Raider's Sun Makes Light of Heavy Impost |
| The 17-day Mysore Summer Season ended with a long-drawn card of ten events on Tuesday. Racing during this period saw a lot of ups and downs for the punters. It wasn't rare to see long-priced outsiders romping home with ease, and mocking the system repeatedly. There are a couple of important reasons for these happenings on the track. One major factor could be the six month gap prior to the start of this season, during which time racing had been suspended because of an equine influenza. The other reason could be the average age of the older horses stabled at this centre. Apart from this, racing was conducted in perfect conditions. The track was lush green, fields were big and representative, supervision was strict and the crowds were generally satisfied. Darashah and Gnaneshwar were popular winners of the professional championships. The two of them finished way ahead of the field by logging in almost twice the number of winners, as compared to their nearest rivals. The Mysore Race Club is set to commence its Main Season on the 13th of August. The last day's racing was highlighted by a superb performance from Tejaswi's Raiders Sun. The five-year old had already won twice in the highest Class earlier in the season, and was set to give chunks of weight to his rivals today. The TV Reddy Memorial Trophy had a packed field of twelve runners. After a fairly long time, racegoers saw a horse accepting to carry 68.5 kilos on his back. The trainer realized the gravity of the situation and decided to claim an allowance on this horse. Apprentice Himanshu was declared to partner the top weight in the day's feature. Raider's Sun was friendless in the betting ring, as money continued to flow in the direction of Lyra, War Head, Toofan Mail and Time To Celebrate. Mr Majestic set a fast pace till the home turn and retired from the fray. Nectar Jewel and Fire Brigade tried to chase him till that stage, but after finding this effort much too difficult, decided to call it a day. We suddenly had a new leader in Toofan Mail. Shoban Babu seized the advantage and skipped clear of Lyra and War Head. The three of them were in close order as they entered the final furlong of this race. Raider's Sun had been held back for most of the way and was produced on the wide outside. The rangy chestnut began to devour ground with each stride, and made his move towards the leaders. It ceased to be a contest thereafter, as Raiders Sun lengthened his strides and asserted his superiority. Lyra and Sensitive Prince filled the rest of the frame. The victory was truly emphatic, and the trainer needs to be complimented for this performance. Raiders Sun shall be relocated to Bangalore hereafter, and campaigned in Class I. The lower division of this race was won by Kalpavruksha. He scored at the expense of stablemate The Gain, who lost all his chances by going wide at the bend. In fact, most of the front-runners drifted out at the bend and presented a wide opening to Kalpavruksha. The bottom-weighted five-year old flew through this passage, and posted a superb timing of 1 minute 24.9 seconds. This was only marginally more than the record timing clocked almost a decade ago on this track. Trainer Dinesh Pujar and apprentice Md Shoaib were the only professionals to score more than once today. They combined effectively to win the last two races of the season. This performance enabled Pujar to finish a clear second behind veteran Darashah in the trainers tally. The victories were achieved with Healing Touch and The Force. Both these horses had won their previous starts, and were racing with penalties. Md Shoaib was extremely patient with both these runners and timed his runs to perfection. Healing Touch hit the front near the furlong pole and fought off a spirited challenge posed by Southerner. Healing Touch succeeded in winning by a "nose". On the other hand, The Force won easily. He picked up a group of tired horses, and showed that he is extremely comfortable over a mile. Looking To Lead and Golden Flowers ran on to take the minor placings. Three-year old Missiszippi was the first youngster from the Darashah stable to fail in open Class this season. The filly found the mile trip a bit too long for her liking. She led for most of the way before retiring from the fray. A close finish was witnessed in a scurry for horses in Class IV, wherein five animals were locked together at the finish. Favourite Janasheen, Bullet Train and Roto Rooa were on the rails, while Kar O Bar and Show N Tell had drifted towards the outer sand track. The camera confirmed that Show N Tell had managed to beat Kar O Bar and Bullet Train. Janasheen ran a poor race as she was unable to figure on board. Pratap Kamath's Ciampino notched up a close win after five unsuccessful attempts this season. This running of Ciampino highlighted the importance of a good jockey in the saddle. John rode a forceful race on the winner. He never allowed to horse to relax and kept guiding him to do his best. Ciampino responded brilliantly at the end to beat Living Free close to the winning post. Stampede and Forever Grande finished way behind the leaders. The first three races were reserved for horses in the lowest Class at Mysore. These races provided an opportunity for some relatively ordinary horses to earn their corn-bill. There wasn't much betting in these races and the odds were quite wide. Cadre Noir, Cannon Target and Theodora posted runaway victories in their respective events. These eight year olds are eligible to race for another few months, and in their current form, are likely get some more chances to pick up hard earned stake money. |
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