B R Sharan Kumar

Arjun Mangalorkar trained Kyles of Bute brought off a big upset when swamping the opposition in the Gr 3 Bangalore City Gold Cup, the feature event of Sunday’s races. The day’s races did not run kindly for punters as just one well backed favourite obliged in the card of eight events. One jackpot hunter took home a whopping amount of Rs 14,32,977 for successfully nominating the multi pool event. He surely deserved the booty as he had nominated a couple of horses which at the beginning of the day’s proceedings, few had suspected as having a chance to win. The progeny of Glory of Dancer are generally not expected to act on soft underfoot conditions. Contrary to this widely held belief, Kyles of Bute in fact enjoyed the conditions greatly as he came from way off the pace to leave the front running Captivating and Palazzio’s Sun standing. Palazzio’s Sun had always won in firmer going but apart from the going, the stress of running in such conditions also took additional toll as he bled duri

The Madras Race Club has informed the other turf clubs in the country that it is unable to host next year’s Invitation Cup weekend races citing financial reasons. The MRC had agreed to host the Invitation Cup in March this year at Mumbai. The hosting club’s chairman automatically becomes the Chairman of Turf Authorities of India. The Madras Race Club had been reluctant to undertake the strenuous exercise of hosting a gala meet and had informed the turf authorities that it would reduce the two-day meet into a one day affair like the one that was hosted by Hyderabad Race Club last year. The Hyderabad Race Club had stepped in to maintain the continuity of the Invitation Cup races after RWITC was unable to host it due to equine influenza related problems which threw racing out of gear at Mumbai. The decision of Madras Race Club has come as a big disappointment to race goers in Chennai who were starved of good racing action especially since local racing is lopsided. The MRC has said in its

Padmanabhan trained Polish Patriot romped home in the K N Chennabasappa Memorial Cup, a race for horses rated 80 and above, the feature event of Saturday’s races. The progeny of Polish Precedent who perhaps excelled in the soft underfoot conditions zipped away from favourite Shotgunn and the rest to win in impressive fashion. Polish Patriot, who missed one year of racing due to a splint bone fracture, has been nursed back to peak fitness and in the form that he is in, he should graduate as a graded race performer as he will enjoy pull in weights. Polish Patriot stood out in the paddock parade. Though both Polish Patriot and Shotgunn almost began as joint favorites, the latter received stronger support as his last loss to Red Renegade over a seven furlong trip was considered as a delayed response from the horse and over the mile long trip, everything was expected to fall in place. Desert Rule and Blink showed the way as Polish Patriot moved smoothly from the outside draw to settle in th

Ganapathy trained Magisterial emerged as a strong contender for the Mysore Classics as he made a smooth transition from sprint to a mile within a fortnight while winning the Gr 3 Bangalore Summer Million, the feature event of Sunday’s races. The Summer Million has always served as a pointer to classics in Mysore and judging by the decisive victory recorded by Magisterial, he is destined to go places unless of course physical limitations come in the way. Magisterial went into the race as a well backed horse but it was surprising to see the strong support received by Saloni ahead of many decent performers. Yas Marina was the pace setter as jockey Imran Khan settled the favorite in the second position, with Aztec Gold in about the fifth position. Salmoni raced in a handy fourth position. Rounding the final turn, Yas Marina went a little wide allowing Aztec Gold to slip through to take charge. Favourite Magisterial was taking his own time to pick up steam and was also lugging in badly. How

Satish Narredu trained Flaming Lamborgini built on his last win to get the measure of favorite Captivating in the 1400 metres J B Mallaradhya Memorial Cup, a race for horses rated 80 and above, the feature event of Saturday’s races. Captivating led all the way but weakened in sight of the winning post as she was ring rusty, this being her first run in the season. On sheer weight of his last win, Flaming Lamborgini should have gone into the race as a fancied runner but Captivating got that privilege by virtue of her imposing record as a juvenile and also the fact that she had run behind Sprint Star in her last start in the North India Derby. However, the quote of 10 to 1 on Flaming Lamborgini was indeed a surprise. Captivating was taken on a start to finish mission by jockey Sampson. The daughter of Burden of Proof was cruising all along but inside the final 100 metres, the lack of a race run was telling on her fitness as she was slackening. Flaming Lamborgini moved with a flourish to s

The dam of four-year old filly Eastern Aria (Halling) which won the Listed Plantation Stud Stakes at Newmarket on Saturday is in India at the up and coming stud farm in Haryana namely the Hazaara Stud Farm. Badraan (Danzig) has a yearling colt by Sharmadal in India. She also has a foal by Rebuttal (Mr. Greeley). This year, Badraan has been covered by the new resident stallion, Dancing Forever (Rahy). Eastern Aria has had 20 career starts and won eight of them and finishing second best on four occasions Eastern Aria made all the running to record a gutsy victory in the Plantation Stud Stakes. Mark Johnston's four-year-old had gone winless this season after enjoying a glorious season last year that brought seven wins, including the Listed Prix Joubert at Saint Cloud. Ridden by Richard Hills, Eastern Aria led all the way and then held off the threat of Snoqualmie Girl and Lady Artemisia by a length and a neck. Set up in the lush green fields on the banks of river Yamuna, the Hazaara

