Sun Kingdom for Poonawalla Derby
Sun Kingdom should have gone into the Gr 1 Poonawalla Mysore Derby which is scheduled to be held on Sunday, as an overwhelming favourite but for one aberration. His below par effort in the Mysore 2000 Guineas has put doubts in the minds of race goers as to his continued brilliance. If the run benefit brings about a dramatic transformation in him, he can win the biggest race of the season.
Immense who won the Golconda Colts Trial Stakes and the Mysore 2000 Guineas, has been supplemented ias a final entry after he beat the seemingly invincible Sun Kingdom with ease has a fair chance of retaining his supremacy. Spark of Atan is another who has been enthusiastically put as a final entry in the hope that he would have a strong say.
Trainer Irfan Ghatala feels that Sun Kingdom is back at his best. ``I possibly made a mistake in my strategy in asking the jockey to chase Immense instead of racing my horse to its strength. Sun Kingdom produces his sparkling acceleration when he is held back instead of being asked to go with the pace. By making the horse to go in hot pursuit of a fitter horse may have been the undoing of Sun Kingdom. The horse has bounced back and I am pretty confident that my ward will deliver the goods.’’
There is no denying the class of Sun Kingdom whose winning sequence was halted by owner mate Moonlight Romance who stole the race from him in the Kingfisher Derby. Sun Kingdom has been working well and goes into the Derby as a fitter horse which should see him perform well. With jockey B Prakash declared to ride him, there will be good support from the saddle. Prakash is the most successful Indian jockey both in terms of the number of wins as well as success in the classics are concerned.
Immense has been an outstanding performer to say the least. The progeny of Gaswar runs freely with the pace and finds an extra gear under pressure. There are many who believe that he may be lacking in stamina and that he is good only up to a mile. However, this is not a deterrent as any good miler can get the extended trip in Mysore, given the fact that the track has several turns and horses get into top gear only inside the final two furlongs.
Ganapathy’s Ordained One is out and out bred to stay. However, he does not have a good turn of foot and this may go against him. If he is ridden aggressively in front, he can trouble them all.
Padmanabhan trained Balmoral Castle is a capable horse though she may be lacking in a bit of class compared to the colts. She has shown good improvement ever since recording her maiden win towards the fag end of the summer season. She won the Mysore Million and then ran third in the Guineas to String Along and Couleur Rouge both whom are not in the Derby fray. She has had the beating of Ordained One over a mile long trip. Her pedigree suggests that the mile and quarter trip is not an issue. She is the one to profit if there is any below par performance by the two market fancies.
Vittal Deshmukh’s Rapture of Victory ran fair races in Hyderabad. He goes into the ray as a very fit contender. He should add pep to the finish.
Immense who won the Golconda Colts Trial Stakes and the Mysore 2000 Guineas, has been supplemented ias a final entry after he beat the seemingly invincible Sun Kingdom with ease has a fair chance of retaining his supremacy. Spark of Atan is another who has been enthusiastically put as a final entry in the hope that he would have a strong say.
Trainer Irfan Ghatala feels that Sun Kingdom is back at his best. ``I possibly made a mistake in my strategy in asking the jockey to chase Immense instead of racing my horse to its strength. Sun Kingdom produces his sparkling acceleration when he is held back instead of being asked to go with the pace. By making the horse to go in hot pursuit of a fitter horse may have been the undoing of Sun Kingdom. The horse has bounced back and I am pretty confident that my ward will deliver the goods.’’
There is no denying the class of Sun Kingdom whose winning sequence was halted by owner mate Moonlight Romance who stole the race from him in the Kingfisher Derby. Sun Kingdom has been working well and goes into the Derby as a fitter horse which should see him perform well. With jockey B Prakash declared to ride him, there will be good support from the saddle. Prakash is the most successful Indian jockey both in terms of the number of wins as well as success in the classics are concerned.
Immense has been an outstanding performer to say the least. The progeny of Gaswar runs freely with the pace and finds an extra gear under pressure. There are many who believe that he may be lacking in stamina and that he is good only up to a mile. However, this is not a deterrent as any good miler can get the extended trip in Mysore, given the fact that the track has several turns and horses get into top gear only inside the final two furlongs.
Ganapathy’s Ordained One is out and out bred to stay. However, he does not have a good turn of foot and this may go against him. If he is ridden aggressively in front, he can trouble them all.
Padmanabhan trained Balmoral Castle is a capable horse though she may be lacking in a bit of class compared to the colts. She has shown good improvement ever since recording her maiden win towards the fag end of the summer season. She won the Mysore Million and then ran third in the Guineas to String Along and Couleur Rouge both whom are not in the Derby fray. She has had the beating of Ordained One over a mile long trip. Her pedigree suggests that the mile and quarter trip is not an issue. She is the one to profit if there is any below par performance by the two market fancies.
Vittal Deshmukh’s Rapture of Victory ran fair races in Hyderabad. He goes into the ray as a very fit contender. He should add pep to the finish.
what exactly went wrong in the derby?
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