B R Sharan Kumar

Chairman of Royal Western India Turf Club Vivek Jain has brought off a marketing coup in making the UB Group to commit a whopping Rs 28 cores by way of sponsorship over the next five years. The UB Group has been sponsoring the Indian Derby for the last 27 years while the same company has been sponsoring the Kingfisher Derby for the last 23 years. Under the present agreement, the value for 2013 McDowell Indian Derby will be about US $ 1 million. Mr. Jain described the conclusion as “a path breaking development in the history of Indian racing, and a momentous milestone for the RWITC.” The Kingfisher Derby which also has national character about it, with the result of the race, having a bearing not only on Indian classics but also on regional classics. This high profile event promises guaranteed stake money of Rs 1 core but the contribution of the UB Group is a poor Rs 50 lakhs. This amount is after the company agreed to increase its contribution by about Rs 20 lakhs over its previous con

Irfan Ghatala trained Sun Kingdom kept his date with destiny when reaching the safety of the winning post ahead of the rest in the Gr 1 VIF Bangalore Derby, the star event of the season, in front of a huge crowd on Republic Day on Wednesday. Jockey Richard Hughes, who rode the winner, thus accomplished yet another mission on the Bangalore track by completing a Derby double having won the Kingfisher Derby in July on Moonlight Romance. The fact that jockey plays a big role in making or unmaking of a champion could not have been better illustrated by Hughes who was a big factor in the success of Sun Kingdom. Sun Kingdom was the best performed horse in the fray having won two classics over a mile but there was a question mark about the progeny of Royal Kingdom tackling the mile and half trip as effectively as he had done over the shorter trip. Sun Kingdom was no doubt helped by the fact that he was tackling a weak and inexperienced opposition though the extended trip and the fact that the

Trainer Jaggy Dhariwal has taken a vice like grip on the championship stakes with a healthy lead with just over half way stage of the Bangalore Winter Season. He swelled his tally by another two points on Tuesday by saddling a brace of winners including in the F K Irani Memorial Trophy, a seven furlongs race for horses rated 80 and above, the feature event of the day. It was a disappointing day for jockey Suraj Narredu who was astride several fancied runners but found success in only one race of the day. Clean Mandate had performed poorly in the Golconda 2000 Guineas as he found the mile long trip stretching his stamina reserves to the hilt. Now back over a more suitable trip of seven furlongs, the progeny of Burden of Proof asserted his supremacy with a comfortable win over late rallying Flaming Lamborgini and Soberano. Red Renegade, who was also expected to be a serious contender, burst his blood vessels approaching the final bend and faded out of reckoning to end up last. Red Renega

By all accounts, it is difficult to look beyond Irfan Ghatala trained Sun Kingdom to win the Gr 1 VIF Bangalore Derby, the star event of Bangalore winter season, to be run on Wednesday, the Republic Day. Sun Kingdom is a winner of two classics and had run behind Moonlight Romance in the Kingfisher Derby. He has imposing credentials and barring uncertainties associated with the sport of racing; he should be home and dry. Having said that, there are certain hurdles that Sun Kingdom has to still overcome and whether they can upset his chances or not remains a matter of debate. Before discussing the credentials or the lack of it of the other contestants, one has to critically examine Sun Kingdom and also talk about its trainer. Irfan Ghatala has won two Derbys through Brown Sugar and Full Speed at Hyderabad and Mysore respectively. These horses however did not maintain their level of progress beyond certain period of time. The trainer has specialized in bringing off king sized gambles an

Jaggy Dhariwal trained Midtown Magic who was widely expected to have it easy in the Sangam Trophy, a terms race for three-year olds, the feature event of Friday’s races, was not getting into his wonted rhythm with about 100 metres left in the race but once shown the daylight after being pulled out from the rails, the progeny of Midtown finished with a flourish to win in fine fashion over Lovely Kiss. The latter, a first timer by new sire sensation Rebuttal, was a surprise second ahead of African Queen. Skyliner won the day’s other main event, Chatrapathi Cup, with ridiculous ease. Lovely Kiss led as the field set out for the seven furlongs trip with Magnitude in close proximity while Midtown Magic was settled in about the fourth position along the rails. Midtown Magic was not too happy to be restrained but he settled down, despite being cramped for room which perhaps prevented him from getting into top gear till the final stages of the race. Lovely Kiss was not inclined to give up easi

Prithviraj trained Sirono further enhanced his credentials as a sprinter to reckon with while maintaining his unbeaten run with a decisive win in the 1200 metres Dariya Daulat Trophy, a race for horses rated 80 and above, the feature event of Friday’s races. Jockey Suraj Narredu was in the limelight booting home favour winners. Sirono is sure to be campaigned ambitiously in the Sprinters Cup which is to be run in March at Mumbai. The Dariya Daulat Trophy was an ideal opportunity to exploit the handicap advantage before the progeny of Emerald Cat moved on to terms races where he is expected to cross sword with seasoned runners. Sirono was quoted at unbackable odds as none in the fray looked capable of upsetting him. The horses with proven record like Atlantus was running at a handicap disadvantage as he was carrying a back breaking load of 64 kgs on his back while Optimus Prime who is troubled by several problems, was having his first start after a longish absence from the track. The

Suleiman Attaollahi trained Cielo Rey who has not exactly been a model of consistency, bounced back to winning form while claiming the 2000 metres Chief Minister’s Trophy, a rich terms race for four-year olds and over, the main event of Saturday’s races. The race which serves as a lead up race for the Derby for many an aspirant had three of them in the fray but none enhanced their credentials including a supplementary entry for the premier event Airplay who incidentally was a strong fancy to win the event despite being thrown at the deep end. He did not look the part in the paddock parade. Jockey Paul Mulrennan took Cielo Rey on a start to finish mission. The progeny of Burden of Proof’s best performance has come when he runs freely in front without pressure from other contestants. Braavo raced a few lengths behind followed by Ordained One, Airplay, Raptor Force, Spark of Gold, Youre So Beautiful and Classerville. Braavo threatened to end Cielo Rey’s foray in front but after raising ho

David Allan made ample amends for his hiccup astride Becket at Mumbai last Sunday with a splendid ride on Balmoral Castle which saw the Padmanabhan trainee stave off the challenge of favourite Sun Control with a measure of comfort in the Gr 2 Bangalore Oaks, the third classic of the season, on Sunday. David Allan rode with supreme confidence and it was clear that he was out to prove a point which he did in style. Though the Sohna Stud Farm produce Balmoral Castle was the highest rated horse in the fray, she was allowed to run at fancy odds, with the bulk of money coming on hat-tricker Sun Control and others who had success in lower category races. In the event, the well-bred Balmoral Castle who was specifically targeted for this race, beat the others who were hurriedly pitched into the fray based on their last start runs and this perhaps put paid to their hopes. The Bangalore Oaks has almost always favoured an outsider. Sun Control who had won three races over shorter trips was pitch