Simply Amazing Lives up to His Name |
| The BOL Publication Cup witnessed an impressive performance from an unheralded nine-year old, who lived up to his name and won this event in effortless fashion on Wednesday at Mysore. Simply Amazing toyed with his opponents while scoring a runaway victory in the day's feature. He was the oldest horse in a group of nine, and had been putting in some lacklustre efforts in recent times. His run on the opening day of the current season, when he had finished a distance behind the winner, did not impress most racegoers and they decided to ignore his chances in today's race. Time Is Life, Mr Bureaucrat and Arkwright were considered as the frontline contenders and the betting was restricted to the three of them. Just about ten minutes prior to starting time, there was a surge of money on Simply Amazing. He was plastered down from 5/1 to 18/10 in a short period of time. The connections were obviously confident about his chances. Being a nine year old, he is very close to retiring from the scene. He had been tuned to perfection for this event, and his performance reflected the hard work put in by his trainer. S Ramesh had a tough time holding Simply Amazing in fourth place as Arkwright, Mr Bureaucrat and Royal Hawk raced in front till the runners approached the final bend. He released his grip thereafter and the horse responded immediately. He bounded forward and sped away from his hapless opponents. His rider was a picture of supreme confidence as he looked back for possible threats, and not finding anyone close to him, eased his mount much before reaching the winning post. Mr Bureaucrat plodded-on to finish second, marginally ahead of a late finishing Estrella. The winner has struck good form, and his stable is bound to try and pick up another race in the next couple of weeks prior to retiring him from the sport. Racegoers witnessed a rare performance from jockey Mahendran during the afternoon. The youngster was slated to ride in six out of the eight events framed for the day. He ended up winning four races and achieving a personal landmark that he may find difficult to repeat in his career. All his winners were quietly backed by the respective yards. Bobby's stable sent out Tropical Flyer as a fancied runner in the day's opener. Allowing Theodora and Analika to lead on sufferance till the home turn, Tropical Flower assumed control of the proceedings thereafter and ran away from them. Peakaboo came flying from the rear and ran on to take the fourth spot. He should not be allowed to friendless hereafter, as he has come to a very handy mark at the scales. Bobby and Mahendran were quick to complete a double with Vertical limit. This mare had been given a horrendous ride by her apprentice rider on the first day of this season. Running today in the higher Class, she relished the light impost on her back and scored by a widening margin from Zindabad. Mahendran's next two winners came from the stables of Bipin Salvi. Toofan Mail had been acquired recently by the stable. The five year old had been known as a sprinting type in Western India. He had never run a mile prior to arriving at Mysore. Bipin tested Toofan Mail over the trip in his very first start with him, and being suitably impressed with that effort, decided to run him over 1600 metres in an age group event today. The horse was supported by the insiders, and he landed the gamble with ease. Toofan Mail was given his head only in the straight, and despite shifting out, sped past a tiring San Giminano and favourite Cadre Noir. The duo landed another gamble with High Tower in the concluding event of the day. High Tower was a rank outsider before he began his climb on the betting boards. The climb was fast and furious, as he soon occupied the pride of place as the first choice of the punters. His supporters were momentarily dismayed to see him blocked behind a closely packed group, but were soon overjoyed to see his powerful acceleration. High Tower was too powerful for Pat On The Back, Pal Joey and Ciampino. The last named is running into some sort of form and can be supported hereafter. Mahendran completed the most memorable afternoon of his short career by steering home four well-fancied runners. Ganeshwar and Monappa had a couple of short priced runners in the day. Veda Priya and Cilantro were expected to romp home in effortless fashion, and were accordingly installed at the identical price of 70/100 in their respective races. Gnaneshwar took Veda Priya to the front and tried to make every post a winning one. They were soon challenged and passed by a friendless Charing Cross, who galloped kindly for Noorulla. The manner of this victory was a huge shock for all concerned, especially because Charing Cross had put in a couple of doleful performances in his recent starts. The victory on Cilantro came as a relief for the camp. Cilantro was tackling a mile trip for the first time in his career. His pedigree did not suggest that he would stay. Despite all these indications, Monappa was confident that he would score comfortably. He was partly right and partly wrong. Cilantro won this race, but only after getting a scare from Bee For You and Royal Hawk. The three of them raced alongside for most of the way, before the favourite managed to get his head in front. With whalebones flying, and the horses getting tired with their efforts, Cilantro held on to his early advantage and scored in an exciting finish. On a day when bookmakers were seen running for cover, the biggest gamble was landed in a sprint race for horses in the lowest class. Girinath's Kar O Bar was the youngest horse in the field. She was yet to win a race in her career. Her rider Amarpreet had been finding it difficult to have a winner in recent times. The two of them got their opportunity on Wednesday. It is rare to see a horse opening at longer odds and reaching the starting gates as an odds-on favourite. Kar O Bar was one such example. The speedy filly led all the way, and scored a popular victory. Opera Princess was the best of the rest. |
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