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The race was run on expected lines, and his supporters were quick to celebrate. Apprentice Khurshad took a good jump with Ansonia. He decided to sit behind Chamcha In Chief till well into the straight. With the field beginning to bunch up near the furlong marker, the boy decided to make his move. Ansonia responded gamely and showed a clean pair of heels to his opponents. A couple of taps of the whalebone saw him lengthening his strides and winning with a measure of comfort. Thunder On was under pressure while taking the second spot ahead of Prettyyashyashvini. Vertex ran a pathetic race while finishing off the frame.
The man who cornered the day's glory was definitely trainer Md Sajid. The young professional has a nice string of horses under his charge, and has had a fruitful winter season. A top three finish in the trainer's tally is definitely on the cards. Exceptional, Feel My Heart and Ambiens were his three winners today. The presence of jockey Noorulla on two of these runners ensured a healthy dividend at the totalizators. Exceptional and Madhu Babu set the ball rolling for this camp with a narrow victory in the day's opener. The speedy Draupadi flopped as a favourite, and began to drop back at the bend. A big group led by Exceptional came charging from behind. A blanket finish witnessed Exceptional winning by a narrow margin ahead of Splendid Glory and Mutual Fund.Draupadi was reported to have burst a blood vessel during the race.
The victory of Feel My Heart was even closer. Noorulla took her to the front, and set a fast pace ahead of Kaliyug Raja and Stornoway. She had to be ridden furiously to keep Kaliyug Raja at bay. The bobbing of the heads resulted in Feel My Heart winning by a short head. On the other hand, Ambiens gave Noorulla an easier time. The ten year old is set to bid goodbye to racing as he retires at the end of the month. The brave horse made his own running over this short trip and had little difficulty in holding the challenge mounted by Heroism and Hidden Pleasures. Well fancied Artic Princess played up at the gates and lost some precious ground at the start.
A good gamble was landed by the Natraj camp with Dutch Hero. There was a murmur all morning that this horse was being steadily backed by the connections. The odds against Dutch Hero shortened from 5/1 to 2/1 during this period. The form of this horse was quite average and it was difficult to understand the enthusiasm of his supporters. However, it became crystal clear after the running of this race. Durch Hero jumped smartly from his outside draw, went to the front and began accelerating thereafter. He led by five lengths at the bend before veering out in the straight. Despite finishing on the outer portion of the track, Dutch Hero was almost a distance clear of Amazon and Swiss Chocolate at the wire. The winner seems to have it in him to score again.
The other runaway winner of the day happened to be Dinesh Pujar's Hitz. Chandrasekhar got a chance mount on this horse. Not knowing much about Hitz, as he had never ridden him before, the jockey pushed him to the front and relaxed him after assuming command of the situation. Hitz galloped well within himself and cantered away from favourite War Head and top weighted Dragonair. The winner is on target to win again for the asking. It is difficult to understand how this horse had been running off the board in all his previous starts at Mysore.
The day ended with a victory for Darashah's Rich Rogue, who once again followed the pattern for the day, and posted a pillar-to-post win over Kandiate and the others. Apprentice Sreekanth managed to keep him going till the very end. After the two fancied runners, namely Our Lancer and Hero's Dominance, shot their bolt near the furlong marker, it was left to Kandiate to essay his challenge. Shoban Babu roused him to raise a strong gallop, but it wasn't enough to catch the front-runner. Land Of Gold showed signs of running into good form by ending a close third.
