Orville Clarke, Freelance Writer

SMOOTH DUDE, one of two winners for champion jockey Omar Walker, sprints clear of the 30-1 outsider LADY RAKWALAAY (Jason Simpson) to win the seventh race over 1500 metres at Caymanas Park on Saturday. Trained by Anthony Nunes, the four-year-old grey colt won at odds of 8-5. - Colin Hamilton/Freelance Photographer

With the fancied horses for the most part falling like ninepins at Caymanas Park on Saturday, the Pick-9 had no takers.

The Pick-9 produced only one winning favourite in ILSA at 1-1 in the fifth race, while no favourite was unsaddled in the winners' enclosure in the Super-6 races. The Pick-9 carryover to this Saturday is $1.5 million.

On a day when howling favourites such as ALL FIRED UP, HIGH GRADE and GOOD COMPANY - all widely used as bankers - ran way below expectation, punters and tipsters alike were hard pressed to find winners. Indeed, a number of tipsters ended up without a winner on the 11-race programme.

Still, the card produced no startling upsets. The longest priced winner was LATIN KING at 7-1 in the eighth race for th V. Armond Memorial Cup and newly-crowned champion jockey, Omar Walker, had to summon all the skills at his disposal to bring home the son of Latin Charm by a short head from CHINA TOWN.

PURE JUSTICE at 5-1 and IVAN THE TERRIBLE at 9-2 also frustrated punters, even though both horses had to be ridden flat out to win in driving finishes.

A notable winner on the card was the debutante ZHENG HE, who romped the second race for maidens and untried three-year-olds over 1500 metres with veteran jockey David 'Scorcher' McKenzie riding for 'Hall of Fame' trainer Allan 'Billy' Williams.

After the race Williams said he had high hopes for ZHENG HE and assured me that the Natural Selection-Matchless Lass colt is a classic aspirant.

According to the trainer, who in the past three seasons has had tremendous success with MIRACLE MAN and to a lesser extent the filly OUTSTANDING, ZHENG HE has much scope and "should be happy over a distance of ground".

Knowing his training methods, 'Billy' will not rush this colt, but will allow him to progress on his own steam in time for the season's first classic, the 2000 Guineas, in April. By then he could be anything.

Signficantly, ZHENG HE is owned and bred by Israel Williams, the man who 40 years ago had such unparalleled success with the legendary native bred sprinter NONE SUCH, who was trained by none other than 'Billy' Williams.