Conceptual makes it a one horse race
The Dashmesh Stud Farm bred Conceptual maintained her amazing progress to win the Gr 2 Bangalore St Leger in splendid isolation on Sunday. The daughter of Valid Concept, who had already recorded a hat-trick of wins, appreciated the step up in distance as she cantered home over the grueling trip of 2800 metres to win the last classic of the season. Favourite Ice Breaker found the trip beyond her compass and was a tame third. Spark of Gold who held the second position midway through the race, stayed clear of Icebreaker to gain the runner up spot.
It was nice to see one of the most enthusiastic racing families in the country, the Brars lead in the winner with great relish. The Dashmesh Stud Farm had been in the forefront as a leading nursery, having produced horses of the caliber of Elusive Pimpernel, Chaitanya Chakram and Astronomic who all had the distinction of winning the Indian Derby. There had been a slump in the fortunes of the stud farm in the last decade as they were not lucky to get a stallion to boost the good collection of mares that they have. Valid Concept proved his worth but unfortunately he has not had an extended innings as a stallion at the stud farm. Conceptual is the first classic winner of the now diseased Valid Concept. The Stud Farm has made an earnest attempt to regain its pre-eminent position in recent times by acquiring several stallions and their performance at the stud will give a key to the prospects of the stud farm in the future. There is no dearth of enthusiasm or commitment on the part of the Brars’ family to the business of breeding.
Coming back to the grueling race of the season, the Leger, the race has always attracted a small field as by the time this race comes around, quite a few of the early birds would have been cooling their heels. Also there is dearth of horses which can stay long distances as the majority of races in India cater to sprinter milers and as a result, the stud farms also concentrate on producing speedy horses. There were five runners in the fray and two of them were final entries. Icebreaker had defied expectations when she had gone on to win over the 2400 metres trip in the Bangalore Oaks and the Derby. She had also done consistently well thereafter in the Indian classics though her forte had always been speed.
Originally considered as a pure sprinter, Icebreaker had won over the Derby trip purely on class but this time out, her class or guts could not carry her home as she failed to show the turn of foot that had been her hall mark. The fact that she fought for her head for a while and shown daylight by traveling three horses wide may have had an impact on her performance but the fact remains that on the evidence of the performance of Conceptual, there could not have been any other result.
One led the field as the starter dispatched the small bunch for the 2800 metres trip, with Conceptual in second position ahead of Spark of Gold, Icebreaker and Star Presentation. With a mile left in the race, Spark of Gold eased himself into second position while Conceptual was content to fall back and race third while the last two runners held their positions. As the field approached the final bend, Spark of Gold took charge of the proceedings with Conceptual and Icebreaker coming into contention. However, Icebreaker did not accelerate and it was conceptual who sailed into the lead with a furlong left to go and then stretched away to win in the hands of jockey S John. The Arjun Mangalorkar trainee is in great condition and can carry the good form to obtain more success. The winner clocked a slow time of three minutes 05.49 seconds.
Nosher Cama trained Bee Quick seems to be enjoying the Bangalore weather as the filly has put on condition and has also matured physically as well as evidenced by the quality and consistency of her performance. Bee Quick, despite her talent, hadn’t been a consistent performer at Pune or Mumbai but the got-abroad filly has been in rousing form ever since she arrived here. After registering a matter of fact win in her first run of the season, Bee Quick proved too superior to the opposition in the 1200 metres Chettinad Stud Plate, a race for horses rated 60 to 85. After tracking Panchakshari in the early part of the race, Bee Quick cruised into the lead in the final two furlongs and then skipped away from Mighty Heart who was left to cover too much of leeway. Fantabulous Prince ran on to finish third.
Frozen Fire was a good thing beat in the 1600 metres Lt Col Gaunt Memorial Trophy, a race for horses rated 40 to 65. Social Climber and Spark of Solitaire led the field with Frozen Fire settled along the rails, with Native Talent racing alongside, followed by the rest. As the field straightened for home, jockey Wayne Smith was stuck on the inside in front of slow moving horses as Native Talent had taken his position along side the front runners and he attempted to take the run along the rails but the gap closed as Spark of Solitaire rolled over to the rails shutting off that route completely. As a result, Frozen Fire had to drop back significantly and Smith was able to get his horse going only inside the final 100 metres. The daughter of China Visit flew home and covered up the big leeway to miss the berth by a proverbial whisker. Native Talent, who had shot into the lead in the final furlong, saw the winning post come to his rescue. Kripa ran on to finish third while Star Assembly, who was expected to figure at the finish, ran dismally.
Glitterato who was withdrawn form the fray on the Derby day on veterinary grounds, was well fancied to win the Esquire Trophy and the progeny of Young Senor came through the middle in the final furlong to take charge and win with a measure of comfort from Russian Dancer. Calypso Star was a poor third ahead of Gold Crown who continued the dismal run of the once famous gold and brown brigade.
Pleasant Glory was backed down spiritedly but the Karan Singh trainee had to be fully ridden out to contain the challenge of Sparkling Adventure by a head. Media Man came up with a late rally to finish ahead of Flip Your Destiny who flattered to deceive.
Babu Rao trained Fleet Indian who had all the credentials to win the 1600 metres Parsiana Plate, having run impressively in the Colts Trial Stakes duly accomplished the mission at the expense of Shades of White who once again held off the challenge of Red Stone.
