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Rajesh Narredu trained Star Superior looked outstanding in the paddock parade, appeared stronger than before and this was reflected in the performance of the champion son of Excellent Art who smashed the opposition as expected to win the Krishnaraja Wadiyar Cup, a terms race for four-year-olds and over, the feature event of Sunday`s Bangalore races in an exceptional timing. For the second day running, favourites ruled the roost.
The highlight of Star Superior`s performance was that he made all the running and left the field stranded the moment jockey Suraj Narredu asked for an aggressive effort from the champion. Star Superior clocked an excellent timing of one minute 34.97 seconds which was fractionally slower than that of Divine Light achieved more than two decades back. When Divine Light clocked that timing, the distances were not measured accurately like now and many believed that the record could never be bettered because of this reason alone. Star Superior`s performance suggested how much he has improved since his Indian Derby winning effort. Surely trainer Rajesh Narredu deserves credit for keeping the champion in top shape.
It was difficult to look beyond Star Superior and as such, the odds offered by the bookmakers was predictably miserly. Since there was no pace in the race, Suraj Narredu was aware that he had do the pace setting himself and he had no hesitation in taking the champion to the front. Star Superior settled down nicely, dictating a modest pace but showing remarkable acceleration in the run in for home despite nobody challenging him. Watchmyscript ran on to take the second position ahead of prevalent Force who held off Costa Brave to save place money.
Vishal Gaikwad trained La Rondine who had found Isn`t She Lovely too good in her last run found her bearings in the 1600 metres Mayor`s Cup, a race for horses rated 60 and above, with a comprehensive win. Leading from the start, La Rondine skipped clear of her rivals in the hands of jockey Neeraj Rawal to win as she pleased. Punjabi Girl showed some improvement when finishing second ahead of long-time leader Magistero.
Arjun Mangalorkar trained Air Command had let down as a strong favourite last time out but this time out he showed out in different colours when staving off the late bid of the well-backed Sahara to win the 1200 metres Mystic Memory Plate (Div I), a race for horses rated 30 to 50. Air Command`s lacklustre performance and the fact that Sahara had lost a certain race due to the overconfidence of jockey Ryan Marshall ensured that the latter went to the post as a well-backed favourite. Air Command who chased Baymax well into the straight quickly asserted his supremacy and established what turned out to be a winning lead. Sahara was hard-pressed to catch up with the front-runner and responded late. Her finishing burst went in vain and once again he was not up to justifying public expectations. Baymax stayed on to take the third position while the rest finished way behind. The lower division of the race was won by Darius Byramji trained Multifaceted who literally toyed with the opposition from the word `go` to win by a widening margin of seven lengths. Wings of Desire was second with Bold Move in the third position another five lengths adrift. Spanish Beauty who was returning to the track after a longish absence raced like a lame horse.
Arjun had a double for the day as Abira improved by leaps and bounds on her last effort while thrashing the opposition with disdain in the 1200 metres His Majesty Plate, a race for maiden three-year-olds. Abira showed enough speed to take charge and led comfortably ahead of Desert Combat who was under pressure to keep pace. In the run in for home, Abira extended the lead steadily and eventually checked in a distance ahead of Brothers In Arms. Desert Combat performed way below expectations more than five lengths adrift of the second-placed Brothers in Arms.
Neil Darashah trained Here And Now had been running fair races but was finding one better. On the last occasion, jockey Trevor Patel was unseated soon after the jump out and lost a possible winning opportunity. Now running over a mile and a quarter trip, Here And Now initially fought for his head with jockey Suraj Narredu before settling down. Here And Now smoothly gained the lead in the stretch and went away to win by a distance over Ice Speed and Extremelydangerous who did the pace-setting.
Prasanna Kumar trained Anfia was running exactly after one year but nevertheless backed with conviction to win the 1100 metres Aboline Plate, a race for horses rated 15 to 35. Anfia had scope for moving up in the scales as she had beaten Wings of Desire in her last outing and the latter had made progress on the scale. Jockey S John who is struggling to find his rhythm after a long absence from the saddle due to a suspension brought Anfia through the middle in the stretch. The progeny of Excellent Art stormed ahead to win by a margin of five lengths over Morrane Gabriella who staved off She`s Superb to retain the runner-up berth.
A quiet touch was brought off on Neil Darashah trained Xisca Plate, a race for horses in the lowest class. My Lexicon asserted her supremacy on turning for home and skipped clear to win by more than four lengths over Premier Premises and Savisa. There was smart betting on Phoenix Reached but the filly was never in the hunt.
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Here And Now (Suraj Narredu up) winner of the Ich Dien Plate
Abira (Neeraj Rawal up) winner of the His Majesty Plate
Anfia (S John up) winner of the Aboline Plate
Air Command (S John up) winner of the Mystic Memory Plate (Div-I)
La Rondine (Neeraj Rawa up) winner of the Mayor`S Cup
Star Superior (Suraj Narredu up) winner of the Krishnaraja Wadiyar Cup
My Lexicon (Nazerul Alam up) winner of the Xisca Plate
Multifaceted (S Zervan up) winner of the Mystic Memory Plate (Div-II)
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