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The speedy Captivating jumped out smartly and led at a brisk pace from Mystic Quest and Alaric. Suraj was quick to take an advantageous position on the rails and decided to keep Youre So Beautiful in that position till the horses took the turn and entered the straight. The favourite Gypsy Magic, who was drawn in the innermost lane, found the frontrunners too speedy and Appu decided to hold her back in sixth position till he could find an opening. The fillies were closely bunched as they entered the last two furlongs of this mile event. Chris Hayes and Captivating held centre stage and the duo seemed to be holding onto their lead. Mystic Quest began to tire and drop back. Gypsy Magic loomed on the wide outside and was seen closing the gap with each stride. Nobody noticed the smart move that Suraj was making with Youre So Beautiful. He was racing right behind Captivating and had saved ground for most of the way. The filly was shown daylight only in the last furlong and asked to quicken. Youre So Beautiful responded immediately and soon joined the fray. With Suraj producing his known powerhouse finish, the filly galloped resolutely, put her neck in front and caused a stunning upset. Gypsy Magic and Captivating finished close behind the winner.
Youre So Beautiful had made a sensational start to her juvenile career. After getting the feel of a racetrack in winter, she started her summer campaign with a couple of brilliant performances. Neil was disappointed to see her suffering a setback in training thereafter, and her master had no choice but to give her a long rest. After a gap of a few months, the dark bay filly had started as a hot order in a prestigious race at Mysore, but her connections were surprised with her run on that day. She had been found rusty on that occasion and could do no better than finish fourth to stable mate Hatsuhaana. Neil knew that she was capable of much better. He continued to work hard with her, and Saturday's performance was a result of these efforts. An emotional Neil attributed today's victory to the hard work of his team, and the combined blessings of God and his parents.
Youre So Beautiful is owned by the Bhandari family. They have been racing their small string of horses for many years and today was a special day in their lives too. Youre So Beautiful gave them their first Classic victory.
But it was Suraj Narredu who came in for a lot of adulation. The young "champion" had ridden another near-perfect race on the winner. It is normal for him to ride one of the fancied runners in a race. But today it was slightly different. He was astride a rank outsider, who according to most knowledgeable racegoers had little chance of winning in this company. He had proved that he is riding at the top of his form. Suraj had given the filly her best chance of cornering the day's glory, and shown her how to do so. Youre So Beautiful had followed Suraj's instructions and everyone connected with the nice looking filly was proud to be associated with her.
Suraj had accepted to ride three runners for Neil Darashah's yard this afternoon. To the delight of this camp he scored with all of them. Apart from Youre So Beautiful, it was Apollonaire and Glory Bound who completed this treble. Apollonaire was the easiest winner in the day’s card, as he scored from start to finish and ended almost a distance clear of Persian Rock. The win astride Glory Bound was more exciting. Joint favourite Sparklingadventure had led till well into the straight and was refusing to slow down. Suraj had to pull out all stops to get Glory Bound past the front-runner while seizing the advantage in the last fifty metres of this race.
The other professional to score a treble was trainer Dhariwal. On a day when only one favourite obliged in the nine-event card, Dhariwal scored with three lesser-fancied runners. He started the day with Alpha Baby. The three year old had never touched the board and found herself racing in the lowest class. Md Shoaib took her into an early lead and she stayed there till the very end. The favourite Flying Flame went lame during a course of this race and finished a poor third.
The next winner came in the form of Spandau Ballet. Chris Hayes rode another confident race on this horse. With the money flowing in the direction of Raptor Force, the others seemed to be running without a chance. For some strange reason, Raptor Force was kept at the tail end of the field and graced that position for most of the way. Jockey D'Souza decided to rouse him in the straight but the horse took his time to get into full momentum. All he could achieve ultimately was to close the gap and finish a poor third. On the other hand, Chris Hayes was alert to his task. Spandau Ballet chased Noble Kingdom till the distance post before speeding away from him.
The third and final winner for the Dhariwal stable was the most thrilling of the lot. Ganapathy trained Star Of Marmalade was the shortest priced runner in the day's card. He was considered a certainty and was backed down to 40/100. Prakash held him back in second position before going past a hapless Youre A Legend. Star Of Marmalade seemed to be travelling well before Oban arrived on the scene. Under a strong ride from De Souza, Oban came with smooth strides and won on the post.
The other two races in the card were captured by the trainer-jockey combination of Prassanna Kumar and Srinath. Spark Of Ilderim had disappointed when he was fancied in an earlier run this season. Running in a lower division of a Class IV sprint today, the three year old got stronger at the end to sail past the top weighted Game Dancer. Srinath had to ride him powerfully at the end to keep him going. The winner will have to show remarkable improvement to win another race in the near future. Strongly fancied Trillion Win wilted under pressure to fade away from the scene.
The Royal Calcutta Turf Club Cup was a handicap event for the highest rated horses at this centre. Aristos was assigned the highest weight of 64 Kgs in this race. Bottom weighted Timeless Treasure enjoyed a distinct advantage over the others and was supported with confidence. He had finished third behind Celestial Way and Aristos on the opening day of the season. He was 14 kilos better at the weights with regards to Aristos. A lot of money went down the drain with this favourite. Despite Appu's strong urgings, Timeless Treasure was totally lethargic this afternoon. Desert Rule led into the straight and was smoothly passed by Aristos. Srinath decided to join the fray and brought Spark Of Gold with a rattle on the wide outside. The weight advantage proved to be decisive as Spark Of Gold cantered away to an easy victory.
