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Pradeep Annaiah trained Attorney General recorded an encore with ease in the 1200 metres Stewards Cup, a race for horses rated 60 and above, the feature event of Saturday`s Bangalore races. With most contestants in the fray having no good surface form, the victory of Attorney General was taken for granted as revealed by the short price quoted for the repeat success.
Srinath had Attorney relaxed in the rear group as Side Winder set a fast pace followed by Depth Charge, Regal Music, Cerise Noir and the rest. Side Winder battled on in front but approaching the final furlong, was overhauled by Cerise Noir who then shot ahead. Cerise Noir could not sustain the lead when Srinath brought Attorney General on the wide outside with a flourishing run. After a brief tussle for supremacy, Attorney General asserted himself. Cerise Noir who hasn`t won for 351 days is finally showing signs of bouncing back. Side Winder weakened to finish third.
The forward run that Aravind Ganapathy trained Mighty Red had stood the three-year-old gelding in good stead as the progeny of Hold Me Back recorded a comfortable win over Crack of Dawn in the 2000 metres S Rangarajan Memorial Trophy, a race for horses rated 30 to 50. Colm Donoghue had the well-backed favourite Mighty Red track Ozark till turning for home and then drove out the three-year-old to contain the challenge of Crack of Dawn who threatened briefly before running out of reserves. The lack of a race run hurt the chances of Crack of Dawn as the filly weakened to settle for the second spot. Game Change was third several lengths behind with Ozark finishing a dismal fourth.
Sulaiman Attaollahi trained Forest Flame who appeared to be better prepared than the rest was backed to the exclusion of the rest to make a winning debut in the 1200 metres Bugs Bunny Plate, a race for maiden two-year-olds. Drusilla led the field into the straight before David Egan on the short priced favourite Forest Flame made his bid. The progeny of Leitir Mor stormed clear in the final furlong to win the race from another debutant Golden Oaks. Drusilla ran on to take the third position.
The 1200 metres Agumbe Plate, a race for horses rated 0 to 20, looked like a minefield with the surface form being of no help. Daring Sweetheart who had finished more than 10 lengths behind the winner in her last outing was surprisingly backed down as a firm on-money favourite while the rest were all at big odds. Kanthaka went on a start to finish mission and very nearly succeeded in pulling a fast one but closer to home was surprised by the finishing burst of Show Girl who got the nod in the waning yards of the race. Turf Prospector ran on from behind to take the third position. Show Girl thus broke her maidens rank in her ninth start while the other two are yet to win a race. Kanthaka has so far run 25 times while this was the 17th outing for Turf Prospector. One must admire the courage of punters to back such a horse at cramped odds without any appreciable racing form to go by.
Irfan Ghatala trained Bernardini gave some relief to the beleaguered punters winning as a heavily backed horse. Bernardini toyed with the opposition in the 1400 metres Kunigal Stud Plate, a race for horses rated 40 to 65, winning by a widening margin of eight lengths. This was the third straight win for the progeny of Tazahum. Jockey Umesh pushed Bernardini to take charge within the first furlong and thereafter it ceased to be a contest. Colonel Harty gave a chase but found the eventual winner too good for comfort. Excellent Sorrento ran on to take the third position.
Azhar Ali trained Whizzo who had run an eye-catching second behind Royal Resolution despite running after a very long gap benefitted by the lung opener as he trounced the opposition with disdain in the 1400 metres Native Chieftain Plate, a race for horses rated 15 to 35, to provide jockey Umesh with a double. Zhu Zhu Zest who had recorded a shock win last time out was initially backed with enthusiasm before the flood of money on Whizzo saw the latter usurp the position of a favourite. Umesh relaxed Whizzo in about the fourth position as Unifier set the pace with Zhu Zhu Zest in the chase. Inside the final 300 metres, Whizzo weaved his way along the rails and stormed clear to win by a widening margin of nine lengths. There was a cluster finish for minor placings with Hidden Solider grabbing the second position ahead of Dreams United and Zhu Zhu Zest.
Sulaiman Attaollahi trained Sandarina was guided to a comfortable win by apprentice jockey J H Arul in the 1100 metres Amathos Plate (Div I), a race for horses rated 15 to 35. Arul had Sandarina take charge from the word go and the lesser fancied runner enjoyed a good cushion and easily held off the heavily backed favourite Dragon Mountain. Dallas ran on to save place money. The lower division of the Amathos Plate was like a minefield. Orogenesis was the strong favourite and the three-year-old was running after 182 days with a long list of veterinary treatments to her credit. Radiant Beauty, who was a chronic bleeder, was running after 161 days but she managed to upset the field with a start to finish mission. For the record, Radiant Beauty had run more than 25 lengths behind the winner in her last run. Radiant Beauty held off the challenge of favourite Orogenesis to land the spoils. The jockey dismounted soon after crossing the winning post as the horse appeared to be in distress and it was reported that the horse had burst her blood vessels.
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Forest Flame (David Egan up) winner of the Bugs Bunny Plate
Show Girl (R Vaibhav up) winner of the Agumbe Plate
Bernardini (C Umesh up) winner of the Kunigal Stud Plate
Mighty Red (Colm O Donoghue up) winner of the S. Rangarajan Memorial Trophy
Attorney General (Y S Srinath up) winner of the Stewards Cup
Whizzo (C Umesh up) winner of the Native Chieftan Plate
Sandarina (Arul J H up) winner of the Amathos Plate (Div-I)
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