Hawaiian Sunrise Makes it Three in a Row |
| Trainer Bobby distinguished himself by producing Hawaiian Sunrise in immaculate condition in The Indraprastha Cup, the feature event at the Mysore races on Wednesday. He had acquired the seven-year old mare only a couple of months ago. After winning twice during the earlier part of this season, in Classes IV and III, Hawaiian Sunrise was trying to defy the handicapper and win this sprint race for horses in Class II. She was rated almost 30 points higher than where she stood at the time of arriving at this centre. She was meeting a bunch of seasoned campaigners led by Eona and last outing winner Fire Brigade. The one big factor in her favour was her current form and fitness. Bobby had obviously tuned her to perfection, as the stable did not hesitate to support her with confidence, and send her as the first favourite to the starting gates. Late support for Eona indicated a keen battle on the track. The bottom-weighted Eona sped to the front and set a fast pace ahead of Fire Brigade and Snap Dragon. Hawaiian Sunrise was seen racing well within herself in sixth place. Her position at the top of the straight was a cause for concern amongst her supporters. She had a wall of horses in front of her, and a few of them were beginning to tire. Eona and Fire Brigade were engaged in a tough duel as the runners entered the final furlong of this race. John was lucky to get a nice opening at this stage, and Hawaiian Sunrise was good enough to take it. He pushed her strongly, gave her a tap and the race was over in no time. She was eased near the post to win her third straight start of this season. Fire Brigade got up on the last stride to get his neck in front of a tiring Eona. This was Eona's first start in the last eight months. The filly is looking well, and with this experience under her belt, should pick up a race in the coming weeks. The other trophy event in the day's card was The Kabini Dam Cup, a terms race for Indian horses, three years old only. Kamath's Theworldismine was running for the third time in his short career. His form was perfect, as he had finished a close second on both occasions. He was opposed by Darashah's Gershwin, who was making a bid to improve on his earlier start. The two of them were backed to the exclusion of their rivals. Darashah has proved repeatedly that his youngsters improve dramatically after their first start. It was no different today. In a finish restricted to the two market leaders, Gnaneshwar and Gershwin were lucky to get the nod from the judge. The two horses were seen racing alongside for most of the way. Theworldismine looked like a winner till the last stride. He will have to wait another few weeks before entering the winner's enclosure. Monappa's pair of World Is Toomuch and Time Speed were involved in a close finish for the minor berths. Gnaneshwar thus completed a double and shared the day's professional honours with trainer Dinesh Pujar. He had won an earlier event on Appachu's Arabian Speed. This import from Western India seems to have struck good form in his old age. Arabian Speed made light of the penalty he had received for a win earlier this month, and pulverised today's opposition. He treated Bravo Bedford and Maratha Conqueror with complete disdain. The win was so emphatic that the handicapper may be forced to saddle him with another big penalty. Pujar scored with Healing Touch and The Force. Both the horses were supported with confidence, but scored in contrasting styles. Healing Touch came from the rear, and under the strong guidance of Md Shoaib, ran away from Serious Warrior and Mauritius Star. The verdict of half a dozen lengths was a compliment to the runner-up. On the other hand, Jagadeesh had to sweat it out to keep Beauty On Duty at bay. The Force managed to kick-on till the winning post. Jericho flew from the last position to save place money. Hugely fancied Chocolate Brownie took a lot of money down the drain. He seems to have reached his mark after four wins in the last twelve months. Boston Ranger was finally given a chance to run over a galloping distance. The horse had been finding the sprints a bit sharp for his liking, and had been running-on to figure on board. The nine furlongs suited him perfectly, and he had no problems while carrying the top weight to victory. Mark rode a near perfect race on him, as he held him back till well into the straight before asking him for an effort. He accelerated comfortably and justified the short odds quoted on him by the bookmakers .Bold Success ran an improved race to finish second. The only other race during the afternoon was won by Bliss. The odds against this five-year old began to expand, as money began pouring on to top weighted Swiss Queen. The money was obviously misplaced, as the filly buckled under pressure. She led till the bend before veering out towards the outer sand track, and finished off the board. Vijay Kumar produced Bliss through the middle of the pack, and overtook Mr Bureaucrat to register an easy victory. Artistic Way plodded into third place. |
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