Jaggy Dhariwal trained Arabian Prince became the first progeny of Burden of Proof to win over the grueling trip of 2800 metres as he held off a stiff challenge from Fleet Indian to land the spoils in the Gr 2 Bangalore St Leger, the last classic of the season on Sunday. As expected, the battle was confined between the two market fancies but in the end, Arabian Prince emerged the better. Jockey Sampson rode a copybook race on the winner while jockey Suraj Narredu did everything right except getting at the finish. Possibly his finishing thrust did not meet his own standards as Fleet Indian, after drawing level with Arabian Prince, ended up losing by a shade less than a length. Arabian Prince, who is incidentally bred at the Usha Stud Farm, thus defied all expectations though for this race he set out as a firm favourite. The stamina influence obviously has come from the Razeen mare Arabian Rose who herself was stout performer over longer trips. This was the third graded race success for

Ganapathy trained Magnanimity romped home in the S M Ramakrishna Rao Memorial Cup, a race for horses rated 80 and above, which featured the lackluster card of eight events that were gone through on Saturday. The five year old progeny of China Visit had been pretty consistent and in the hands of Frenchman Ladjadj Stephane, won with a degree of comfort. Lady Duff, who was expected to be in the thick of things, ran poorly and finished off the frame. After the high of the Derby last week, racing was pedestrian. Lady Duff began as the favourite but found supporters deserting her close to race time. Magnanimity was well backed with Soberano considered as a possible upset prospect in the race. Another Destiny led from the start and brought the field into the final stretch before fading out from contention. Lady Duff showed up briefly but it was clear that Magnanimity who was devouring ground on the wide outside was going to sweep them all. Magnanimity finished with a flourish to win easily fr

China Visit breaks the jinx could well be the catch line for the promoters of Usha Stud Farm after their resident stallion produced his first Derby winner through Moonlight Romance. The four year old filly, out of a Derby winning mare Wandering Star, won the Gr 1 Kingfisher Bangalore Derby, the most prestigious race of the Bangalore Racing Calendar last Sunday in the hands of champion jockey Richard Hughes. The son of Red Ransom, China Visit was inducted as a sire in the high profile Usha Stud Farm several years ago. The stud farm always stood top notch stallions like Grey Gaston, Common Land, Razeen and Steinbeck which hold a permanent place when the history of Indian racing season for the number of classic winners they have sired. Razeen can even be termed as the best Indian stallion ever for the sheer of classic winners he has produced year after year and also for turning out to be a broodmare sire who has put his stamp through his daughters who have foaled Derby winners. Wandering

The British Bloodstock Marketing and Tattersalls hosted a reception for Indian breeders in Bangalore on Saturday which was attended by the leading lights of Indian racing industry. With the restrictions on importing breeding stock from England having been lifted, the Tatersalls afford s excellent opportunity for Indian breeders to supplement their stock qualitatively. The Indian breeders having been buying big from Goff’s pregnant mares sales held during November as this was the only place from Indians could buy following the ban of movement horses from other countries due to CEM related problems. Indians were to have bought in a significant way from Tatersalls last year but the Government of India order lifting the ban came only in the month of May this year. The National Horse Breeding Society of India played a crucial role in facilitating the decision of the Agricultural Ministry in lifting the ban. Jason Singh of Tattersalls said that December sales afforded a variety of choice for

Richard Hughes stole the Gr 1 Kingfisher Bangalore Derby, the richest race of the Bangalore Racing Calendar on Moonlight Romance with a trade mark tactical ride on Sunday. If any race was determined by jockey factor, this was it. Jockey Suraj Narredu on Sun Kingdom failed to customize his ride to suit the rapidly changing scenario and his decision to stick to the patented style cost him and trainer Irfan Ghatala the first ever win in this prestigious race. The jockey plays a crucial role in shaping the destiny of a champion. There is need for quick response from the jockey if the race does not run in the way as planned. Moonlight Romance was not expected to race with the pacesetter but ridden from behind as has been the practice in the past. Richard Hughes perhaps wanted to tuck the horse behind the front runners from the outside draw but the horse got keen and was intent on taking off. Hughes had to restrain her and it took a while before she relaxed behind the pace setter Moon Star.

Padmanabhan trained Celestial Way nosed out Sprint Star in a sensational finish in the Gr 2 HDIL BTC Anniversary Cup, the highlight of Saturday’s races. Padmanabhan thus completed a hat-trick in this race having won in the last two years with Rhapsidion Snow. The BTC Anniversary Cup qualifies as the best race of the season as the highest rated sprinters and milers in the country line up for this richly endowed race. Super Mile winner Aboline, Sprinters Cup winner Palazzio’s Sun and most consistent Sprint Star who has won a bagful of graded races were in the line up. There was also Bhagirathi who had won four out of her five outings, graduating into graded race company. The odds at the bookmakers ring reflected the belief that it was hard to pinpoint any horse as a clear favourite. Sprint Star, Celestial Way and surprisingly Astral Flash had an identical quote of over 4/1. There was a drama at the finish as Celestial Way and Sprint went past the post locked together. The connections of

