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Smile Stone proves that he is a durable horse

  November 23 , 2018
   

Smile Stone, the prolific runner currently racing in Bangalore proved that there is no substitute for experience and zest for racing while recording his 13th win from 73 outings in the 1200 metres Hyderabad Silver Vase, a race for horses rated 75 and above, the feature event of Friday`s races. The eight-year-old produced a performance which was a departure from his pattern of coming from way off the pace. The quality of runners running in the higher class in Bangalore is pretty run of the mill and in fact, the lower-class races seem to be more competitive.

Rum Runner, Battalion and Regal Music were more preferred than the rest. During the race, there was a mishap with Tzar cramping the horses on his side, resulting in jockey Prashanth Dhebe on Battalion being unseated. The horses which were immediately behind were inconvenienced resulting in Regal Music completely losing all his chances as apprentice Manish was not up to handling the situation. Smile Stone who racing along the rails and Rum Runner were not affected significantly by the incident. Smile Stone, in fact, showed up first at the top of the straight with Trevor Patel pushing Rum Runner to take the run along the rails. After a brief tussle for supremacy between these two horses, Smile Stone asserted his supremacy. Star Carnation ran on from way behind to take the third position.
  
  


Soon after the running of the feature event, the last two races of the day were cancelled. There was not much rain but still, the track became unconducive for the running of races. It is a reflection on the poor maintenance of the track because we have had racing in the summer seasons in the past despite heavy rains. The committee which is busy handling the infighting among the members has perhaps neglected the more critical aspect of their function which is the conduct of racing. One of the Stewards who was upset about the criticism of the track had asked a question tauntingly about the quality of the track after one of the race days had been gone through in rain. I would like to ask him whether he has an answer for the cancellation of races? After the club stopped the use of tanbark on the track, there is nothing much beneath the surface and any spell of rain makes the track dangerous. This fact must be acknowledged by the authorities.

Sulaiman Attaollahi trained Anjeze looked the part in the1100 metres Beginners Plate, the season`s first race for two-year-olds. The one-sided betting was thus justified. Jockey Trevor Patel kept Anjeze in a handy second position as Here And There made the pace. In the stretch, the full sister to dual Derby winner Angel Dust, Anjeze collared the front-runner with a minimum of fuss and went away for a win by more than 10 lengths. Here And Now stayed on to take the second position ahead of Sir Piggott.

That form is never a guide in lower class horses was highlighted once again by the runaway win recorded by Lokanath trained Striking Grey. The last run of the horse was in August and he had finished 27.5 lengths behind the field, but this time out money came pouring in on the four-year-old gelding. Striking Grey raced in the penultimate position before showing up on the wide outside. In the hands of less heralded Adarsh, the favourite drew away from the field and won by a widening margin of seven lengths despite travelling on the edge of the grass track. Such a dramatic transformation in performances of horses is what has ruined the image of the sport in Bangalore. Once is not sure when Striking Grey will be seen in serious business next time out. Striking Grey had run way behind the winners on most of his outings. The confident way the money came on the horse was a clear indication that the previous runs were all deceptive. Kings Kid was second with Noble Splendour another three lengths behind in the third position ahead of Perfect Prince.

Satish Narredu trained Australis won the 1600 metres Bidar Plate, a race for horses rated 30 to 50. This was another horse which could not be backed with any conviction by the punters because the horse hadn`t won for 524 days and had developed the habit of being lethargic from the gates and had often finished more than 18 lengths from the winner. Australis had the services of Trevor Patel, showed alertness at the gates and jumped out smartly. Australis tracked Red Galileo into the straight before storming ahead and winning from late rallying favourite Spirit of London who had to cover plenty of leeway from the penultimate position. Red Galileo was relegated to the third position while the other fancied runner Ultimate Magic made no show.

Prasanna Kumar trained Spiritous was running after a long lay off but the quality of performances thus far had been of a high order. The horse appeared to have been well prepared though there was no reported track work perhaps had enough workouts in the pool. Spirituous chased Pink Smile deep into the straight before gaining the nod close home in the Manipal Plate (Div I), a race for horses rated 15 to 35. Sun Power ran on to finish third.

Favourite Psychic Force who was running after a long lay off was backed to win the 1400 metres Garden City Trophy, a race for horses rated 45 to 65. Psychic Warrior played up aggressively in the gates and much to the relief of those who had backed this horse, the horse was withdrawn on veterinary grounds. Standout led strongly in front but Dr Logan who was lying in wait strongly challenged the front-runner in the final furlong and managed to assert his supremacy. Zafran who had finished way down the field last time out, ran very wide but still managed to grab the second position ahead of Stand Out.


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Anjeze (Trevor Patel up) winner of the Beginners Plate




Striking Grey (Adarsh G up) winner of the Belur Plate




Australis (Trevor Patel up) winner of the Bidar Plate




Spiritous (Antony Raj S up) winner of the Manipal Plate (Div-I)




Dr Logan (Ahsan Qureshi up) winner of the Garden City Trophy




Smile Stone (Naveen M up) winner of the Hyderabad Silver Vase



 
 
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