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The race itself was more like a procession. Lady Duff, despite being drawn the widest of all, took a good jump and went ahead of Valid Expectation and the others. She was galloping well within herself as she cruised into the straight. Suraj had not even moved a muscle, while the other jockeys had already pulled out their sticks. It was only in the last hundred metres that
she was alerted to keep going. Lady Duff sailed past the winning post, many lengths ahead of Atlantus, Cart Wheel and Noble Guest. Sugar Ray and Mighty Heart ran below par to finish off the frame.
Suraj Narredu's dominance of this season went a notch higher on Saturday. He was declared to ride six horses during the afternoon, and at the end of the day, he had won on four of them while having to settle for the second place on the other two. He is riding at the top of his form and has become a favourite of the railbirds. The young man has been free-lancing this season, and this has led to a flurry of offers to ride from various quarters. He is a keen student of the game, and is known to pick and choose his mounts with a lot of care. The fact that he has won 27 races thus far in the season speaks volumes of his complete domination. A healthy strike rate of approximately 40 per cent is quite extraordinary. Apart from Lady Duff, his other wins were scored astride Tsavorite, Brigade's Pride and Marie Curie. Incidentally, all four came from different yards.
The Karnataka Racehorse Owner's Association Trophy was the other important race in the day's card. Only six three year olds accepted to face the starter. It has been a similar scene so far this season. Trainers have been reluctant to run their first season horses in maiden's events, and the quality of fields has been generally poor. For those who are lucky to have a forward youngster in their yard, picking up such a race has been quite easy. Irfan Ghatala made full use of such an opportunity. Well-bred Tsavorite (Burden Of Proof- Enduring Image) had given enough indications of her abilities by storming home to an easy victory in the first start. According to the terms of today's race, she was expected to carry a statutory penalty of four kilos for that victory. Irfan had immense confidence in his filly, and asked Suraj to ride her. Tsavorite started as the shortest priced juvenile this season and justified the confidence of the stable by winning effortlessly. She made light of the heavier impost by making every post a winning one. Astounding Gallop made a late bid to take the second spot. One Life To Love, who was expected to run well, performed listlessly and ended in the ruck.
Sriram Komandur's Brigade's Pride was another short priced winner for this jockey. Suraj did not have to do much on him, as Brigade's Pride carried his rider to win by more than a distance. The victory astride Marie Curie was much closer. The filly had come with a late bid to take the second spot in her only run this season. She was running in handicap company for the first time in her career. I Wanna Dance set a strong pace and came a few lengths clear into the straight. He shortened his strides thereafter and surrendered tamely to Marie Curie. Suraj pushed this Dhariwal trained filly into an unassailable lead at that stage, and this helped her cause at the end. Marie Curie was able to hold the late charge of last outing winner Snow Peaks.
A real exciting finish was witnessed in a seven furlong race for horses in Class III. Suraj ridden Glitterato was an even money favourite to win this race. The connections of Lowndes Square and Bucephalas were equally optimistic about their chances, and a real close finish was on the cards. Glitterato chased pace setter Blushing Beam into the straight before overhauling him comfortably. Just as Suraj got busy on the favourite, Sylvester De Souza and Lowndes Square arrived on the scene. After a brief duel, Lowndes Square got the upper hand and went ahead of the pack. Not many noticed Bucephalas making his move from the rear. He was hanging out in the straight, but David Allan refused to give up. He made up more than five lengths on the leading duo, but was unlucky to be shy at the wire. A couple of neck's separated the first three runners.
Pradeep-trained Dark Horse was once again installed as a favourite in an age group race over seven furlongs. This horse had flopped a couple of times in the recent past, and his connections had decided to change the jockey. They wanted to give him another chance under Suraj's handling. The boy rode a neat race on the horse and gave him every chance to win today. Dark Horse wasn't good enough to hold a late and strong challenge from Warren Singh's Buck Passer Junior. Imran Chisty brought him with giant strides from the rear and won by a shade over five lengths from the favourite.
Imran Chisty showed a lot of grit and determination in the last race of the day. He was riding another fancied runner for Warren Singh. His mount Romance In The Air was a joint favourite with the Prakash ridden Ready To Mingle. Romance In The Air's saddle slipped in the first half of the race, and the young professional had no option but to remove his legs from the stirrups. He was helpless in offering much assistance in the saddle. Despite his legs dangling, he refused to give up. He coaxed Romance In The Air to improve her position in the straight, and actually gave her a couple of cracks in the final furlong. He did all this at the risk of falling off the horse. The mare galloped into a close second place behind Ready To Mingle. Those who collected on the winner should consider themselves to be extremely lucky, as this accident had cost Warren Singh's charge a certain race.
