Orville Clarke, Gleaner Writer

The lightly raced SAINT CECELIA, running at odds of 4-1, and 4-5 favourite BRUCEONTHELOOSE won the season's first classics, the 1000 and 2000 Guineas, respectively, in contrasting fashion before a bumper crowd at Caymanas Park yesterday.

SAINT CECELIA, ridden by former champion jockey Shane Ellis for trainer Spencer Chung (his first classic winner from his first runner) romped home four lengths clear of the howling 3-5 favourite MISS RUTH under visiting American jockey Fernando Jara in the 35th running of the 1000 Guineas over 1600 metres for native bred three-year-old fillies, covering the distance in the smart time of 1:38.3.

But the race of the day was definitely the 2000 Guineas, confined to colts and geldings, which went down to the wire.

The two most fancied horses in the full field of 16, BRUCEON-THELOOSE with leading all-time jockey Winston 'Fanna' Griffiths riding for 14-time champion trainer Philip Feanny, and 5-2 chance THE GUMMER, ridden by champion jockey Omar Walker for champion trainer Wayne DaCosta, featured in a tremendous stretch duel.

Confusion

It was so desperately close between them that there was some confusion among connections as to who was the winner when both horses hit the wire with heads bobbing.

Jockey Walker felt he had won while returning to the winners' enclosure aboard THE GUMMER. But it was only when the crowd began chanting 'Bruce, Bruce, Bruce' after watching a quick slow-motion replay of the finish, did he realise he had lost the brave fight against a jockey twice his age.

It was THE CHIEF under American-based Jamaican jockey Wesley Henry who broke winning to lead from THE GUMMER and BRUCEONTHELOOSE jostling for second, just ahead of the THE GUV.

The two principals went by THE CHIEF as a team leaving the 600-metre pole to set the stage for a straight fight.

Owned by Tres Amigos, BRUCEONTHELOOSE. a three-year-old grey colt by Wheelaway out of Road To Justice bred by the HAM Stables Limited, is unbeaten in three starts this season. This was, in fact, his fifth win from seven career starts.

BRUCEONTHELOOSE covered the distance in the fairly good time of 1:39.2, but this was four-fifths of a second slower than the time returned by SAINT CECELIA in the 1000 Guineas an hour earlier.

Despite her inexperience, SAINT CECELIA chased the fleet-footed MISS RUTH in the backstretch, challenged strongly on the outside entering the straight and went by leaving the quarter pole to leave the issue beyond doubt.

SAINT CECELIA, who was unraced as two-year-old and only made her racecourse debut in a maiden three-year-old race on February 14, is a chestnut filly by Burning Marque out of She's On Wheels, owned jointly by Stephen Chung (the trainer's father) and Valentine Chung, and bred by the HAM Stables Limited.