In the day’s other action, the well fancied Western Palace accomplished the task assigned to him quite successfully, beating the challenge of Commanche War Pain on whom there was a late surge in the betting ring close to race time.
It was nice to see one of the most enthusiastic racing families in the country, the Brars lead in the winner with great relish. The Dashmesh Stud Farm had been in the forefront as a leading nursery, having produced horses of the caliber of Elusive Pimpernel, Chaitanya Chakram and Astronomic who all had the distinction of winning the Indian Derby. There had been a slump in the fortunes of the stud farm in the last decade as they were not lucky to get a stallion to boost the good collection of mares that they have. Valid Concept proved his worth but unfortunately he has not had an extended innings as a stallion at the stud farm. Conceptual is the first classic winner of the now diseased Valid Concept. The Stud Farm has made an earnest attempt to regain its pre-eminent position in recent times by acquiring several stallions and their performance at the stud will give a key to the prospects of the stud farm in the future. There is no dearth of enthusiasm or commitment on the part of the Brars’ family to the business of breeding.
Coming back to the grueling race of the season, the Leger, the race has always attracted a small field as by the time this race comes around, quite a few of the early birds would have been cooling their heels. Also there is dearth of horses which can stay long distances as the majority of races in India cater to sprinter milers and as a result, the stud farms also concentrate on producing speedy horses. There were five runners in the fray and two of them were final entries. Icebreaker had defied expectations when she had gone on to win over the 2400 metres trip in the Bangalore Oaks and the Derby. She had also done consistently well thereafter in the Indian classics though her forte had always been speed.
Originally considered as a pure sprinter, Icebreaker had won over the Derby trip purely on class but this time out, her class or guts could not carry her home as she failed to show the turn of foot that had been her hall mark. The fact that she fought for her head for a while and shown daylight by traveling three horses wide may have had an impact on her performance but the fact remains that on the evidence of the performance of Conceptual, there could not have been any other result.
One led the field as the starter dispatched the small bunch for the 2800 metres trip, with Conceptual in second position ahead of Spark of Gold, Icebreaker and Star Presentation. With a mile left in the race, Spark of Gold eased himself into second position while Conceptual was content to fall back and race third while the last two runners held their positions. As the field approached the final bend, Spark of Gold took charge of the proceedings with Conceptual and Icebreaker coming into contention. However, Icebreaker did not accelerate and it was conceptual who sailed into the lead with a furlong left to go and then stretched away to win in the hands of jockey S John. The Arjun Mangalorkar trainee is in great condition and can carry the good form to obtain more success. The winner clocked a slow time of three minutes 05.49 seconds.
Nosher Cama trained Bee Quick seems to be enjoying the Bangalore weather as the filly has put on condition and has also matured physically as well as evidenced by the quality and consistency of her performance. Bee Quick, despite her talent, hadn’t been a consistent performer at Pune or Mumbai but the got-abroad filly has been in rousing form ever since she arrived here. After registering a matter of fact win in her first run of the season, Bee Quick proved too superior to the opposition in the 1200 metres Chettinad Stud Plate, a race for horses rated 60 to 85. After tracking Panchakshari in the early part of the race, Bee Quick cruised into the lead in the final two furlongs and then skipped away from Mighty Heart who was left to cover too much of leeway. Fantabulous Prince ran on to finish third.
Frozen Fire was a good thing beat in the 1600 metres Lt Col Gaunt Memorial Trophy, a race for horses rated 40 to 65. Social Climber and Spark of Solitaire led the field with Frozen Fire settled along the rails, with Native Talent racing alongside, followed by the rest. As the field straightened for home, jockey Wayne Smith was stuck on the inside in front of slow moving horses as Native Talent had taken his position along side the front runners and he attempted to take the run along the rails but the gap closed as Spark of Solitaire rolled over to the rails shutting off that route completely. As a result, Frozen Fire had to drop back significantly and Smith was able to get his horse going only inside the final 100 metres. The daughter of China Visit flew home and covered up the big leeway to miss the berth by a proverbial whisker. Native Talent, who had shot into the lead in the final furlong, saw the winning post come to his rescue. Kripa ran on to finish third while Star Assembly, who was expected to figure at the finish, ran dismally.
Glitterato who was withdrawn form the fray on the Derby day on veterinary grounds, was well fancied to win the Esquire Trophy and the progeny of Young Senor came through the middle in the final furlong to take charge and win with a measure of comfort from Russian Dancer. Calypso Star was a poor third ahead of Gold Crown who continued the dismal run of the once famous gold and brown brigade.
Pleasant Glory was backed down spiritedly but the Karan Singh trainee had to be fully ridden out to contain the challenge of Sparkling Adventure by a head. Media Man came up with a late rally to finish ahead of Flip Your Destiny who flattered to deceive.
Babu Rao trained Fleet Indian who had all the credentials to win the 1600 metres Parsiana Plate, having run impressively in the Colts Trial Stakes duly accomplished the mission at the expense of Shades of White who once again held off the challenge of Red Stone.
In the day’s other action, the well fancied Western Palace accomplished the task assigned to him quite successfully, beating the challenge of Commanche War Pain on whom there was a late surge in the betting ring close to race time.
from which site i can see ur selections for Hyd and pune races today 23rd july 2009 Yours faihfully RAM
ReplyDeleteI don't post selections for Hyderabad races. However, I will post my selections of Pune races from the first week of August when the form settles down.
ReplyDelete