Spearhead simply unstoppable
Suleiman Attaollahi trained Spearhead was simply unstoppable in the 2000 metres K N Guruswamy Memorial Cup, a race for horses rated 80 and above, which featured Saturday’s races. The progeny of Burden of Proof had lost steam after a graded race success at Mumbai as a three-year old and was a listless performer thereafter. After being gelded, he bounced back to his old form earlier in the season with a smashing victory and despite considerable penalty for his runaway win; he defied the same with effortless ease.
Saturday was a day most punters would like to cherish for long as it was one of those rare days where favourite after favourite obliged with amazing consistency. The bookmakers got some relief towards the fag end of the day when Nityanand trained 100 to 1 shot, Oceanic Wind broke the sequence followed by his other ward Pinnakini winning the concluding race of the day, albeit as a lesser fancied runner.
There were apprehension about Spearhead defying the penalty and this perhaps was the reasons why the odds kept on expanding on him so much so that his price more than doubled by race time. Timeless Treasure, who had gone down by a whisker in his last essay, came in for sustained support but the progeny of Razeen was not up to carrying the top weight under taxing underfoot conditions. It had rained almost the whole of Friday night, rendering the underfoot conditions soft though the official announcement was good going. Timings were considerably slow though the going in no way hampered the performance of horses. The progeny of Burden of Proof enjoy a cut in the ground and this possibly may explain why Spearhead won by a bigger margin than anticipated. The decisive manner of victory of Kickingking and Oceanic Wind who are both by Mr. Mellon may add a new parameter in that the cut in the ground may also lift the performance of the progeny of the Ruia Stud Farm resident stallion.
South African J G Sampson took Spearhead on a start to finish mission and the jockey cleverly dictated the pace in front, with Timeless Treasure racing in close proximity. Gloriosa lost all her chances at the gate itself by refusing to come out for a while after the start. Spearhead came into the straight clear of the field and checked in by over seven lengths ahead of Timeless Treasure who was going no where. Fleet Indian ran to be a poor third.
Trainer Arjun Mangalorkar had a short priced double through Astounding Gallop and Shotgunn. Astounding Gallop had impressive credentials as he had finished behind Couleur Rouge and Tasvorite. The punters were prepared to back him at any price which resulted in him running as the shortest priced horse of the season. Astounding Gallop gave no anxious moments to his supporters by putting a distance between himself and the rest. Recharged was a faraway second ahead of Matias.
Competing in the Epsom Plate (Div I), Shotgun was also backed without fear of any adverse consequence despite the price quoted on him being far from tempting. Shotgunn duly accomplished the task but he had to be driven out to contain the challenge of Tanzanite who has been somewhat of an enigma having gone winless in his last five efforts. Tanzanite is due for an early success based on this effort. Greenbro ran on to finish third but the one who caught the eye was Preset who was finishing fast with a late rally when the race was well sewn up by the front runner. Time Flies was backed to the exclusion of his rivals in the lower division of the race but the favourite shot his bolt after being prominent till entering the homestretch. Pinaakini and Shot of Gold fought out a stirring duel in the final furlong, with the better riding skills of Imran Chisty tilting the scales in favour of the Nityanand trainee.
Though Ailsa was a modest performer, the three-year old was backed with conviction which was surprising to say the least. After being prominent and slightly inconvenienced by Oceanic Wind who was angling out to get a clear run inside the final 250 metres, the favourite fell back and disappeared without a trace. Oceanic Wind showed so much speed in the final furlong that she ended up finishing more than eight lengths ahead of Fame And Glory. Natural Force was third.
Neil Darashah trained Dream Park had put in a noteworthy effort in her last run and as such, she looked with a positive chance in the 1200 metres Nanoli Stud Plate. The field appeared competitive with Still Will, Flaming Lamborgini and Alpha Baby enjoying varying degree of support in the ring. Jockey S Zervan, who recorded a double during the course of the day, did a tidy job on Dream Park who is a habitual late finisher. The progeny of Gasawar picked up the front runners one by one from the penultimate position and shot into the lead in the closing stages of the race to record a comfortable win. Flaming Lamborgini and Still Will flashed home with big runs but their efforts were a wee bit late. But today’s effort should stand them in good stead in their future assignments.
Yamas and Son of the Soil were both backed in the 1800 metres Star Supreme Plate but the latter was always struggling right through the race and was never in serious contention. Jockey C Alford had Yamas dictating the pace from the word `go’. The favourite just about lasted out to win from late rallying Fist of Rage and Son of the Soil.
