ARIMA, Trinidad (CMC):

Venezuelan jockey Wilmer Galviz has declared confidently that he will win today's Republic Bank Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) Derby aboard the super Jamaica-bred colt, Bruceontheloose, at Santa Rosa Park.

Expected to go off as one of the shortest-priced favourites in the 80th running of the T&T Derby, Bruceontheloose will run from post position eight and the Florida-based Galviz does not believe his mount has any serious challengers in the TT$500,000 (US$82,236) Classic.

"Let them come, I will win the Derby. I am not worried," Galviz told reporters.

"I know when I quicken 600 metres out, there won't be many going with us," added Galviz, who was T&T champion in 2005 when he campaigned at Santa Rosa Park.

Bruceontheloose was a runaway winner of his only two starts at Santa Rosa Park since his arrival from Jamaica earlier this summer.

Allowance event

On August 1, he won the Midsummer Classic, the second leg of T&T's Triple Crown series, by 5-3/4 lengths and returned four weeks later to slam a 15-horse field in a Starter Allowance event by 8-1/2 lengths.

Bruceontheloose has exercised impressively for the 10-furlong run as he takes aim at becoming the fifth Jamaica-bred winner of the T&T Derby at Santa Rosa Park, after Mr Lover Lover (1997), Terremoto (1998), Border Dispute (2005) and Pride 'N' Glory last year.

From the barn of John O" Brien, Bruceontheloose will also be trying to give the top trainer his fourth Derby win.

Bruceontheloose had won two legs of the Jamaica Triple Crown - the Guineas and the St Leger - but was narrowly beaten in the Derby.

Champion trainer Glenn Mendez has a strong record in the Classics and starts two solid Jamaica-bred entries - Sound of Thunder and Dance Machine.

Midsummer Classic

Also flying in to be part of the day's activities is Calder-based Jamaican rider Wesley Henry, who will partner Jamaica-bred Marathon Man for trainer O'Brien in the Derby.

Marathon Man was third behind Bruceontheloose and Sound of Thunder in the Midsummer Classic.

Henry also rides Call of the Wild in the fourth race for O'Brien and Super Sonic for Chester Roberts in the day's opener.

The 2006 Derby-winning jockey, Barbadian Chris Husbands, will be going after another triumph with trainer Douglas Bennett's Jamaica-bred Mission King.

Seven Jamaica-bred horses are in the Derby field of 13, the others being Hurricane Watch, Illusionist and Ketchikan.

Last year, Jamaica-bred horses swept the top three spots in the Derby, when Pride 'N' Glory won ahead of the favourite Donut Prince, with Josie Wales getting third.