| |
Prasanna Kumar trained St Pauli Girl swamped the opposition in the 1600 meters Chatrapathi Trophy, a race for horses rated 60 and above, the feature event of Thursday`s Bangalore races. Form fluctuations are something that makes racing in Bangalore as dangerous as a minefield for the punters and the authorities have simply failed to stem the rot.
Sagrada had beaten a quality opposition which included Naazaan who subsequently won against good opposition in taking style and Psychic Force who went on to win the South India Derby. On that occasion, St Pauli Girl had finished more than six lengths behind. This time out, Sagrada performed so poorly that he was not in contention at any stage of the race. The well-fancied St Pauli Girl led all the way and won in the hands of jockey Akshay Kumar by a margin of three lengths. Magistero who was not in the betting finished second ahead of Super Dart. The ease with which St Pauli Girl won was a surprise just as Sagrada`s lack of spark was something difficult to explain.
A rank outsider from trainer Prithviraj`s stables Tonys Pet won the day`s opener, the Man O War Plate, a race for maiden three-year-olds in a tight finish from Mega Ikon and favourite Invicta. Karadeniz led from the start followed by Mega Ikon and Tonys Pet while the favourite Invicta could not take a forward position and had to make her move on the wide outside. The Indian version of the Monte Roberts blanket on Cosmic Feeling did not come off at the jump out as it may not have been properly tied to the gate and the blanket fell only after the horse had travelled some distance from the gate. Perhaps the negligence at the gate could be responsible for this. The trainer has been fined Rs 10,000 for not taking prior permission to use the equipment. Karadeniz kicked on gamely in the straight with Mega Ikon and Tonys Pet putting sustained pressure. Mega Ikon drifted out slightly under pressure and the closing stages of the race, jockey Pradeep Chouhan was able to drive out Tonys Pet to beat Mega Ikon at the post. Invicta came home with a rush but had to be satisfied with the third slot, another neck behind the runner-up. The long-time leader Karadeniz weakened to finish a close fourth. Debutant Animal Queen who was expected to be in the thick of things finished fifth.
A good touch was brought off by trainer Neil Devaney on Baymax in the 1100 metres Dandeli Plate, a race for horses rated 15 to 35. Baymax`s last run at Pune was a miserable one as he had finished about 37.2 lengths as he had reportedly suffered a hoof injury. Relocated to Bangalore and systematically prepared, Baymax came in for solid support and he did not disappoint. Apprentice jockey Akram took Baymax on a start to finish mission and the fancied runner had the race sewn up a long way from home. She`s Superb necked out the late-rallying Songkran to retain the runner-up berth. Soon after the jump out, jockey Anthony Raj on Pride of Place appeared to be in a spot of bother, almost getting unseated before he took the support of favourite Arrogance to get his balance back during the race.
Darius Byramji trained Aeolus was running for the first time after being gelded and looked to be spot on to win the 1400 metres K Venkatesh Nayak Memorial Cup, a race for horses rated 30 to 50. There was also strong support for Shesmyscript to break the run of the winless sequence. Jockey Pradeep Chouhan took Aeolus on a start to finish mission and the progeny of Multidimensional had the control of the race thereafter and was not hard-pressed to win by a margin of three lengths. Shesmyscript held off Foi At Amour to retain the runner-up berth.
The step up in distance perhaps helped Padmanabhan trained Salvador Dalli to have a decisive show in the 2000 metres Melkote Plate, a race for horses rated 45 to 65. David Allan had Salvador Dalli track the front-running Masada into the straight before pushing the progeny of Excellent Art to take charge. Salvador Dalli steadily gained the upper hand and won with a measure of comfort from the fancied Superb Success who rallied strongly but found the front-runner unrelenting. Masada stayed on to take the third position while those at the back failed to make any headway in the stretch.
G Nityanand trained Star Man who had bled in his last run when he was heavily fancied, made amends yet again as a well-backed horse in the 1200 metres Saptharishi Plate, a race for horses rated 15 to 35. In the hands of jockey Imran Chisty, Star Man made a strong rally along the rails and shot ahead inside the final 100 metes and recorded an easy win. The eight-year-old Soviet Union suddenly showed intent, ran aggressively with the front group and finished second by necking out longtime leader Simply Magical.
Dheeraj Venkatswamy trained Classic Speed was driven out to contain the challenge of late rallying Kings Kid in the 1600 metres 1600 metres Charmudi Plate, a race for horses in the lowest category. Jockey Sandesh had Classic Speed dictate the proceedings and the front-runner battled on resolutely and held off the threat from the lesser fancied runner by a fast diminishing margin of a neck. Track Striker ran on strongly to take the third position.
*******************
Tonys Pet (P S Chouhan up) winner of the MAN `O` WAR PLATE
Salvador Dali (David Allan up) winner of the MELKOTE PLATE
Star Man (Imran Chisty up) winner of the SAPTHARISHI PLATE
Aeolus (P S Chouhan up) winner of the K.VENKATESH NAYAK MEMORIAL TROPHY
St Pauli Girl (Akshay Kumar up) winner of the CHATRAPATHI TROPHY
Baymax (Md Akram up) winner of the DANDELI PLATE
Classic Speed (A Sandesh up) winner of the CHARMUDI PLATE
|
|
Top
