| |
Darius Byramji trained Cosmos treated the opposition with disdain in the 1800 metres Ashoka Chakra Cup, a terms race for three-year-olds and over, the feature event of Thursday`s Bangalore races. The terms were totally loaded in favour of this talented geldingg and the presence of multiple classic winners had no bearing on her chances as the terms ensured that she carried the least weight despite being the second highest-rated horse in the race.
The terms of the race were such it was totally loaded against Group race winners. As per the terms of the race, Well Connected who is a multiple Group 1 winner was set to concede 7.5 kgs to those who hadn`t won group races however well they may have performed in handicaps and terms races. Further, the penalty would have gone up by another two kgs if the horse concerned had won stake money of about Rs 25 lakhs since April 30 of the current year. This would have meant that the top weight could go up to 64.5 kgs. A few years back, the then handicapper B Shiva Prasad had set the terms of the race in such a way that the top weight would not carry more than 60 kgs. Desert God, at the peak of his performance, had carried a weight of 60 kgs with the other weights adjusted in the terms of the race itself. The highest that Desert God carried in Bangalore was earlier this year in the Chief Minister`s Trophy where he carried a weight of 62 kgs. One doesn`t know when the terms of the race were tweaked in such a way as to make things difficult for horses which would have group races in their own age group. The important consideration is for classic winners also have their chances along with those classic placed horses. It cannot be loaded heavily in favour of the latter.
In a handicap race earlier in the season, Cosmos gave a weight of 8.5 kgs and a narrow beating to Royal Crystal who carried a weight of 53.5 kgs. Now as per the terms of the race, Royal Crystal was set to concede six kgs to Cosmos. Cosmos is rated at 108 as against the 84 rating of Royal Crystal. The four-year-old filly Well Connected who is rated at 79 was also carrying the weight of 62 kgs. Thus as per as the terms of the race, it was virtually impossible for anyone to beat Cosmos and the latter should have been running at a short price. Those who saw this disparity stood to gain. It would be interesting what rating the handicapper would give to Well Connected who finished third but beat Secretive Force who is rated 103. Salazaar who is rated at 113 was also well beaten. Interestingly, since the stake money had been reduced but the terms of the race were not changed, Cosmos would not get any penalty in another group race because this race did not give 6 lakhs to the winner. Surely the terms of the races are not well thought out there is little one can expect as BTC is head by a handicapper with virtually no experience.
Be that as it may, Cosmos who is a winner of six races was settled in the second position as Big Sur did the pace-setting. Royal Crystal raced in the third position ahead of Well Connected, Anjeze, Salazaar, Secretive Force and Point To Prove. Rounding the final turn, Cosmos overhauled the front-running Big Sur who was a winner of this race last year, on the bridle and quickened well to win by a widening margin of three lengths over Salazaar. Well Connected showed intent but the weight told on her performance and she ended up third more than five lengths adrift of Salazaar. Royal Crystal finished poorly in the sixth position more than a distance behind the winner.
Irfan Ghatala trained Akita Pro showed vast improvement when winning the 1400 metres Kabini Cup, a race for horses rated 60 and above. Akita Pro hadn`t won for a very long time and had run nearly 10 lengths behind Nisus in her last effort and as such, was not under consideration by the betting public. Last start winner Malwa who enjoyed favouritism was surprisingly taken on a start to finish mission by jockey Trevor Patel. The four-year-old had always won with late flourishes but this time led aggressively in front before running out of steam approaching the final furlong. Akita Pro who was in the chase then stormed ahead and held off a spirited bid of Regal Music who too ran above expectations. Roma Victory was third ahead of Malwa who gave up the moment the pressure was on. Possibly the underfoot conditions which had changed its character because of the rain in the morning had a bearing on the performance of these horses.
Rajesh Narredu trained Animal Queen was another long-shot winner of the day. Apprentice jockey S Hussain took Animal Queen on a start to finish mission. The long-shot had a sizeable lead going into the final furlong and won with a measure of comfort over Asgardia who warmed up too late to make a difference to the outcome of the race. Donna Bella was third.
Padmanabhan trained Sovereign Legend had won against the run of expectations last time out and was backed to the exclusion of the rest in the 1400 metres Cordon Bleu Plate (Div I), a race for horses rated 15 to 35. The betting trend clearly did not highlight the competitive nature of the race because last start winners Katana and Realia were no pushovers and the favourite was also coming back in distance. In the event, Katana was driven out aggressively by Trevor to measure the front-running Realia close home. Sovereign Legend failed to live up to expectations and was a well-beaten third. The fourth-placed Bombix was a distance behind in the fourth position. Imtiaz Khan trained Twinkle Feet who was given a light ride last time out, lived up to the promise of that run and easily got the better of See My Heel and Golden Memory in the lower division of the race. Black Coffee had some support in the betting but the horse dropped the jockey and bolted and was subsequently withdrawn from the fray.
Prasanna Kumar td Astral Force recorded an encore when he managed to survive by the skin of his teeth in the 1600 metres Bhagamandala Plate, a race for horses rated 45 to 65. Akshay Kumar had Astral Force tracking Three Wishes into the straight before getting busy. Astral Force quickly established what turned out to be a winning lead. Electra took a while to warm up and came home with a big effort only to miss the berth in the bobbing of heads. Grey Channel too was full of running when finishing a close third.
Sporting Memories had shown promise last time out with a good forward run and was well supported to win the 1600 metres World Soil Day Plate, a race for maiden three-year-olds. Sporting Memories had to rough it up to win as Redoubtable had a good break in the final furlong. Sporting Memories had to be fully ridden out to nail the front-runner in the closing stride of the race. Handsome was third.
On the basis of a mock race and good workouts, Irfan Ghatala trained Garamond was considered a good bet in the 1400 metres Longchamp Plate, a race for maiden three-year-olds. But the favourite was a big letdown. Secret Source who had let down huge expectations in his last run, showed out in different colours today as he broke into a good lead in the final furlong. However, the long shot from trainer Lokanath`s yard Ombudsman finished with a big effort to collar the front-runner close home to record an impressive win. Garamond was a disappointing third.
*******************
Ombudsman (Darshan R N up) winner of the LONGCHAMP Plate
b>Twinkle Feet (A Ashhad Asbar up) winner of the Cordon Bleu Plate (Div-II)
<
Sporting Memories (Trevor Patel up) winner of the World Soil Day Plate
Animal Queen (S Hussain up) winner of the December Plate
Akita Pro (Shamaz Shareef up) winner of the Kabini Cup
Cosmos (Suraj Narredu up) winner of the Ashoka Chakra Cup
Astral Force (Akshay Kumar up) winner of the Bhagamandala Plate
Katana (Trevor Patel up) winner of the Cordon Bleu Plate (Div-I)
|
|
Top
