|
The track conditions on Saturday were on the softer side. The timings in the first few races indicated the nature of the underfoot conditions. The runners were seen to be slowing down at the end and it took an extremely fit horse to emerge victorious. It was no different in the day's feature. Suraj Narredu took the speedy Lady Duff to the front and dictated the pace to Optimus Prime, Angelfire and Bourbon Bay. The other three were totally out of depth today. The leader was soon joined on her outside by the favourite, and the two of them began to race abreast as they turned for home. John and Optimus Prime looked to be travelling the better of the two, but that did not last too long. Optimus Prime faltered under pressure and began to fall back. It was Bourbon Bay who caught the attention while making his move from the rear. Under relentless pressure from Prakash, Bourbon Bay devoured ground and sailed past a tired Lady Duff. In the end, it was the fitness and stamina of the winner, which tilted the scales in his favour. Lady Duff and Optimus Prime are sure to win their fair share of races later in the season.
Chris Hayes made a loud announcement about his arrival on the local track by winning his first two rides of the season. The talented jockey has returned to don the silks for Dr Vijay Mallya's stables this year. In partnership with trainer Suleiman Attaolahi, he won with Senora Encima and Corbett. The victory astride Senora Encima came through sheer grit and determination. With the heavily backed Spark Of Joy left standing outside the starting gates, Chris kept his charge on a tight leash behind the pair of Poetic and Topkapi, who were leading till the runners took the right handed turn. Senora Encima assumed control at this stage and set sail for home. The filly quickened nicely, but after a while, began to feel the pressure. The jockey realised that she was disliking the stick. He rode her hands and heels thereafter and managed to scrape through in an extremely close finish from the late finishing Kripa.
His riding on Corbett was exemplary. The fact that he was riding the best horse in the race was incidental. The runners were closely grouped in the early stages of this race. Wanting to give his horse a clear run throughout the race, Chris was quick to grasp the situation. He pulled him out of the pack and raced him on an even keel. Corbett began his move near the three-furlong pole and skipped clear at the bend. Although Lock and Load tried his best to narrow the gap, Corbett continued to power away from him. Considering the fact that he will be riding for such a dominant racing establishment, Chris Hayes will be extremely prominent in the coming months.
The undisputed star of the day was Suraj Narredu. For the second time in the first three race days of this season, the champion booted home a treble. He has decided to freelance at this centre and that has led to a lot of popularity. He is currently riding at the top of his form, and trainers are comfortable entrusting their fancied runners to him. All three wins came astride public choices. Lokanath's Classical Dancer was the first to set the ball rolling. The horse had come down a full class over a period of time. The huge support that he received in the betting rings was indicative of his present fitness. Suraj allowed his charge to settle behind Ever So Clever tiil they were well into the straight. Classical Dancer responded nicely thereafter, and won by a widening margin from Ever So Clever and Dante's Peak. The last named was finishing the fastest at the end, and must be noted for an early success over a galloping trip.
The wins astride Irfan Ghatala's Brunetta and his father's Luminous Gold were armchair rides to victory. Brunetta had placed amongst a group of well-respected three year-olds during the summer months. She was racing in an ordinary Class IV handicap today. The one sided support accorded to her was vindicated on the track. Brunetta was seen racing all alone in front and won by a widening margin at the end. The handicapper is bound to penalize her for this effort, but her present form and fitness should enable her to score an encore.
The treble was completed with Luminous Gold. His superiority in this set can be assessed by the manner in which he scored today. The four year-old made all the running and had a slender advantage at the bend. Suraj tried to wake him up and asked him to quicken for home. A couple of taps with the whalebone were enough to get him going. To his horror, Suraj dropped his whip at this stage, and his horse began to drift towards the centre of the track. Not wanting to give up, he kept pushing him till the end. Luminous Gold kept getting stronger and finished more than five lengths clear of Smart N Special and Damgood. This performance was a nice tribute to the training of Satish Narredu.
The other pair of winners came from the stables of Prassanna Kumar. Dominic's poorly performed three year-old Snow Peaks had been putting in some smart work in her morning track trials. The stable got over-enthused by her form and decided to go nap on this filly. They backed her down from 18/10 to 65/100. The support was totally one-sided and the odds against the others began to expand rapidly. The race itself turned out to be totally different. Snow Peaks found it difficult to keep pace with the front-running pair of Black Splendour and Magnifique. Appu tried his best to cajole the filly into making a forward move , but she refused to budge. With no other runner coming from behind, it was left to the frontrunners to decide the fate of this event. Magnifique got stronger at the end to put her neck in front of Black Splendour and gave Prassanna Kumar his first winner of the season.
He did not have to wait too long to score again. The much-respected Spark Of Marchador was his next runner. The form of this horse was far superior to his rivals. The presence of Srinath in the saddle was enough to make him the shortest priced favourite in the day's card. The horse justified the favouritism in great style. Spark Of Marchador cantered away from his rivals and posted a smart victory ahead of Portobello and Mr President. Both the winner and the runner-up are capable of scoring in their next starts and are the ones for your notebook.
