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The early pace set by Abs Fabs and Arabian Knight was quite fast, and this led to their eventual downfall. They cut pace with each other and went almost a distance clear of the others in the first half of this race. Wayne Smith judged the pace to a nicety and decided to bide his time. Angelique and Vanquish were gracing the rear as they took the rising ground and turned for home. The first one to get beat was Abs Fabs. She was in distress near the bend, shortened her strides thereafter and dropped right through the field to end in last position. Arabian Knight tried his best to keep going, but had no answers to the powerful acceleration displayed by the favourite. The "Prince" arrived on the scene and skipped away from the others. He extended the margin of victory before Smith decided to ease him near the winning post.
Trainer Padmanabhan has done really well to tune the five year old to perfection. Although Noble Prince has been plagued with many problems throughout his career, it is a pleasure to see him gallop in recent months. His bandaged legs are always a concern for the stable. Padmanabhan had won the trainer's honours for the first time in his career, when he was declared the Champion Trainer of the recent winter season. He retained that position by saddling 22 winners in the current season. This is a remarkable performance, considering the fact that his stable lacks numbers. There are some trainers who have many more horses than him. What makes the feat more significant is the fact that many of his wins came in "Graded" races. He has some fine youngsters in his yard, and we may see a new star emerging amongst them in the near future.
Suraj Narredu had little opposition in his quest for the jockey's championship. He has been riding for quite a few stables, and his short stint with Neil Darashah helped him notch some well needed points in the last few weeks. The youngster is maturing with age, and the difference is quite noticable. His ability to work out a race in his mind, prior to executing it on the track, helps him in realizing his goals. He is headed to achieve the fastest "1000 wins" recorded by a jockey in the history of Indian racing.
Kunigal Stud Farm continued its dominance of racing at Bangalore. The establishment finished a street ahead of the other farms. Kunigal bred Aboline was declared the Champion Horse of the summer season. The winner of the Kingfisher Derby was the highest stake earner in recent months. Pradeep Annaiah's Alaric completed a hat-trick of wins today, and pipped Neil Darashah's Celestial Son for the award of "The Horse Of The Season". Both these horses had won three in a row, but an earlier fourth place finish tilted the balance in favour of Alaric.
There was some spirited betting on Optimus Prime, Mr Ambassador and Hidalgo during the afternoon. All three were slammed in the ring and their supporters were delighted with their performances. Arjun's Optimus Prime made his racing debut in the day's opener. Ryan Marshall was a mere spectator as this big made colt went to the front , and was unstoppable in the straight. He ended a distance clear of Brunetta and Star Presence. The very next race saw a similar performance from Lokanath's Mr Ambassador. The three year old had been kept under wraps for most of his career, and brought down to the lowest class. The declaration of apprentice Himanshu saw a further three kilos off his back. The horse seemed to love all this, as he came from the rear and ran away for one of the easiest victories this season. Sharat Kumar's Hidalgo closed the season with a popular victory in the last race of the day. The horse was backed down from 5/1 to 18/10 in no time. Afsar Khan seemed to be in trouble near the bend, but once he showed daylight to his horse, the race was almost over. To the delight of his numerous fans, Hidalgo came with giant strides in the straight to go past a hapless Clouseau.
The other talking point on the course was the performance of Criminal Lawyer. The three year old had made his racing debut only a couple of months ago. After two notable performances under his belt, Criminal Lawyer had started as a firm favourite exactly a fortnight ago. He was facing modest opposition on that day, and was considered to be much better than his opponents. He ran much below his known form, and was unable to save place money in that race. The connections suggested that there was something wrong with his galloping action. Trainer Irfan Ghatala must be complimented for sorting him out in such a short period of time. It was perhaps a round of physiotherapy that improved his action. Criminal Lawyer ran a powerful race, and his galloping action was absolutely perfect today. Vinod Shinde rode him vigorously, and the horse responded brilliantly. The duo shot away from their rivals and beat a bunch of well supported horses.
The lower divisions of the above race were won by Ganapathy's Imperial Guest and Satish Narredu's Simply Phenomenol. Both these horses seized the advantage near the bend and were hard ridden to keep the others at bay. Alford ridden Mega Joy came with a strong gallop but was unable to get close to Imperial Guest. On the other hand, Simply Phenomenol won unchallenged. Christopher rode a power packed finish to keep a well suppoerted She's A Lady at bay.
The two other races in a long card of ten events were the lower divisions of The Champion Jockey Cup. Byramji's Caspian Sea took the shotest way home by seizing an opening near the inner rails , and sped away from Voice Of India and Sanfrancisco Girl.Imran Chisty rode a strong finish on Caspian Sea .Fancied Pinaakini broke a blood vessel and finished off the frame. A similar fate awaited favourite Storm Chaser in the lowest division. The even money choice was well positioned at the top of the straight, before she faltered in her strides. She bled from her nostrils at that stage and dropped out of contention. Early leader Royal Artist held on to her advantage and gave jockey Velu his second winner in two days.
