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The early pace in the race was moderate as Valid Expectation showed the way to Join The Party, Jersey Pride, Cart Wheel and Celestial Son. Chris Hayes decided to keep Sugar Ray off the pace and followed the leading group till the heads turned for home. The one that looked most comfortable at this stage was Jersey Pride. He was travelling well within himself and Appu was yet to move on him. Jersey Pride assumed control of the proceedings at the top of the straight. A couple of backhanders from his jockey near the distance post saw this big made six year-old lengthening his strides and sailing into a commanding lead of over three lengths. Sugar Ray improved on the rails and under the strong urgings of his jockey went in chase. It became a two horse race thereafter. The gap between them began to narrow with each stride, and it was a pleasure to see Appu and Chris Hayes in full flight. The supporters of Jersey Pride were delighted to see him maintaining his advantage and winning by a neck from Sugar Ray. Cart Wheel was hard-ridden to finish third, while Celestial Son dropped out of contention and ended a poor fourth.
Leading jockey Suraj Narredu kept his date with the two popular "Ladies" that he was expected to partner this afternoon. Lokanath's Leading Lady and S Singh's Lady Duff were hot favourites in the day's card. Lokanath had tried winning with Leading Lady in the last six months, but had failed miserably. She had been well supported in her last three starts. Leading Lady had been flattering to deceive, as she had led on all three occasions but stopped in the straight. Lokanath decided to use the services of Suraj today. The well-bred filly was racing in the lowest class and was once again backed to the exclusion of her rivals. Suraj decided to ride her differently. He allowed Gara Fluid to show the way and held her back for a final assault. The filly loved his tender handling and ran kindly for him. Leading Lady quickened nicely at the bend and wasn't unduly extended while keeping Unique Star at bay.
The best performance of the afternoon came from Lady Duff. The speedy filly had been propelled into class II by the handicapper after winning a class IV race in summer. In the interim, she had run a fair second to Bourbon Bay earlier this season. S Singh deserves praise for producing Lady Duff looking immaculate in the paddock, as one look at her was enough to send the punters running towards the betting rings. She was plastered off the boards, and her odds shortened by almost half as the runners lined up to face the starter. Suraj had a very easy time on this mount. All he needed to do was to guide her safely, as the filly did the rest. Lady Duff charged out of the gates, went ahead and stayed there till the very end. Alacrity came within a respectable distance of the leader, but that was all he could do. The remarkable aspect of this victory was the timing in which it was achieved. It needs to be pointed out that Lady Duff was quicker by almost one second as compared to the victory of Jersey Pride in the highest class. Both Lady Duff and Alacrity are poised to score again in their next start.
Padmanabhan's Frozen Fire was another outstanding runner this afternoon. She was appearing after an easy outing over the opening weekend, and her track trials in the period thereafter were so impressive that she was backed down to half-money favouritism. To the dismay of her fans, Frozen Fire missed the kick and lost a few lengths at the start. David Allan chose to wait for his opportunities and stuck to the rails as he trailed his opponents till the three-furlong marker. The opening appeared at that stage and Frozen Fire was asked to take it. She was quick to respond and was soon at the helm of affairs. The favourite was ridden hands and heels to keep going ahead of Senora Encima and a late finishing Caspian Sea. The last named is getting ready to win a mile race amongst horses of his own vintage.
Irfan Ghatala's two-year-old Tsavorite (Burden Of Proof -Enduring Image) made a nice impression while winning her maiden start in the day's opener. The filly was the second favourite behind Accurate. Tsavorite is a well-built filly and is endowed with initial speed. She sported a wonderful coat and the only worry today was her extreme outside draw. Jockey Paswan took a level jump from the gates and was pleased to see her moving smoothly into the box seat behind early leader Soviet Melody. Market leader Accurate found the early pace a bit too hot to handle, and Suraj Narredu was having a tough time keeping him in touch with the leaders. Tsavorite was shown daylight at the bend, and like any seasoned campaigner, the juvenile charged away to an easy victory. Couleur Rouge made up ground from mid-division to run second. The leggy Yamas plodded into third place. Accurate needs time to mature.
The two divisions of a sprint race for horses in class IV saw some keen competition. The upper division was expected to be a two horse race. Eshwer's Ice Mint and Pradeep's Alcestis opened as the joint market leaders before money began pouring onto Ice Mint. This mount of Suraj had been sharpened in a mock race a couple of weeks ago, and the fact that he was receiving a lot of weight from the others tilted the balance in his favour. Jockey Chouhan tried to run away with the race as he took Alcestis to the front and was clear at the bend. Suraj goaded Ice Mint to join the fray and briefly headed the leader. But both of them were smoothly passed by Dominic's Still Will. Srinath rode a powerhouse finish on Still Will, and despite veering out in the final stages, steered his horse to win by over three lengths from Ice Mint and Alcestis.
The lower division saw Samar Singh's Amber Star holding on to his early advantage and winning in a blanket finish from Magnifique and True Impression. The bandaged Amber Star used his early speed to open up a gap of more than three lengths at the bend. He began to stop in the final furlong and was fortunate to find his "head" in front at the wire. The most impressive runner in this race was True Impression. He trailed the field till the bend before appearing on the wide outside. The way he gained ground on the leaders was indicative of an early success. Dhariwal’s Camelot was another one to show signs of running into winning form. This was his first run after being gelded, and after this forward performance today, the well-bred horse can be placed to win in a similar set very shortly.
