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The Karnataka Trophy, a Class I race over seven furlongs was slated as the day's feature. It was surprising to note that Suraj had no ride in this race. By a quirk of fate, after Appu picking up an injury during the morning trackwork, Suraj got a chance mount as a replacement jockey on Michael Eshwer's Blink. Ganapathy-trained Bourbon Bay was a hot order in this event. He was the youngest horse in this race and was re-appearing after beating Lady Duff in his earlier start. The fact that Lady Duff had won twice thereafter gave a huge boost to his chances today. Bourbon Bay was quoted at a miserly 50/100, while a punter could write his own card on the others. Blink was available at 10/1 in the betting rings.
Suraj chose to take Blink into an early lead and set a moderate pace ahead of Nectar Jewel, Bourbon Bay and Timeless Treasure. The other runners were tightly huddled in mid division as the group of ten entered the straight. The supporters of Bourbon Bay were elated to see Prakash making his move in the straight, as he steadily bridged the gap and came close to the leader. But that was all he could do. Suraj had kept something in reserve, and Blink was in no mood to surrender without a fight. After a brief duel, Blink powered away from Bourbon Bay and scored a smart victory. Bourbon Bay was clearly under pressure in the final stages as he was seen losing his second place to a fast finishing Soberano near the final post. The favourite has never scored beyond six furlongs in his career, and all his wins have been on softer ground. He was racing over seven furlongs on firm ground, and that could have been the main reason for his defeat today.
Satish Narredu used the services of his son while scoring a nice priced double with Amar Prem and Superb Style. Both these runners had won a race earlier in the season. The speedy Amar Prem led from the word "go" and showed a clean pair of heels to the on-money favourite Special Charm. Here again, Prakash could not handle Suraj's runaway tactics. The winner normally begins to slow down in the final stages of a race, but there was no such problem today. Amar Prem relished the strong urgings of his jockey and responded gamely. Spark Of Bronte ran erratically while sailing into third place. The tactics used astride Superb Style were totally different. Suraj was content to sit off the pace as Still Will showed the way to favourite Spark Of Solitaire. Jockey De Souza seemed to have things under control with Still Will, as the horse was running well within himself and holding onto his advantage. But, it all changed suddenly. His reins snapped and he lost control over his horse. With no assistance available from the saddle, Still Will began to shorten his strides. On the other hand, Superb Style was seen moving smoothly on the wide outside. He picked up the front-runners one by one and sailed into a comfortable lead. A late rushing Tanzanite took the second spot ahead of a helpless Still Will. The last named lost a race that he would have normally won.
The other two victories for Suraj came in the form of hot favourites Saloni and Born Beauty. Well bred Saloni gave trainer Prithviraj an opportunity to pick up his first "baby" race of the season. Saloni was bred perfectly to handle the seven furlong trip of The Sangam Trophy. She settled nicely behind Indian Bolt and stayed there till she was shown daylight in the straight. The acceleration thereafter was smooth and powerful. Saloni ended many lengths ahead of Missoni and Golden Quest. By riding his fifth and final winner, Suraj enabled trainer Narayana Gowda to score the first ever treble of his career. Born Beauty had been unfortunate to miss in her earlier runs as she had encountered numerous traffic problems on those occasions. All Suraj had to do today, was to keep her away from trouble. Taking a smart jump from her extreme draw, Born Beauty kept improving in the back stretch and cantered way for a runaway victory. She is in such great heart that another success seems to be around the corner. Sabari and Shot Of Gold were able to save place money for their respective connections.
Unassuming Narayana Gowda had already won twice in the afternoon with Spread A Smile and Zanzara. All three winners from his stable were supported with confidence and scored as first favourites. Spread A Smile with De Souza and Zanzara with apprentice Srikanth astride, ran in identical fashion. Both occupied the box seat till the bend and charged away into the straight. While Spread A Smile survived the challenge of Alianz in a confident manner, Zanzara proved to be much too powerful for Thumping Victory. The last named was a trifle unlucky to be crowded off in the early stages of the race. Thumping Victory overcame these traffic problems and arrived a bit late on the scene. He is capable of winning a similar event in the near future.
Trainer Padmanabhan needs to be complimented for sorting out the various niggling problems that plagued Topkapi's career. The stylishly bred horse had made a strong debut by winning his first career start. He had to wait a full year to repeat that performance. In the interim, Topkapi was subjected to minor surgical corrections. His recent track trials had indicated that the nice looking horse was back in business. His performance today was a revelation, as Topkapi won without raising a sweat. He showed that he belongs to a much higher class, and it won’t be long before he progresses to his correct rating. Super Spear led for most of the way before retiring into second place. Strongly supported Red Stone ran like a damp squib and took a lot of money down with him.
A scurry for maiden's started the day's proceedings. Got-abroad filly Delight Of Asia (Trade Fair-Lothlorien) was touted as the best bet of the day. It was heard that the breeder had asked for a princely sum to sell her, and being unable to get it, had decided to retain her. Dhariwal had tuned her perfectly and turned her out in immaculate condition. While some said that she was bred to stay, others thought that she would win on sheer class. She was slammed down in the ring and started as an odds-on choice to win the day's opener. Delight Of Asia's supporter's rued their decision to have gone nap on her. The filly ran green for quite a while before getting into rhythm. Chris Hayes rode her powerfully in the straight, but was unlucky to lose by a short head to the Chouhan ridden Gift Of Love. This Dominic trained winner had obviously benefited from a forward run in her first start. Delight Of Asia lives to fight another day.