Lokanath trained Kickingking had often let down because he was known to be a habitual bleeder. Backed with amazing confidence for a horse of such credentials, Kickingking justified the strong support he received by winning in a smashing manner. Despite being squeezed out in the early part and falling to the rear, Kickingking covered ground steadily and came up with a powerful run on the wide outside to leave the field stranded way behind as he passed the post more than seven lengths ahead of Yes I Can. Mister Trooper nosed out My Musketeer for the runner up berth.
Saturday was a day most punters would like to cherish for long as it was one of those rare days where favourite after favourite obliged with amazing consistency. The bookmakers got some relief towards the fag end of the day when Nityanand trained 100 to 1 shot, Oceanic Wind broke the sequence followed by his other ward Pinnakini winning the concluding race of the day, albeit as a lesser fancied runner.
There were apprehension about Spearhead defying the penalty and this perhaps was the reasons why the odds kept on expanding on him so much so that his price more than doubled by race time. Timeless Treasure, who had gone down by a whisker in his last essay, came in for sustained support but the progeny of Razeen was not up to carrying the top weight under taxing underfoot conditions. It had rained almost the whole of Friday night, rendering the underfoot conditions soft though the official announcement was good going. Timings were considerably slow though the going in no way hampered the performance of horses. The progeny of Burden of Proof enjoy a cut in the ground and this possibly may explain why Spearhead won by a bigger margin than anticipated. The decisive manner of victory of Kickingking and Oceanic Wind who are both by Mr. Mellon may add a new parameter in that the cut in the ground may also lift the performance of the progeny of the Ruia Stud Farm resident stallion.
South African J G Sampson took Spearhead on a start to finish mission and the jockey cleverly dictated the pace in front, with Timeless Treasure racing in close proximity. Gloriosa lost all her chances at the gate itself by refusing to come out for a while after the start. Spearhead came into the straight clear of the field and checked in by over seven lengths ahead of Timeless Treasure who was going no where. Fleet Indian ran to be a poor third.
Trainer Arjun Mangalorkar had a short priced double through Astounding Gallop and Shotgunn. Astounding Gallop had impressive credentials as he had finished behind Couleur Rouge and Tasvorite. The punters were prepared to back him at any price which resulted in him running as the shortest priced horse of the season. Astounding Gallop gave no anxious moments to his supporters by putting a distance between himself and the rest. Recharged was a faraway second ahead of Matias.
Competing in the Epsom Plate (Div I), Shotgun was also backed without fear of any adverse consequence despite the price quoted on him being far from tempting. Shotgunn duly accomplished the task but he had to be driven out to contain the challenge of Tanzanite who has been somewhat of an enigma having gone winless in his last five efforts. Tanzanite is due for an early success based on this effort. Greenbro ran on to finish third but the one who caught the eye was Preset who was finishing fast with a late rally when the race was well sewn up by the front runner. Time Flies was backed to the exclusion of his rivals in the lower division of the race but the favourite shot his bolt after being prominent till entering the homestretch. Pinaakini and Shot of Gold fought out a stirring duel in the final furlong, with the better riding skills of Imran Chisty tilting the scales in favour of the Nityanand trainee.
Though Ailsa was a modest performer, the three-year old was backed with conviction which was surprising to say the least. After being prominent and slightly inconvenienced by Oceanic Wind who was angling out to get a clear run inside the final 250 metres, the favourite fell back and disappeared without a trace. Oceanic Wind showed so much speed in the final furlong that she ended up finishing more than eight lengths ahead of Fame And Glory. Natural Force was third.
Neil Darashah trained Dream Park had put in a noteworthy effort in her last run and as such, she looked with a positive chance in the 1200 metres Nanoli Stud Plate. The field appeared competitive with Still Will, Flaming Lamborgini and Alpha Baby enjoying varying degree of support in the ring. Jockey S Zervan, who recorded a double during the course of the day, did a tidy job on Dream Park who is a habitual late finisher. The progeny of Gasawar picked up the front runners one by one from the penultimate position and shot into the lead in the closing stages of the race to record a comfortable win. Flaming Lamborgini and Still Will flashed home with big runs but their efforts were a wee bit late. But today’s effort should stand them in good stead in their future assignments.
Yamas and Son of the Soil were both backed in the 1800 metres Star Supreme Plate but the latter was always struggling right through the race and was never in serious contention. Jockey C Alford had Yamas dictating the pace from the word `go’. The favourite just about lasted out to win from late rallying Fist of Rage and Son of the Soil.
Lokanath trained Kickingking had often let down because he was known to be a habitual bleeder. Backed with amazing confidence for a horse of such credentials, Kickingking justified the strong support he received by winning in a smashing manner. Despite being squeezed out in the early part and falling to the rear, Kickingking covered ground steadily and came up with a powerful run on the wide outside to leave the field stranded way behind as he passed the post more than seven lengths ahead of Yes I Can. Mister Trooper nosed out My Musketeer for the runner up berth.
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