Rhapsidion Snow Wears "Maharaja's" Crown |
| Wayne Smith received all round praise for his superb riding astride Padmanabhan's Rhapsidion Snow in The Maharaja's Gold Cup, the feature event in Friday's race card at Mysore. Rhapsidion Snow is undoubtedly the best seven-furlong horse in this part of the country, but the mile trip in today's race was definitely a huge test for him. The terms of this event saw the entire field being handicapped within four kilos of each other. Stablemates Rhapsidion Snow and Dancing Dynamite were closely matched. The latter was running at an advantage of one and a half kilos as compared to their last clash over seven furlongs during Bangalore Summer. Although both the horses had been prepared with this race in view, the fact that Dancing Dynamite was better suited over a mile was reason enough for punters to support him with confidence. The favouritism alternated between the two horses from the same stable. Suraj Narredu ridden Dancing Dynamite reached the gates as a clear favourite to win this race. Rhapsidion Snow got down to his usual front running role and dictated the pace to Firezone, Our Little Savage and Blink. Suraj was content to allow Dancing Dynamite to settle down in mid-group and stayed there till turning for home. Wayne Smith was quick to realize that he needed to slow down the pace in the backstretch, and he accomplished that with a subtle manoeuvre. The others played into his hands and continued to follow him in that order. Most of them, and especially Suraj, were waiting for Rhapsidion Snow to slow down and come back at them. They were caught napping as Wayne roused his mount to lengthen his strides in the last 300 metres, and charged for home. The pair were more than three lengths clear of their nearest rival at this stage. Dancing Dynamite was pulled towards the centre of the track before he began his assault. The game horse responded to Suraj's urgings and gained ground on the leader. But the winning post came to the rescue of Rhapsidion Snow, who held on to score by three parts of a length at the wire. Our Little Savage turned out to be the best of the rest, as he plodded into third place ahead of Lionheart. It is learnt that this was the last run of Lionheart on Indian soil. The game eight-year-old is being moved by his owners to race in Sri Lanka. The victory of Rhapsidion Snow was a feather in the caps of Padmanabhan and Wayne Smith. Trainer Padmanabhan completed a century of wins in graded races during the Bangalore Summer Season. His bandwagon is continuing to roll with victories for Icebreaker, Messalina and Red Renegade in Hyderabad. His ability to produce both his horses in impeccable condition in the "Maharaja's" is indicative of the professional capabilities of this Champion Trainer. As regards Wayne Smith's winning ride astride Rhapsidion Snow, it was almost perfect. He took his horse to the front, relaxed him in the lead, came the shortest way home and nursed him to give his best in the last furlong. What is even more important is the fact that he rode him hands and heels, and made little use of the whip. These tactics went a long way in achieving his ultimate goal. The other trophy event held during the afternoon was The Police Cup. Sharat Kumar's three-year-old Sandalwood Star received all round support and started as a short priced favourite in this race. The horse had run some suggestive races in maiden company at Bangalore. Although the horse is bred to get it longer, his trainer decided to pitch him over this scurry. Sandalwood Star found the trip short and struggled to keep pace with the leaders. He had to be really coaxed to get going, but once he got into rhythm, the race was almost over. The rangy horse was switched towards the rails, and after a few taps from Rajesh Babu, galloped strongly to finish ahead of Yes I Can and Nearco Master. The last named was sluggish at the start, but for which, he would have finished much closer. Nearco Master should be supported in his next start. A Class III sprint was split into two divisions. Both the races were won by Bangalore-based horses. Inayathulla's Enforcer produced a strong gallop through the middle and successfully warded off a challenge from On A Roll in the upper division of this event. Favourite On A Roll was given a poor ride by Jagadeesh. He was kept far too back before being pulled eight horses wide near the bend. He finished strongly to come close to the winner. The other division saw the eclipse of half-money favourite Celtic Charm. The Prakash-ridden filly had no answer to the strong gallop raised by Irfan Ghatala's Kajuraho. B Paswan settled the filly at the back and rode her for eventual speed. She is known to relish these tactics, and she loved them today. Just as Celtic Charm was being hailed a winner, Kajuraho arrived on the scene, and sped away for an easy victory. Another Destiny ended a close third. A nice little gamble was landed on Puttanna's Lava. Apprentice Sreekanth, who had already scored with Enforcer, completed a rare double for the day. By claiming 3 kilos off his back, Lava had a good chance to win this race. The speedy horse was held back behind the favourite Edmondo. Despite Wayne Smith's best efforts, Edmondo began to slow down near the distance post. Lava ranged on his outside and took over the running. The rest of the field led by Madam Rich was more than six lengths away. The day ended on a good note for the punters, when favourite Scenic Melody justified the support and romped home in the concluding race of the eight-event card. Scenic Melody had shown a lot of promise by ending second in her only start this season. She was bound to improve on that run and was backed accordingly. The connections of Undue decided to take her on. The two runners were almost alongside till the bend before Scenic Melody responded to Prakash's urgings and skipped away to win by a widening margin. |
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