes, have been dominating their rivals with a number of spectacular victories.

Unbeaten in three starts, COMMANDER ZERO has won his races by a combined total of 51 lengths. ROYAL IMAGE recently defeated a good field to take Prince Consort Trial Stakes by all of 14 lengths.

Good battle

Both are very good colts and the battle between the two should attract thousands to Caymanas Park on Saturday. The 1000 Guineas is also shaping up to be a two-horse race. The class of AHWHOFAH and ALSAFRA puts this duo well ahead of their rivals.

The recent Thornbird Stakes offers a good guide to the expected outcome of the race. AHWHOFAH allowed stablemate HEART OF GOLD 4kg and ALSAFRA 2kg and beat them both. They all carry level weights on Saturday and it should be AHWHOFAH all the way. Her early and mid-race pace will be too much for her rivals and she should win on a canter.

Last Saturday ALSAFRA showed that she is ready for battle by galloping 1200m in 1:13.4 on the exercise track beating LADY LIZ, 1:15.1.

The following day AFWHOFAH went 1200m in 1:13.3. The top two colts have also been burning up the exercise track.

On Sunday ROYAL IMAGE clocked 1:12.2 for 1200m beating his Philip Feanny-trained rival, SUPER DAVE, by all of eight lengths. Based on that work SUPER DAVE should have little or no chance of winning on Saturday.

COMMANDER ZERO, on the same day, cantered 1600m clocking an impressive 1:19.4 for 1300m after breezing past the 1200m marker in 1:13.0.

Three months ago I would have been willing to add THE ROYAL STREAM to top two among the colts but something appears to have gone seriously wrong with this colt and until he recovers some of the form he showed at the end of last year I am willing to completely bypass him.

Impressive COMMANDER ZERO

I have been impressed with COMMANDER ZERO from his very first race in early January when he won by all of 19 lengths clocking 1:12.4 for 1200m. It is true that he did not beat much but the Von White-owned colt followed that up by streaking to victory over 1500m clocking an outstanding 1:31.1. Very few horses locally, at any level, have been that fast over 1500m and it is my view that COMMANDER ZERO will come into the final 200m well clear of the field and will thwart the expected late run of ROYAL IMAGE.

Send your comments to elton.tucker@gleanerjm.com.