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The other noteworthy performance of the afternoon came from another unraced three year-old. The day's opener saw Laxman Singh's Arya Veer (Placerville -Imperial Satsuma) make mincemeat of his opponents while recording his maiden triumph. The nice looking colt raced well within himself, and tackled the seven-furlong trip with a lot of maturity. Despite PS Chouhan's best efforts to hold him back, Arya Veer forced his way to the front and made every post a winning one. Work Force and Vernostonus chased him all the way and finally ended in that order. Arya Veer's timing was close to the best that was recorded by those that won in the highest class today. The colt has a bright future, and Arya Veer is bound to dominate the racing action on his return to Malakpet. It is learnt that the stable is seriously thinking of campaigning him in the Summer Classics. Jockey Chouhan was quick to complete a double, as he steered rank outsider Its My Party to a hard-fought victory in a sprint race for horses in Class IV. After lying on the rails for most of the way, Its My Party came with a flourish in the straight and nailed Art Connoisseur near the winning post to give Amit Caddy his first winner of the season.
The Speaker's Cup happened to be the day's feature. The absence of a three year-old gave this event a very open look. Angelfire, Star Assembly and Topkapi were considered to be the top contenders in this race. A spate of rumours concerning the fitness of Topkapi and Star Assembly sent the punters into an overdrive. They backed Angelfire with confidence. The filly was looking well in the paddock, and Dhariwal's decision to claim an allowance by declaring apprentice Zervan was an added advantage. Her supporters missed a couple of heartbeats as Angelfire took an awkward jump and lost a little ground at the start. The normally front-running filly was seen weaving her way through a packed field, and the boy was struggling to maintain his position. However, Angelfire's distinct superiority saved the day for her backers. She seized the advantage in the final furlong, and held on by a diminishing margin of one length from Tokapi and Star Presence. Star Assembly stormed home from the rear to end a very close fourth. This horse is likely to score in his next start.
It is rare for a Class I race to be divided at this centre. The arrival of a number of well-performed outstation challengers has seen a large number of entries in such events. The Dharmaprakasha LS Venkaji Rao Memorial Cup, to be run over seven furlongs, was split into two divisions. The upper division was considered to be a one-horse race. The well-performed Astral Flash stood tall amongst this group. This Shroff-trainee had run a fair second to Jacqueline in the Indian 1000 Guineas at Mahalakshmi. The half-money favourite performed on expected lines, and in the hands of Prakash, ran away from Atlantus and Einstein. The lower division produced a "shocker". It was considered to be a three-way affair with Corbett, Star Wave and Sparklingadventure sharing the bulk of the betting. While the first two raced pathetically to finish off the frame, it was left to Sparklingadventure to go in chase of the Eshwer trained Jersey Pride. The 100/1 outsider had been taken to the front while rounding the bend, and was expected to slow down in the straight. Nothing of the sort happened, and in fact, he kept upping the tempo. Under the strong urgings of Ashhad Asbar, Jersey Pride increased the margin of victory and stunned the packed stands at the race course. Early leader Spot On was lucky to hold on to his third spot, only a nose separating him from a late finishing In The Zone.
Dhariwal was another professional to record a double today. Three year-old Couleur Rouge was considered to be the best bet in the day's card. The filly had run three times in her career. She had finished second behind the highly regarded Tsavorite and Awarding in the first two, before gaining an overdue success. With such impeccable credentials, it was felt that the handicapper had been a little light on her. The rating assigned to her, allowed Couleur Rouge to race in Class IV. She looked much superior to her rivals, and was quoted at a miserly 35/100 for most of the day. However, a sudden change of scene at race time saw the odds on her expanding to even money. The filly performed like a money-back favourite. She tracked Moves Goodenough till the straight, before going ahead. Suraj Narredu looked around for imaginary threats before relaxing his hold on the filly. She cantered past the winning post and confirmed the fact that she belongs to a much higher class.
A surge in the odds against Athabasca Star, saw the filly running according to the bookmakers expectations and putting up a below par performance. She had finished a good second in her only career start, was being campaigned over the same trip today, and had been subjected to some solid preparation. Athabasca Star looked well in the paddock, was not in "season" and sported a fine coat. However, she was ridden differently today. She wasn't taken to the front, but was held back for eventual speed. It is known that Ryan Marshall is not the best "finisher" in the business. He looked tired in the straight and allowed the filly to end a poor second behind Prasanna Kumar's Spark Of Atan. She must be given another chance, especially when ridden by Sampson. This does not take anything away from the winner, who seized the advantage at the top of the straight and powered away to record a facile victory.
