|
Einstein jumped awkwardly from his innermost draw, but with the support of the rails, managed to settle into a comfortable lead ahead of Cayenne and Cart Wheel. The pace was quite fast and most of the runners were off the bridle as they began taking the turn and straightening for home. Rare And Precious and Stone Of Destiny were gracing the wrong end of the field at this stage. Jockey Christopher put his mount Einstein under further pressure and the horse responded wonderfully. The duo began to power away from the pack. Cart Wheel and Cayeene shot their bolt near the furlong post and retired from the fray. It was left to Stone Of Destiny and Rare And Precious to come and take the minor placings behind the runaway winner. In a rare happening, trainer Warren Singh decided to lodge an objection. He claimed that his ward Stone Of Destiny had suffered at the start, but for which, he would have won this race. He further claimed that the offender for this skirmish was Einstein, who had caused a chain reaction at the start. Finding little substance in his arguments, the Stewards were quick to throw out this objection.
The day began with a keen contest between two good youngsters. Dhariwal's Clear Mandate was clashing with Irfan Ghatala's Sun Kingdom. Both these horses had been showing out in their morning trials. Clear Mandate had the advantage of having had a run. He had been taken to Hyderabad to have a tilt at one of the many "plums" at that centre, and had finished third in that race. On the other hand, Sun Kingdom's mock race alongside some of the best horses in Bangalore had been noteworthy. The two of them were supported to the exclusion of their rivals. Suraj took Clear Mandate to the front and set a fair pace ahead of the Prakash-ridden Sun Kingdom. The other eight found it difficult to keep pace with the leaders. The race came to a boil near the bend. Sun Kingdom came alongside Clear Mandate, wore him down with ease and galloped away for an impressive victory. The winner clocked a top-class timing over seven furlongs. It's evident that Irfan Ghatala trains some of the best youngsters stationed at Bangalore. Sun Kingdom joins Tsavorite and Sun Dancing as the stars of the future. It will take a good import from another racing centre to challenge these youngsters in the big races during the ensuing Summer Season, and Irfan can look forward to an exciting 2010.
Jockey PS Chouhan repeated his Friday's performance by riding another popular double today. The first success was achieved with Amit Caddy's Sound Bet. This horse had been steadily brought down in his ratings by running off the board in recent times. A surge of money on him indicated his readiness to strike. Chouhan allowed Gampu to lead his mount till the bend before seizing the advantage. Sound Bet spurted comfortably in the final furlong to score another point for the stable. Gampu was able to retain his second spot ahead of a late rushing Act Of Duty.
His other winner was Dominic's Still Will. This runner had been rather unfortunate in his last two starts. De Souza had lost his stirrup iron while riding him, prior to Srinath's famous accident at the gates. Still Will showed that he could have won either of those races. Here again, Chouhan played the "waiting-game" to perfection. Greenbro and Six Shooter were at the helm of affairs, while Still Will was seen galloping well within himself as the runners swung for home. Prakash rushed Six Shooter into a narrow lead, but was soon engaged by Still Will. He came with a smooth acceleration, and sailed past a tired Six Shooter. Greenbro plodded along to run a poor third. The winner is in great heart and is definitely capable of winning on promotion.
The Agumbe Trophy was the other race framed for maiden three year-olds today. The speedy Bugatti received all round support, but was soon joined by Champ's Elysees at the top of the betting boards. Ailsa was another fancied runner, but his jockey had been deprived the use of a whip. John had been found guily of a "whipping offence" on Friday. Rajendra took the unfancied Moves Goodenough to the front and led at a modest pace ahead of Champs Elysees and Bugatti. Champs Elysees got tired at the bend, and allowed Bugatti to go in chase of the leader. Ganapathy-trained Moves Goodenough was in no mood to surrender today. She grew stronger at the finish and won ably from Bugatti. Ailsa came from behind to finish a fair third.
Ganapathy and Rajendra won another race with First Of A Legend and completed a double for the afternoon. First Of A Legend had good form over a mile, and was a firm favourite all morning. Satish Narredu's Duke Of Edinburgh got plastered at race time and started as a firm favourite in this event. One look at this horse in the parade ring was enough to realize that he did not look the part. He was sporting bandages and walking awkwardly. Suraj decided to ride him in check and settled him behind a group led by Amiable Lady, Mystere and First Of A Legend. It became a two-horse affair at the bend. Rajendra pushed First Of A Legend to the front and was challenged by Suraj's Duke Of Edinburgh on his outside. While First Of A Legend ran straight like an arrow, Duke of Edinburgh felt his legs and veered out under pressure. The final verdict of over three lengths was indicative of the former's superiority.
Amyn Merchant rode a tactical race astride Diamond Shower, and allowed the connections to celebrate the mare's birthday in style. The 5/1 second favourite was born on the 20th of March and it was a sheer coincidence that she won today. She led soon after the start and kept increasing her lead till she entered the final furlong of this race. Merchant was alert to the situation and knew that she may start to shorten her strides. He used his stick and enabled her to keep Burning Ambitions and Track Wonder at bay. Lokanath trained Kickingking was a hot favourite in this race. The horse has a habit of breaking a blood vessel under pressure. A similar fate awaited him, as he laboured to finish a close fourth today. A post race announcement confirmed this fact.
However, Lokanath's supporters were quick to recover their losses in the last race of the day. Redshift was the medium of a successful gamble in this race. Apprentice Sreekanth's job was made fairly simple by the fact that his horse was keen from the word "go". Redshift kept improving on his own and was given his head near the bend. It took him hardly any time to open a winning lead of more than five lengths at that stage. The boy rode him confidently to score ahead of Seven Star and Rain Man. Incidentally, this was Seven Star's fourth consecutive second place finish this season.
