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Jockey Suraj Narredu, who is on the threshold of reaching a milestone in his career, had two rides on the day. Star Prospect, who was sent into the Astronomic Cup as the firm favourite, seems to have lost form, which was clearly visible in the race where he finished a poor sixth. Faisal’s Aspire who had played the role of a Best Man to Orient Glory earlier in the season, emerged victorious after a fight with Young Soldier and Mystical Knight. The tiring Young Soldier was beaten to the third spot by Mystical Knight. Guiding Light joined them to finish fourth.
Trainer Ananth Vatsalya’s decision to shift Airborne Magic from sprint distance to a mile paid dividends in the Own Opinion Plate. Suraj Narredu, who is now three short of completing 1000 wins, rode out Kohinoor Magic with determination to pass the leader Brianna on the straight. Juliet gave a tough chase in the final furlong but found the winner better.
Power Colors turned out to be the most impressive winner of the day when he beat the field comprehensively in the Indiscretion Plate. A mishap brought B. Mukesh, rider of Art Connoiseur, down, after the horse brushed along the rails within a furlong after the start. Pygmalion was shifting towards the rails after jumping out from the outermost draw and in the process leaned on to Alybro who in turn tightened Art Connoisseur, resulting in the mishap. Alybro finished second while Chameli with an erratic run towards the closing stages finished third ahead of Oscar Royal.
Prasad Raju’s Alpine Girl appeared from nowhere to win the Rave Review Cup. Racing in the rear for most of the five-furlong distance, she flew past the field when showed the daylights, and apprentice P. Sai Kumar registered the first win of his career. Ride to Glory reared up awkwardly in the gates as the race started and fell back on the rider R.B. Shinde, injuring him in the process. The irony is Shinde had replaced the injured Mukesh on Ride to Glory.
