B R Sharan Kumar

Lesser fancied My Friend Paul brought off an upset in the Hyderabad Silver Vase, a race for horses rated 80 and above, the feature event of a lackluster card that was gone through on Friday. Ballibay made an impressive debut in the Topmost Cup with an authoritative win. Jockey Suraj Narredu maintained his amazing run of wins with yet another treble. Firezone and Desert Rule were well supported to win the mile long feature event though the former had better credentials considering the fact that he had run against top quality horses. My Friend Paul, Star Wave and Blink were the others with an outside chance of making it. Desert Rule set a fast pace from the start and held the initiative till the final furlong at which point of time his reserves ran out. Firezone moved with raking strides through the centre of the track and surged ahead albeit momentarily as My Friend Paul showed up with a powerful acceleration on the wide outside and collared the front runner for whom the weight began to...

The Senator won his last outing in splendid fashion but then he is graduating into tougher company and has to carry top weight as well. Is he good enough? Can he get the mile as effectively as he did the seven furlong trip? If the answer is in the affirmative, then The Senator can not only win here but can be targeted ambitiously as well in future. After perusing the relative performance of the others, I am of the opinion that Arabian Prince, by virtue of having run in tougher company and done reasonably well, may be better prepared to win though I was inclined to go with The Senator considering the improvement he showed from his previous run.. The race is very competitive as even Lush Lashes has been knocking on the doors and she is at home over this trip. Friday’s Bangalore racing is lackluster as ordinary types of horses are running in most races. Firezone, whose best performance has been over a mile, should be worth a bet. I will restrict my selection for the day to Arabian Prince...

Equidae who is running over her pet distance of seven furlongs has a good chance of pulling it off in the races on Sunday at Mumbai. However, she has to contend with Safar4i who appears to be in good form. Among the other races, Confiserie should have no problem in winning if she has the desired fitness and Adams Law who is knocking on the doors of success. The Guineas is a very open affair but if Cabriolet can reproduce his form, he can beat them all.

Things fell in place for Jersey Pride who built on his good effort on the opening day of the winter season by claiming the Karnataka Police Trophy, a sprint race for horses rated 80 and above, the main event of Saturday’s races The Michael Eshwer trainee Jersey Pride who was once a rousing performer, had the first run on his principal challengers and managed to keep his neck ahead at the finish to provide jockey Appu a confidence boosting win. Last outing winner Sugar Ray closed with a rush but fell short by a narrow margin. Yet again the Kunigal Stud Farm produce was in the limelight as apart from Jersey Pride, Lady Duff and two-year old Tsavorite won their respective races. Sugar Ray who had recorded a smashing win last time out was the favourite along with Celestial Son who was widely expected to assert himself in this company. Cart Wheel had his share of supporters while Jersey Pride was available at lucrative odds. Valid Expectation set a fast pace and brought the field into view ...

Sardar Singh trained Lady Duff who put up an impressive effort in her last run, should build on that effort and beat the challenge of Star Assembly, Cayenne and Classic Charge. Jersey Pride and Ice Mint are the other two horses worth a bet.

Hyped as one of the best among his contemporaries stationed in Bangalore after an impressive debut win last winter, Cielo Rey had fallen from esteem for reasons best known to his connections. The progeny of Burden of Proof appeared to have immensely profited from the long absence from the track as he smashed the field in the 1400 metres Ashoka Chakra Cup, a terms race for three year olds, which highlighted the races on Friday. The runaway win certainly would have been a cause for regret for the connections of only because of the possible winning opportunities in classic races if the Kunigal Stud Farm produce had maintained the form that he showed in his debut win. Trainer S Attaollahi has done a fine job of resurrecting the horse from nadir. The trainer led in two well backed horses through Cielo Rey and Silken Thomas who won the twin attractions of the day. The Ashoka Chakra Cup which always attracts quality field had this time around horses which had fallen from esteem after exciting...

Michael Eshwer trained Diamond Hunter won the Bangalore Turf Club Trophy which featured Saturday’s races for the second year in succession. Diamond Hunter who is one of the most consistent horses in Bangalore despite being in the highest class for a long time, proved too good for favourite Originality who failed to sustain her front running effort when the pressure was on. However, Originality who ran below par, managed to retain the runner up berth. Horses bred at the Kunigal Stud Farm were in the limelight, with three races, including the first juvenile race of the season, being won by the stud farm’s produce. Originality was the firm favourite to win the day’s feature event but the Ganapathy ward looked far from ready as evidenced by her paddock looks. However, she was backed with conviction on the basis of the fact that she had beaten Diamond Hunter in the immediate past and the filly had also run the likes of Palazzio’s Sun close. In the event, Originality who hit the front from t...

Jockey Srinath was in the limelight, booting home four winners, including Systematic in the day’s feature event on Friday. Trainer M P Mahaesh saddled a brace of winners through Systematic and Senator who both recorded an encore with impressive and improved performances. The three-year old filly Systematic won her lead up race for the Oaks over a nine furlong trip with ease and considering the fact that most other top fillies would have made a beeline to Mumbai for the Indian classics, the progeny of Steinbeck now progresses as a front liner contender for the fillies Derby. After three impressive seconds against top horses, Systematic edged out Arabian Dancer early in the season to come out of the maidens’ ranks. Now campaigned over an extended trip of nine furlongs, Systematic was a firm ante post favourite but lost supporters close to race time resulting in an alarming drift in the odds. Those who continued to repose faith in this small made but talented filly reached rich rewards as...