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Wonder Smile's stablemate Noble View took off in front and set a fair pace ahead of Flaming Lamborgini, Humble Guy and Henry's Secret, while Prakash and Wonder Smile graced the rear. The six runners were in the same order as they took the rising ground and began to take the final turn. Noble View was a couple of lengths clear of Wonder Smile and Henry's Secret as the field straightened for home. The leader began to shift out under pressure and came towards the centre of the track. While Prakash continued his challenge on the wide outside, Gnaneshwar was quick to seize his opportunity on the inner rails. He brought Henry's Secret with a flourish and joined the fray. The three of them raced abreast for a while before Henry's Secret asserted his superiority. He got stronger at the finish and won easier than the official verdict. Wonder Smile was under extreme pressure to finish ahead of Noble View. Henry's Secret will be a strong force in the long distance races to be held during Bangalore Winter.
The other highlight of the afternoon was the quadruple scored by Suraj Narredu. The young professional, who was the champion jockey during the recent Bangalore seasons, is yet to wear the crown at Mysore. B Prakash has been dominating this centre for the last many years. He had opened up a fair lead over the others during the early days of the current season. Suraj was a late starter, but once he got going, it was evident that a "battle-royale" was on the cards. By scoring four times on Friday, Suraj surged into the lead. Railbirds can be assured of a grim battle between the two saddle artists over the Derby weekend.
Suraj's fourth linker started with his father's Phenomenal Strides. With fancied runners like Flair Queen, Rich Rogue and Dhanush running lethargically, Suraj had little to do on the winner. He chased no-hopers Kar-O-Bar and Midsummer Star till the bend before hitting the front. It was only a question of maintaining the momentum thereafter. Phenomenal Strides scored comfortably over Power Of Glory and a hard ridden Rich Rogue. The very next race saw him scoring a pillar-to-post win astride Neil Darashah's Gris Rapide. The speedy grey went to the front and was never headed. Prakash-ridden favourite Touch Of Land was totally at sea while finishing in the ruck. It is difficult to understand this performance of the favourite. Time Speed, who chased the winner from the start, was an easy second ahead of Living Free.
He signed off in style by scoring in the last two races of the day. Riding for his retained stable, he rode two perfect races on the Dhariwal trained pair of Cayenne and Carabinieri. Three-year-old Cayenne took a good jump and settled down comfortably behind Top Romance. With a minimal of effort, she came alongside the leader and sped away for an easy victory. The other runners in this race were totally outclassed. Suraj rode a tactically perfect race on Carabinieri. The heavy impost on his back was a huge hindrance. Carabinieri was lucky to get the box-seat on the rails, and he was good enough to occupy it. He saved ground all through the backstretch and came the shortest way home. Suraj waited till well into the straight, at which stage, the front-runners started to drift towards the centre of the track. He pushed Carabinieri through this dream opening and scored in a blanket finish from South Paradise and Shisham. This was the only way Carabinieri could have won today.
The Smt Maliniraje Prasad Memorial Gold Trophy was a sprint for horses in Class II. Edmondo was a clear favourite amongst a field of twelve. Michael Eshwer had slapped a pair of blinkers on him and the horse was expected to run to his true potential. He had been tending to loaf in his earlier runs. This decision proved to be correct, as Edmondo came with a fluent run and collared Nectar Jewel in the last furlong of this race. Lush Foliage was caught wide all the way, but travelled strongly at the end to take the third spot.
The day started with a couple of races for horses in the lowest class. Karan Singh's Persian Rock romped home in the upper division. The on-money favourite proved to be much too strong for his opponents. Apprentice Sreekanth had the pleasure of looking back while guiding his fortunes. Second placed Bolzano ran a nice race and can be expected to score in the near future. The day's opener was won by Pocket Dynamite. She has been fancied a couple of times in the past, but has lost ground at the start on every single occasion. Gnaneshwar was able to get her off to an even start today, and that turned out to be decisive. She collared a runaway Worth A Diamond near the distance post and scampered away from Aim To Win to register an overdue success.
