Oban records an encore in fine style
Jaggy Dhariwal trained Oban came up with stellar performance to win the 1600 metres Topmost Cup, a race for horses rated 80 and above which featured Christmas day racing on Saturday. The small made four-year old daughter of Greensmith was driven out for a fine win by jockey Silvester De Sousa who rode the horse with greater understanding. His job was made easier by the fact that the connections of Criminal Lawyer chose to gift the race on a platter by electing to declare jockey Selvaraj who as of now is not equipped to win in a competitive race which requires riding skills as well. Trainer Irfan Ghatala has lost quite a few races during the season by his decision to entrust his wards to jockeys who lack both talent and temperament.
Bottom-weighted Camelot was the favourite to win the race though the race had a very open look about it. Criminal Lawyer who had let down as a favourite last time out, showed out in the paddock parade and looked set to make amends. Oban continued to have her share of supporters. Classerville who was running after a long layoff due to a setback in training did the job of the pace setter followed by Blink, Systematic and Oban while Camelot was not well settled by apprentice Kumar who went all over the place. Criminal Lawyer was in about the fifth position. Rounding the final turn, Blink had the first run on his opponents even as De Sousa set alight Oban. The lesser fancied runner picked up speed to surge ahead with a furlong out. Criminal Lawyer too showed up prominently but Selvaraj was unable to offer sufficient assistance and Criminal Lawyer was a good thing beat as he failed to overhaul Oban. Blink ran on to finish third while Henry’s Secret who was toiling at the rear of the field for most part, covered lot of ground to take the fourth position.
The Hyderabad Silver Vase, a six furlongs race for maiden two year olds, had just five runners in the fray. Capote who had finished third in his last start was available at cramped odds with Magnitude running at nourishing odds. The odds did not reflect the relative merits of these horses because Magnitude certainly had better credentials than Capote based on their previous runs. Jockey Imran Khan took Magnitude on a start to finish mission and despite Capote closing up the leeway in the final stages of the race, the filly was able to win with a measure of comfort. Strive And Serve was a distance behind third.
Montedoro looked outstanding in the Badami Plate (Div I) but there was inspired support for One For The Money which resulted in the odds expanding significantly on the ante post favourite. Jaldi and One For The Money disputed the lead in front followed by Supremacy, Citrali, Montedoro and Gift of Love. One For The Money led briefly inside the final 350 metres but he failed to sustain his foray in front as Montedoro swooped in on the front runners with a flourish from behind. In doing so, jockey Paswan was unable to control the inward drift of the horse which resulted in him bumping Citrali who passed on the interference to Supremacy who was completely thrown out of her stride. Montedoro went on to win the race easily from late rallying Gift of Love who edged out Citrali from the runner up berth. Jockey Srinath who rode Citrali raised an objection against Paswan who rode the winner for bumping him and throwing his horse off balance which cost him a certain place. Srinath even suggested to the Stewards that the interference from the winner was so severe as to warrant disqualification of the winner! The Stewards did not buy the argument and quickly overthrew the objection though Paswan is bound to face the wrath of the Stewards for his lack of control of his horse.
The withdrawal of Crown Vision due to fever in the lower division of the Badami Plate resulted in Swift Star being backed to the exclusion of his rivals. Swift Star bled during the race and failed to justify the immense faith the punters had on his abilities. Swift Star led the field till overhauled by Recharged inside the final furlong. Swift Star rapidly fell back to finish a poor fourth. Recharged was not hard pressed to win from Moves Goodenough and Day Trader.
While two cramped on money favourites failed to oblige during the day, Valahak had no such problems while winning the Amathos Plate (Div I). Valahak led all the way and checked in well clear of Amiable Lady and Trillion Win to win as he pleased. This was the first win of the season for trainer Prasanna Kumar who had lost all the Sparks after the summer season. Sirajuddin trained Better Than Best justified the strong support she received in the betting ring by making the entire running and finishing well clear of Natural Force and Hurricane Royal.
What A Friend obliged after two failures in the 1400 metres Kollegal Plate. Favourite Modern Art led the field into the straight but packed up under pressure. What A Friend angled out from the rails and came up with a powerful burst to win the race quite easily from Mr Ambassador who finished on purposefully from behind taking the second spot.
