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Jockey Zervan drove out Psychic Force with great determination to ensure a narrow win for the four-year-old son of Multidimensional in the 1600 metres K N Guruswamy Memorial Cup, a race for horses rated 60 and above, the feature event of Saturday`s Bangalore races. Psychic Force had the first run on his opponent, Ambrosia and the handy lead established enabled the lesser fancied runner to stave off the determined bid of the favourite by a fast diminishing margin.
Ambrosia who had gone down by a whisker to Aeolus in his last outing was once against backed with conviction to make amends. The fact that Ambrosio was catapulted into this group which had many seasoned performers including classic winners did not enter the enthusiasm of the punters. Blue Moon took over the running within the furlong and led the field with Ultimate Warrior and Magistero in proximity. Psychic Force was in about the sixth position ahead of Ambrosio and the rest. Shesmyscript got a lovely run along the rails to come into strong contention inside the final 300 metres. However, Psychic Force was able to forge ahead in the next 100 metres with Ambrosio in hot chase. Psychic Force battled on resolutely to stave off the strong challenge of Ambrosio who once against came frustratingly close to winning. Shesmyscript stayed on to take the third position ahead of New Creation.
Vishal Gaikwad trained Victorious Sermon trounced the opposition in the 1400 metres A Nawab M Arshad Ali Khan Memorial Cup, a terms race for three-year-olds. Last start runaway winners Gift of Grace and Abira enjoyed the maximum support with Victorious Sermon who had recorded a narrow win last time out being available at lucrative odds. Mystic Bay did not get the anticipated support which perhaps also reflected the lack of confidence of the connections. Roma Victor led the field from the start with Gift of Grace in the second position ahead of Mystic Bay, Abira, Victorious Sermon and the others. Gift of Grace surged ahead in the stretch with Mystic Bay`s attempted challenge being disappointing. Gift of Grace had the lead going into the final furlong, but it was clear that she would be sorted out by Victorious Sermon who was moving up with menacing strides. The progeny of Whatsthescript overhauled Gift of Grace with a furlong left in the race and bounced clear to win by a margin of over five lengths. Star Cavalry who was loitering in the rear came up with a big run on the wide outside and narrowly failed to get the better of Gift of Grace for the runner-up berth. While it was a remarkable improvement in the performance of Star Cavalry, the performance by Abira who had recorded a runaway win last time out was pathetic. Perhaps the inadequacies of the trainer to keep his wards performing consistently could explain this lacklustre performance of the filly who finished down the field.
The day`s proceedings started on an ominous note as Sharat Kumar trained South Bell managed to pull off an upset win over the quietly fancied Above The Rest in the lower division of the Delhi Cup, a race for horses in the lowest category. Arjun Mangalorkar trained Purity was the favourite, but the filly who was prominent till the final furlong packed up to finish a poor third. After Duty Call led the field from the start and carried the lead into the final furlong, South Bell and Above The Rest surged ahead. The latter shaped to oblige expectations but weakened which enabled South Bell to skip away. For the record, Above The Rest had last won more than 1000 days ago while this was the first win for South Bell in his 15th start. The lower division of the race saw Ganapathy trained Three Wishes trounced the opposition by a whopping nine-plus lengths. Three Wishes who had been perhaps kept for a touch had some useful outings and came in for spirited betting in the ring. Jockey Sandesh kept Three Wishes in a handy second position behind Hunters Moon. The favourite bounced clear in the stretch to win by a staggering margin. The fancied Honey Trap who was the ante-post favourite, again coming from the stables of Arjun Mangalorkar flopped miserably finishing a poor second ahead of the late rallying Aleef.
Pesi Shroff trained Mzilikazi had shown out in his last outing and was quoted at cramped odds to win the 1200 metres Mysore Cup, a race for maiden three-year-olds. Trevor Patel had Mzilikazi track Donna Bella well into the straight before pressing the accelerator. The progeny of Kingda Ka easily overhauled the front-runner and went away for an easy win. Donna Bella stayed on to take the second position ahead of Queen Regnant.
Pradeep Annaiah trained Lagopus had served notice of an early win when he had dragged himself to prominence in his last outing. As such, the progeny of Excellent Art was expected to run as a fancied horse, and it came as no surprise that he opened as the favourite to win the 1100 metres Chennai Cup (Div I), a race for horses rated 15 to 35. Jockey Tauseef Ahmed who rarely rides the winner brought Lagopus on the wide outside, circling around the field despite which Lagopus produced such an acceleration that he left the others stranded in the final furlong to record an emphatic win. Bold Runner was second ahead of Charmaine.
The last two races of the day belonged to trainer Prasanna Kumar and jockey Trevor Patel. Commodus, Bernadini and Spanish Beauty were the three fancied horses for the 1200 metres Angel Dust Trophy, a race for horses rated 30 to 50. Long shot Mega Ikon threatened to spoil the party when he shot ahead inside the final furlong and stayed on resolutely. It took an all-out effort on the part of both the jockey and last start winner Commodus to snatch the verdict. Bernardini was third some lengths behind. Arjun Mangalorkar trained Spanish Beauty was another horse in the day to come up with a miserable performance from the yard of Arjun Mangalorkar. Perhaps the trainer could do well if he concentrates on his work rather than on extraneous things.
The last race of the day saw a flood of money coming on Prithviraj trained Commandpost to win the 1100 metres Chennai Cup (Div II), a race for horses rated 15 to 35. Prasanna Kumar trained Galvarino made mincemeat of the opposition with a commanding performance in what was the second run of his career. He spared eight lengths at the finish to Colonel Harty who was second ahead of Commandpost who failed to oblige huge expectations.
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South Bell (Irvan Singh up) winner of the Delhi Cup (Div-II)
Mzilikazi (Trevor Patel up) winner of the Mysore Cup
Three Wishes (A Sandesh up) winner of the Delhi Cup (Div-I)
Psychic Force (S Zervan up) winner of the K. N. Guruswamy Memorial Trophy
Victorious Sermon (A Sandesh up) winner of the Nawab M. Arshad Ali Khan Memorial Cup
Lagopus (Tauseef Ahmed up) winner of the Chennai Cup (Div-I)
Commodus (Trevor Patel up) winner of the Angel Dust Trophy
Galvarino (Trevor Patel up) winner of the Chennai Cup (Div-II)
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