B R Sharan Kumar

Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa assured a delegation of Bangalore Turf Club on Monday that racing activity will not be disrupted after December 31, the day on which the lease of race course land will expire. He has asked the turf club authorities to go ahead and publish the prospectus for the winter season which starts in November and ends in March. Dr K M Srinivasa Gowda, who was one the delegates of BTC, said that the Chief Minister was very cordial contrary to the belief that he was hostile to the turf club as well for racing. ``The turf club can go ahead and frame the winter prospectus though the lease expires on December 31, the Chief Minister said and added that he would instruct the Finance Secretary to enable the club to carry on till such time the club is able to put the alternate infrastructure in place. The Chief Minister is very keen that we take possession of the land allotted at Chikkajala and it is for the government to get the due clearance from all bodies conc...

Pesi Shroff trained Feet of Flames should be considered a good bet in the Dr S R Captain Trophy, one of the highlights of Sunday’s Pune races. The got-abroad filly, Feet of Flames showed some resolution when finishing an impressive second in her last outing. She should build on that effort and score. Firangpani is another horse who should readily oblige considering the fact that his progeny of Concordial has proved to be a very speedy customer.

Mighty Crusader, who ran third to Forest Flair in Breeders’ Produce Stakes at Mumbai before changing stables, has impressive racing credentials to back him in the Saarathi Million, which is race for maiden three year olds. Mighty Crusader would have been conceding weight to all his rivals if this were a handicap race. As such, theoretically, he is a cut above the rest unless Tora Bora proves to be something special. The got abroad Tora Bora showed out in a mock race during the Summer Season at Bangalore and if this is indicative of the tremendous progress made by the progeny of Verglas, then he can beat the favourite. Fire Streak is another horse who should figure at the finish. Weizou, running in the fourth race and Lyrical Lass who is contesting in the eighth race, should be worth a bet.

Set Alight’s defeat in the Nizams Cup at Hyderabad on Sunday came as a surprise as she had twice beaten Icebreaker on the two occasions that they had met. Icebreaker no doubt has maintained her form and the fact that she had more fitness than Set Alight may have helped her cause. Icebreaker continues to relish her racing as evidenced by the manner in which she galloped whereas Set Alight is showing the ill-effects of a long racing career though racing wise the former has raced more number of times. For the record, Icebreaker has run 15 times and won seven times, finishing on board on all the occasions that she has raced. Set Alight has run 12 times and won 10 times and finished second best on two occasions. However, the pressure of expectation on Set Alight has always been higher right through her career. Set Alight won 10 races in a row before meeting her waterloo in the Indian Derby. The reason why she had an invincible aura about her was because the daughter of Razeen had simply d...

I have a feeling that the four year olds are vastly inferior to the preceding generation. As such, I am skeptical about Indian Derby winner Antonios’ chances in the Eve Champion Trophy. Antonios has to concede weight to the well performed multiple graded race winner Yana. If Antonios were to pull through, it is a great advertisement to his contemporaries. In the other races, I think Highland Crown, Aristocratic and Saba should be considered as fair betting propoisitons.

Ikaria who showed out in his last outing, appears to have a decisive edge in the Highland Rule Trophy which is one of the highlights of Saturday's Pune races. Ikaria won a race at Mumbai and then was sent to Delhi to compete in the North India Derby. Unfortunately, the well bred son of Juniper out of Symphony caught fever and was sidelined. After coming back, he has had one run in Pune during the early part of the season where his run suggested that all is well with him. As such, Ikaria is considered as a reasonable bet ahead of Equidae, Spitz and Veera Vang. Among the others, Check Her Out and Ares are worth a consideration for a small bet.

Padmanabhan trained Noble Prince asserted his supremacy quite easily in the Gr 3 Governor’s Cup which featured the concluding day’s races of the Bangalore Summer Season on Friday. Fittingly, Padmanabhan who won the lion’s share of the graded races during the season also was the champion trainer, saddling 22 winners. Jockey Suraj Narredu was the leading jockey. The Kunigal Stud Farm which has consistently won the leading stud farm trophy during the winter season extended its domination to the summer season as well, winning the trophy for the first time. Noble Prince was not expected to have any problem in winning the Governor’s Cup. Since the weather held good and there was no rain which could have posed problems for the big made Noble Prince, the son of Placerville recorded his second graded race success of the season, having earlier won the Gr 2 Maharaja’s Cup without any hiccup. Given the problems that Noble Prince had right through his career, the five-year old has been a remarkable...

Trainer Michael Eshwer broke his winless sequence when the well performed veteran from his stables, Green Bax bounced back to win the 1200 metres V T Velu Memorial Cup, a race for horses rated 80 and above, which featured the penultimate day’s racing of Bangalore Summer Season on Thursday. On a day when most horses cut impressive timings, Green Bax won in a smart time of one minute 24.83 seconds. The seven year old gelding who showed out in the paddock parade, reproduced his old spark when getting the better of favourite Mark of Gibraltar. Green Bax is one of the most versatile performers and he has had a bagful of wins to his credit. However, age and younger horses had made things difficult for him but he proved that he has not lost his zest for racing as he profited from the forward run he had against a vastly superior opposition in Rhapsidion Snow’s record breaking win and enabled his trainer Eshwer who was going through a lean patch to get some respite. It was curious to see Adviso...

Palazzio’s Sun has been quiet a revelation after he was switched to sprints. The son of Alnasr Alwasheek out of champion sprinter Palazzio, Palazzio’s Sun recorded his second straight win over a sprint when he won the Gr 3 Bangalore City Gold Cup, the feature event of Friday’s races, in the season’s best timing of one minute 12.12 seconds in a close finish from Originality. Since Palazzio’s Sun had beaten the same set of opposition on more or less the same terms, the Padmanabhan trainee was expected to repeat the feat though he was running after a considerable break. There was strong support for Originality who had finished third to Palazzio’s Sun on the last occasion when the filly had not got a clear run at a crucial stage of the race. Whether that was reason enough for people to plump in some measure for Originality was not clear but the race ran true to the script, with Palazzio’s Sun emerging a gutsy start to finish winner. Smaller the field, greater the uncertainty goes the sayin...