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Mumbai challenger Ciel Indienne made use of his early speed and an inner draw, and took an advantageous position behind a runaway Orient Glory as the runners settled down to make their way in this second Classic of the Summer Season. The others led by Arya Veer and Ordained One were seen racing a couple of lengths behind the leaders. Suraj Narredu and Sun Kingdom looked unconcerned at the back and did not move a muscle till they began to take the final bend. Jockey Sampson was the first one to make his move once the runners straightened for home. He pushed Ciel Indienne to the front and began using his stick. The colt responded nicely and looked good, but only till Sun Kingdom arrived on the scene. The horse made up more than ten lengths from the back, and gained ground on the wide outside. Within the next few seconds, Sun Kingdom had hit the front. It was smooth sailing thereafter, as he began to dominate the proceedings. In the strong hands of Suraj, Sun Kingdom lengthened his strides and drew away from the pack. The jubilant jockey was seen celebrating much before they passed the winning post. Immense came with a flourish from the back and displaced Ciel Indienne from the second spot. Vijay Monarch ended a close fourth. The widening winning margin of over three lengths and a superb timing of a little over 1 Minute 37 Seconds, completes the rest of the story.
The winning team returned to a standing ovation from the large crowd present at the race course today. Racegoers had witnessed a brave performance from an outstanding horse. Sun Kingdom had shown that even at this early stage of his career, he was comfortable over a galloping course. The way he settled in the back-stretch and quickened in the straight, were clear signs of a potential champion. While watching people converging onto Suraj Narredu and congratulating him for this victory, my thoughts went to what I had seen the previous night on Live Television. It had been the last day of racing at The Royal Ascot. John Murtagh was being congratulated by the BBC correspondent for his victories on Saturday. While accepting the accolades, he had remarked, "I feel blessed when I get an opportunity to ride such wonderful horses. Please remember that a jockey has a very limited role to play in these successes. A major credit for these victories goes to the people behind the scenes. It is the trainer and his team that produces the horses in the paddock. I am eternally grateful to these excellent professionals for giving me an opportunity to ride for their stables." It may not be out of place to say that a major portion of the credit for Sun Kingdom's performance on Sunday, must go to Irfan and his hard working team led by Silva Storai.
While speaking to Indiarace at the end of the day, Irfan confirmed that Sun Kingdom's next start shall be in the Kingfisher Derby. He felt that "the extra quarter mile is well within Sun Kingdom's compass, and the horse is quite comfortable after today's exercise. Three weeks is a long time, and we must hope and pray that he keeps responding to my training. Suraj Narredu shall continue his partnership with him in The Derby".
The other talking point on Sunday was the brilliant debut of Dhariwal's Skyliner (Hurricane State-Broken Sky). The three year-old filly is bred as a half sister to the well-performed Attorney and Among Men. The way she treated a group of seasoned campaigners was quite a revelation. Sampson took her to the front and the filly raced well within herself while striding away to a bloodless victory. Public choice Con Artiste tried to match strides with Skyliner in the early stages of this race, but found the pace a bit too fast for her liking. She took the second spot by finishing ahead of Montedoro and a late rushing Spark Of Desire. The winner looks like a good type, and is capable of progressing nicely from her present mark.
On a day when most favourites took a back seat, rank outsider Firezone delivered the ultimate punch. This Irfan Ghatala-trainee was carrying the top weight in The Stewards Cup. The sprint was considered to be a bit short for his liking, and a long absence of over four months from the race track seemed to confirm that this big-made horse was just about getting back into shape. Mumbai challenger Slickkit was the only runner that was supported with any sort of confidence , and this enabled her to start as a marginal favourite in this race. With Slickkit losing precious ground at the start, it became apparent that we were looking at an upset. With most of the runners plodding in the straight, Firezone started his march from the back. It took him a while to pass a bunch of tired leaders, but once he hit the front, there was no way that he was going to get caught. His long strides enabled him to snuff out a feeble challenge from Magnanimity. Slickkit improved on the wide outside to finish a close third.
Mumbai-based apprentice S Zervan has been riding with a lot of confidence this season, and has already won six races in this short span of time. It was interesting to note that he was declared to ride half the favourites in the ten-event card on Sunday. My Musketeer, Kickingking, Slickkit, Desdemona and Redshift were supported confidently by their respective yards. He won his first ride with Neil Darashah's My Musketeer. After seizing the advantage in the last furlong, Zervan cajoled a tired My Musketeer to keep his neck in front of Haute Appeal and Golden Dixie. The three of them were almost abreast at the wire.
His misery began thereafter. He dropped his whip astride Kickingking and lost this race by a shorthead. Joint favourite Bid For Glory was the beneficiary. Under the powerful belting of Stephane, the mare kept going to hold Kickingking at the wire. Zervan's mount moved out in the straight and the young man was unable to control this drift. As mentioned earlier, he missed the kick with Slickkit , who finished powerfully to end a close third to Firezone. His next ride was Desdemona. This Arjun Mangalorkar-trainee was a favourite to win The Rajah SRK Ranga Row Memorial Trophy. The filly had been unfortunate to have lost her previous start near the winning post. With Zervan claiming two kilos, Desdemona was touted as a "good thing" in this event. However, a strange turn of events saw a rank outsider lifting this trophy. Desdemona got stuck in the starting gates and refused to take part in this race. This allowed 30/1 rank outsider Polish Patriot to romp home for an easy victory. The winner was racing after a gap of almost one year, and it goes to the credit of trainer Padmanabhan that the well bred four year-old was able to win today. Spark Of Reverence and Incredible ran on to take the minor placings. The last-named is capable of improving on this run and must be noted for an early success.
The day ended with another Zervan ridden horse biting the dust. Lokanath's Redshift was supported with gay abandon. The five year-old was the youngest horse in this field, had the best form, looked impeccable in the paddock and was backed by the right connections. On the other hand, the punters had been losing all afternoon and were on the lookout for a bet to "recover". Everything seemed to fall in place, and Redshift became a popular choice. Zervan took a good jump with the favourite, sat second till the bend, overtook Nearco Master in the straight and charged for home. Just as the supporters of Redshift began to cheer for their horse, Chary ridden Vayuputra began responding to the stick. He came menacingly in the last 20 metres and beat the favourite on the post. Vayuputra was a second winner from the Neil Darashah yard. The afternoon ended on a gloomy note for the punters.
