Eclair Blanche Triumphs
By Pearcey

Mysore. Dec 5, 2007

Eclair Blanche, with Vivek in the saddle, won the main event on an afternoon of very ordinary racing at Mysore. She proved that she loves the Mysore track, this being her fourth win at this centre since migrating from western India. In the morning she was being touted as the day’s best bet, but at race time things took a strange turn. The bookmakers opened her odds at 2/1, but in no time she was available at 5/1 and over. Loads of money came onto Café Coffee, a horse hailing from the successful betting stable of Sharat Kumar. Cafe Coffee entered the starting gates as the on-money favourite.

The race saw Eclair Blanche going to the front and racing well within herself, while leading from Sensitive Prince, Fire Brigade and Canon Run. The backers of Cafe Coffee had shivers down their spines as the favourite was seen struggling to keep pace with the horses in front of him. It was pretty certain at this stage, that the he was a beaten horse. Eclair Blanche kicked on to win the race from Sensitive Prince and Fire Brigade. The penalty for this victory shall mean that the winner will be ineligible to race at Mysore and shall have to relocate to Bangalore for her future engagements.

Three huge gambles were landed in races for horses in the lowest class. It was apparent that all three had been kept for a touch and it was fortunate for their respective connections that they did not clash with each other. The opening event saw Pleaser being backed down from 5/1 to 7/4. He was soon hailed as an easy winner when he cantered away from the rest. The second race saw I Wanna Fly replacing Smiles Of Gold as the favourite and in the process being backed down from 9/2 to 9/4.She too was held up in mid-bunch and literally flew when asked for an effort. For the record she won from a late finishing Much More and Smiles Of Gold. In another event, there was a lot of support for an apprentice ridden Rain God. This horse had last won a race about 15 months ago and had no current form. Rain God proved that his supporters were right when he took over the running at the bend and won as he liked from a one paced Island Pearl and Eden. The last named has shown some form by his front running and can be followed hereafter. These happenings reaffirm our conviction that it is necessary to watch the betting trends during these mini-seasons, before punters decide to put their hands in their pockets for placing a bet.

Jockey Gnaneshwar has struck a purple patch in his career. After his last week quadruple he was booked to ride in all the eight races in the day’s card. He completed a double for the afternoon, while winning on Missedent for Darashah and Mazeppa for trainer Bipin. He placed on three of his other mounts.

The last race of the day saw keen support for quite a few horses with Angel of Faith and Mint Royal sharing the favouritism. Simply Amazing, Master Prospect and Queen of Destiny had their own bunch of followers. Mint Royal tore away to the front with Master Prospect in close attendance. On straightening up, it was Simply Amazing who came with a smooth run and surprised Master Prospect. Mint Royal plodded on to be third. A
disinterested Rule of Fashion dragged her rider into fourth place. The runner-up shall be too good to miss in his next start in similar company.