All favour Ability in Women’s Day Trophy

Last year's Jamaica Derby winner, Gold Cup second runner-up and Mouttet Mile runner-up, ABILITY, has been handed Saturday's International Women's Day Trophy on a platter by the conditions book, making a second appearance among overnight-allowance runners, two classes lower.

Never mind ABILITY's third-place run in October's Gold Cup, beaten five and a quarter lengths by SHE'S MY DESTINY - sitting eight pounds off the newly crowned Champion Sprinter of last year - the conditions book dictates that "having never won an overnight-allowance event", two classes lower than the Gold Cup and the Mouttet Mile in which he was the best-performing local-bred, ABILITY 'qualifies' to take his place at the level.

ABILITY's overnight-allowance alibi, finishing second to BOOTYLICIOUS last Saturday, is as razor-thin as shrink wrap. Drawn at post-position two, it was always a stretch for the middle-distance specialist to catch speedy BOOTYLICIOUS on the stands' side at five furlongs straight, made more so worse at almost level weight.

Actually, rated 'above the handicaps', the mockery goes further with proven grade-one runner ABILITY sitting level with RHYTHM BUZZ and D HEAD CORNERSTONE, two pounds lighter than RANI BANGALA, horses whose only brush with the top level might have been to compete on the same race meet.

Whichever way the event is run, there can only be one result - ABILITY outclassing overnight-allowance rivals after clocking 59.1 in an exercise gallop behind BOOTYLICIOUS last Saturday.