|
A sudden surge of betting in the direction of Rakesh-trained Wild Temper saw the six year-old starting as an even-money favourite in the lower division of this race. Racegoers were seen going nap on this runner. It was either some inside information, or a desire to quickly recover the day's losses, which prompted them to behave in such a manner. They soon came to grief as Yankee Lane bolted to the front and upset the applecart of the favourite. Madhu Babu rode a strong race on the winner. On the other hand, Merchant tried his best with Wild Temper, but this horse refused to quicken. He was whipped heavily to finish marginally ahead of Theworldismine and a disinterested Super Sha. The last-named happens to be in fine shape, and it is only a matter of time before his connections press the right button. Super Sha will be too-good-to-miss on that day.
Darashah's three year-old filly Aahana ran in open company on Thursday. After finishing a fair second to the highly regarded Cationic, the filly had been progressing nicely. The lack of a maiden's race over seven furlongs forced the trainer to campaign her in Class IV. She looked outstanding on paper, and her performance on the track justified the short odds quoted by the bookmakers. Jockey Sampson eased her into an early lead and literally waved the stick at this free striding filly. She lengthened her strides and won by a widening margin from Samrat and Prince Of Argyle. It may not be right to read too much into this performance, as the quality of her opposition was extremely poor.
The day began with an interesting race confined to three year-olds. Being a terms event with penalties for winners, it saw Princess Nero conceding chunks of weight to the others. The filly had scored thrice in the last few months, and on sheer ratings, was a cut above class. Star Of Hearts, Authoritative and Black Knight were fancied by their respective camps, as the large pull in weights looked significant. Star Of Hearts came into this race with a strong reputation. He was undoubtedly the costliest three year-old stationed at Mysore. If one added the fact that his jockey had picked up a suspension for the feeble assistance that he had provided from the saddle while guiding him into third place in his previous start, Star Of Hearts looked like a readymade winner. The presence of the in-form PS Chouhan saw this horse getting backed down to even money. However, it did not take long for his supporters to realize that their money had gone down the drain. Bipin-trained Star Of Hearts found it difficult to pace with the others, and was under pressure for most of the way. Winning Desire, Authoritative and Black Knight showed the way to Princess Nero and Star Of Hearts. Jockey Ahsan Qureshi guided the top-weighted filly with a lot of restraint. He allowed her to race in the shadow of the leaders, before asking her to quicken. Princess Nero bounded forward and picked up the fourth race of her short career. Black Knight plodded along to finish ahead of a heavily whipped Star Of Hearts.
A couple of races for horses in the lowest class formed the rest of the day's card. The favourites in both these events ran poorly. Trainer Kamath chose to utilize the services of apprentice Janardhan astride Maratha Conqueror. He must have thought that some weight off the back of this free striding runner may enable him to score today. What he had not bargained for was the inability of the boy to control his mount. Maratha Conqueror led till the straight before feeling the pressure. He drifted out towards the centre of the track and got tired. This enabled BK Narendra's Land Of Smiles to shoot ahead on the rails, and score untroubled from Smile Again and Raging River.
The combination of Bipin Salvi and PS Chouhan failed with another favourite today. South Parade had been carefully brought down in handicap and was running after a healthy gap of five months. He was reported to be working well, and considering the quality of his opponents, was expected to win this race. He too ran below expectations. Despite the jockey's best efforts, the horse refused to budge. He was put under immense pressure to take the third spot behind Mallikarjuna's Sterlingsteps and Stinger.