Jack O Lantern received one sided support in the 1400 metres Kakanakote Plate, a race for horses rated 0 to 25. Jack O Lantern lost a favorable position soon after the jump out and had to be driven out hard to win from Kunigal Star And Fire Star. Sukanti who was running for the first time, was shaping to pose a big question to the field but had her path blocked completely and lost all her chances. Sukanti who finished fifth is one for the notebook.
Bottom-weighted Camelot was the favourite to win the race though the race had a very open look about it. Criminal Lawyer who had let down as a favourite last time out, showed out in the paddock parade and looked set to make amends. Oban continued to have her share of supporters. Classerville who was running after a long layoff due to a setback in training did the job of the pace setter followed by Blink, Systematic and Oban while Camelot was not well settled by apprentice Kumar who went all over the place. Criminal Lawyer was in about the fifth position. Rounding the final turn, Blink had the first run on his opponents even as De Sousa set alight Oban. The lesser fancied runner picked up speed to surge ahead with a furlong out. Criminal Lawyer too showed up prominently but Selvaraj was unable to offer sufficient assistance and Criminal Lawyer was a good thing beat as he failed to overhaul Oban. Blink ran on to finish third while Henry’s Secret who was toiling at the rear of the field for most part, covered lot of ground to take the fourth position.
The Hyderabad Silver Vase, a six furlongs race for maiden two year olds, had just five runners in the fray. Capote who had finished third in his last start was available at cramped odds with Magnitude running at nourishing odds. The odds did not reflect the relative merits of these horses because Magnitude certainly had better credentials than Capote based on their previous runs. Jockey Imran Khan took Magnitude on a start to finish mission and despite Capote closing up the leeway in the final stages of the race, the filly was able to win with a measure of comfort. Strive And Serve was a distance behind third.
Montedoro looked outstanding in the Badami Plate (Div I) but there was inspired support for One For The Money which resulted in the odds expanding significantly on the ante post favourite. Jaldi and One For The Money disputed the lead in front followed by Supremacy, Citrali, Montedoro and Gift of Love. One For The Money led briefly inside the final 350 metres but he failed to sustain his foray in front as Montedoro swooped in on the front runners with a flourish from behind. In doing so, jockey Paswan was unable to control the inward drift of the horse which resulted in him bumping Citrali who passed on the interference to Supremacy who was completely thrown out of her stride. Montedoro went on to win the race easily from late rallying Gift of Love who edged out Citrali from the runner up berth. Jockey Srinath who rode Citrali raised an objection against Paswan who rode the winner for bumping him and throwing his horse off balance which cost him a certain place. Srinath even suggested to the Stewards that the interference from the winner was so severe as to warrant disqualification of the winner! The Stewards did not buy the argument and quickly overthrew the objection though Paswan is bound to face the wrath of the Stewards for his lack of control of his horse.
The withdrawal of Crown Vision due to fever in the lower division of the Badami Plate resulted in Swift Star being backed to the exclusion of his rivals. Swift Star bled during the race and failed to justify the immense faith the punters had on his abilities. Swift Star led the field till overhauled by Recharged inside the final furlong. Swift Star rapidly fell back to finish a poor fourth. Recharged was not hard pressed to win from Moves Goodenough and Day Trader.
While two cramped on money favourites failed to oblige during the day, Valahak had no such problems while winning the Amathos Plate (Div I). Valahak led all the way and checked in well clear of Amiable Lady and Trillion Win to win as he pleased. This was the first win of the season for trainer Prasanna Kumar who had lost all the Sparks after the summer season. Sirajuddin trained Better Than Best justified the strong support she received in the betting ring by making the entire running and finishing well clear of Natural Force and Hurricane Royal.
What A Friend obliged after two failures in the 1400 metres Kollegal Plate. Favourite Modern Art led the field into the straight but packed up under pressure. What A Friend angled out from the rails and came up with a powerful burst to win the race quite easily from Mr Ambassador who finished on purposefully from behind taking the second spot.
Jack O Lantern received one sided support in the 1400 metres Kakanakote Plate, a race for horses rated 0 to 25. Jack O Lantern lost a favorable position soon after the jump out and had to be driven out hard to win from Kunigal Star And Fire Star. Sukanti who was running for the first time, was shaping to pose a big question to the field but had her path blocked completely and lost all her chances. Sukanti who finished fifth is one for the notebook.
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