Jockey Richard Hughes has been in amazing form. He has not put a foot wrong in the last few months and in fact as late as Wednesday, he won two Group 1 races at New Market. Hughes inspires great confidence and on this factor alone, I am inclined to go with Moonlight Romance to win the Gr 1 Kingfisher Derby, the star event of the season which will be held on Sunday. The weather in Bangalore is cloudy with occasional spells of rain but this will have no bearing on the running of the race unless of course, there is a dramatic change. However, the two mains contenders of the race, Moonlight Romance and Sun Kingdom have both proved to be adept at handling soft underfoot conditions and there should be no worry on this score for the supporters of the prime favorites for the Derby. Sun Kingdom has remained unbeaten thus far. He beat a creditable field in his season’s first run. His sparkling show in the Colts Trial Stakes which he won in a smart timing was breath taking. His ability to change

The Bangalore Derby has the status of a national Derby as the best three-year old horses take part in this glamorous event. The Derby is coveted by every race horse owner in the country and the dream of winning this race is the reason why crores of rupees are spent each year by big race horse owners in order to get a slice of history. Of the 1000-odd yearlings sold each year, most of them are bought in the hope that they may turn out to be the elusive champion. Pedigree plays a crucial role in the selection of horses but quite often, the best argued theories go for a toss and performance then becomes proof of pedigree! There is no guarantee that big money can ensure success in a Derby though the leading owners do buy horses in big quantities at exorbitant prices. It is the passion for winning this race which has kept the interest alive for people like Dr M A M Ramaswamy, Dr Vijay Mallya and many others. They know better than others what it is to win a Derby. Interestingly, Lord Derby f

The Haryana based Sohna Stud Farm which has made a big splash in Indian racing within a short span of its existence with two Indian Derby winners in the last decade through Velvet Rope and Jacqueline and Gr 1 Indian Turf Invitation Cup winner in Becket have raised a sea of expectations through their new resident stallion Noverre. The first crop of Noverre (Rahy – Danseur Fabuleux (Northern Dancer) in India is to race in November next year but the stallion has already made waves through his progeny abroad who have won a host of graded races. The illustrious list is headed by last year’s French Derby winner Le Havre who is now standing as a stallion in France. The performance of Music Show (Noverre – Dreamboat (Mr Prospector) at Newmarket on Wednesday was surely music for ears of Sultan Singh who owns the Sohna Stud Farm. He was obviously delighted by the performance of the filly as it served to boost further his resident stallion whose first crop in India has already become hot property

The National Horse Breeding Society of India is organizing a seminar on Friday in Bangalore on the eve of the running of the Gr 1 Bangalore Derby on Sunday, July 11 to discuss ways and means to get the ban on free movement of Indian horses to foreign countries lifted. Right now Indian horses are not even allowed to transit through Europe. The government of India has removed all restrictions on importing horses from Europe, and USA. Hitherto, Indian breeders had to buy only from Ireland, mares and stallions for their breeding operations. In the meanwhile, the British Bloodstock Marketing (BBM) representative Anna Powell will visit India to host a joint reception with Tattersalls representatives Jason Singh and Barbara Fitzgerald on Saturday for Indian breeders, owners, and trainers. The BBM had arranged a similar reception last year which proved a success. Following the lifting of India’s ban on the importation of British bred breeding stock, this year’s visit has become of even greate

In keeping with the history of the race which has favored the lesser fancied runners, Golconda Derby winner Arabian Prince put in a brave performance while elevating himself as the Maharaja by winning the richly endowed Gr 2 Maharaja’s Cup on Sunday. Becket, whose victory was taken for granted, faded out to finish third. Jockey Ryan Marshall rode the winner as stable’s first jockey Sampson had preferred to ride Spearhead who was in the race as a final entry. Jockey Suraj Narredu, who is enjoying a great season, has ridden Becket on four occasions and each time differently. On both the occasions that the horse lost, he had Becket in front which had seen him slacken in the closing stages of the race. He won the Gr 1 Indian Turf Invitation Cup by literally staying unconcerned in the rear before alerting the son of Hawk Wing to pick up speed in the final quarter mile. When Becket lost the Leger, Suraj was unable to keep him relaxed as he broke free well before the final bend to lose by a w

Jaggy Dhariwal trained Angelfire duly accomplished the task assigned to her by winning the H D Gundappa Gowda Memorial Cup, a race for horses rated 80 and above, the feature event of Saturday’s races. Angelfire’s credentials were impeccable as apart from her racing form, she was blazing the track, had the weights in her favour and also stood out in the paddock parade. Zervan rode the favourite with great tact. This apprentice jockey from Mumbai seems to have improved a lot during his stint in Bangalore. The race had a competitive look about it though Angelfire was widely expected to have a bold show. The odds offered were generous and this was in keeping with the expectation of a close duel among the seasoned horses. Jockey Alford took Ticket To Ride to the front from the outside draw as the horses set out for the six furlong trip, with Another Destiny Soberano and Angelfire racing ahead of the rest. Atlantus appeared to have lost balance at the jump out but as is his wont, he didn’t s