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Stayers’ Cup has come to stay

By: Mukundan S Chettiyappa   March 2 , 2008
   

Queen Of Banks was bought in the 1960`s at Kolkata by trainers R.M. Puttanna and M.B. Mangalorkar for just Rs. 15,000. When sent to Mossy Bear, the Kolkata triple crown winner Puttanna had trained, she foaled Kitty Bank, Mossy Banks and Merlin.

The three horses were bred at Lumbini, the stud Mangalorkar had helped in establishing. Trained by Mangalorkar, Kitty Bank won Derbys at Hyderabad and Chennai besides other major races. Merlin died before he could race and Mossy Banks won the first Stayers` Cup held at Hyderabad. The year was 1983.

The J.P. Goenka-owned Mossy Banks was trained by R. R. Byramji and ridden by Paul Cook. The dark bay horse was in the wrong end of the field till the 1,200 metres marker. He then moved up to win by four lengths from Big Deal and the 1982 Invitation Cup winner Almanac.

Ardiles won the Stayers` Cup at Bangalore before winning the race again at Hyderabad in 1988. He and Aztec are the only horses to have won this race twice ever since it was established in 1981. A chestnut son of Ilheus(USA) and Richbru bred at Dashmesh and owned by the Khaitans, Ardiles was trained by Haskell David and ridden by Robin Corner.


The victory at Hyderabad is best described by Corner; “When the Stayers` Cup was held there, Ardiles was not at his peak. I thought the only way I could win this race was by ‘out staying` others.

“I had a ride in the Sprinters` Cup before the Stayers` Cup and I noticed before that race that there was a wet patch near the six furlong marker. I was on a mediocre horse and as I trotted it past the starting stalls at the six furlong marker, I saw that the patch extended right up to the seven furlong marker.

“I thought that if I got a good lead before the patch, the other guys might start pushing their mounts to catch up with me on the patch. That`s exactly what happened in the race. I took off where the patch began. By the time the others got out of the patch, I was out of it. I gathered up Ardiles then and was gone.”

Corner did not have to use his brains similarly when Flirting Vision had to deal with just three other runners in 1993. The Manjri-bred bay horse was owned by Dr. M.A.M. Ramaswamy and trained by Jim Foley. He tracked Amberetta, Raghu Vamsi and Desert Rose till the 1,000 metre marker and moved up gradually to take the lead with 400 metres to go. Amberetta pulled up lame in the homestretch.

Flirting Vision had earlier won Bangalore`s summer Derby. He could boast of the highly regarded Northern Dancer-Sir Gaylord cross and the names of other chefs de race in his pedigree.

Moment Of Glory, winner of the Stayers` Cup at Hyderabad in 1998, descended on her sire`s side from Northern Dancer like Flirting Vision. Her sire Sovereign Dancer had 52 classy performers to his credit. Dam Bazooka Babe(USA) was New York`s champion two-year-old whose first foal was a group winner in the USA.

Considering all this, Padmanabhan thought Moment Of Glory would have been sold early at the Poonawallas` farms. When he saw her for the first time, he realised why everyone had spurned her. She had a parrot mouth and an injured near fore pastern. The trainer bought her for breeder S. Pathy as her broodmare potential could be tapped, if not anything else.

She responded to treatment slowly as she matured. Leased out to Gogineni Mohan Rao, she won the 1000 Guineas, Oaks and Derby at Hyderabad in his colours. She was invited for both the Invitation Cup and the Stayers` Cup. With the Invitation Cup field being formidable and the weights for the Stayers` Cup being favourable, the choice was obvious.

Moment Of Glory was stuck behind Ace Academy and Tanganyika when they were battling for the lead in the final stages of the race. When Tanganyika gave up, Mallesh Narredu rode out Moment Of Glory to prevail over Ace Academy by a neck.

Bay Of Angels had it far more easier when she won the Stayers` Cup in 2003 for the Jhangianis. Trainer Michael Eshwer`s had expected Mallesh Narredu to settle the Poonawalla-bred runner and ride a waiting race but the jockey did otherwise.

Bold Bird, Intercity and Ashleen enjoyed spells in the front till Narredu got busy. Deciding that the pace was too slow, he sent Bay Of Angels into the lead with about 1,600 metres to go. The Pelican, winner of the Invitation Cup in 2002, simultaneously moved into the second place and stayed there till the end.

Bay Of Angels won by six lengths but took 3 minutes and 30.51 seconds to do it. This timing remains as the slowest ever clocked for the race since its inception.

The filly had raised hopes of winning this race while finishing behind Twin Star and Connivance in the Indian Oaks at Mumbai. This was after trying to dominate the race. She was prepared mainly at Mumbai and given a gallop over 800 metres at Hyderabad before the Stayers` Cup.

The mare`s maternal grandsire Monteverdi was described very correctly by his jockey Lester Piggott as, “Useless.” But her dam belonged to the renowned Sweet Lavender branch of the Marchetta line. Her successful sire Placerville(USA) was second behind Razeen(USA) in the leading stallions table at the time of her Stayers` Cup win.

 
 
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