Balmoral Castle grabs Bangalore Oaks
David Allan made ample amends for his hiccup astride Becket at Mumbai last Sunday with a splendid ride on Balmoral Castle which saw the Padmanabhan trainee stave off the challenge of favourite Sun Control with a measure of comfort in the Gr 2 Bangalore Oaks, the third classic of the season, on Sunday. David Allan rode with supreme confidence and it was clear that he was out to prove a point which he did in style.
Though the Sohna Stud Farm produce Balmoral Castle was the highest rated horse in the fray, she was allowed to run at fancy odds, with the bulk of money coming on hat-tricker Sun Control and others who had success in lower category races. In the event, the well-bred Balmoral Castle who was specifically targeted for this race, beat the others who were hurriedly pitched into the fray based on their last start runs and this perhaps put paid to their hopes.
The Bangalore Oaks has almost always favoured an outsider. Sun Control who had won three races over shorter trips was pitchforked into the fray and with Richard Hughes who lends a magic touch to guide her fortunes; she was the obvious public choice. But it was surprising that Balmoral Castle who was an experienced campaigner and won the Mysore Million and had run second in the ill-fated Mysore Derby was totally neglected in the betting ring. Karisini, who had won over nine furlongs in lower class in impressive fashion, had her share of supporters. One Life To Love head the group of lesser fancied runners in the race.
Yas Marina led the field from the start with Matias, Balmoral Castle, Sun Control racing in close proximity while the others were spread out behind with One Life To Love and Spark of Desire gracing the rear. Pesi Shroff’s Scarlette played up violently at the gates but she was still loaded to race and she was never in the reckoning possibly caused by the trauma of getting stuck in the gates for a few seconds. Richard Hughes perhaps had guessed that Balmoral Castle was his only danger as he tracked the daughter of Spartacus and he even tried cleverly to box the horse but his tactics did not succeed as Balmoral Castle showed enough speed to shoot through the gap between Yas Marina and Matias. Sun Control joined issue with Balmoral Castle and the duo fought for a while before the dwindling reserves of the former was evident for all to see. Balmoral Castle battled on resolutely to win by a length from the favourite while One Life To Love who was subjected to veterinary check before being loaded in the gates finished four lengths adrift of the runner up. It looked as though there would be a battle royal as David Allan and Richard Hughes got down to fight the issue in the final furlong but Sun Control appeared like a horse whose petrol tank was leaking and dried up in the final stages of the race. Karisini was out of depth in this company.
``This was a welcome relief after the loss on Becket at Mumbai,’ said David Allan heaving a sigh of relief. ``The horse stayed well and I was pretty confident that I would land the spoils,’’ he added.
Jockey Suraj Narredu extracted an exciting win on Bhagirathi over Richard Hughes ridden Tomsk in the Kelachandra New Millennium Cup, a terms race for four year olds and over, the supporting event of the day. Cruising who appeared to have struck great form was the favourite though the odds drift close to race time was cause for concern. Bhagirathi was well backed as almost a joint favourite while Tomsk had his share of supporters along with Atlantus. Jockey Silvester De Sousa surprisingly had Cruising dictating the pace ahead of Magnanimity, Bhagirathi, Atlantus, Tomsk and Firezone who brought the tail end. Cruising faded out from the scene as Atlantus surged ahead inside the final quarter mile but was overwhelmed by Bhagirathi. Tomsk who was lugging in was pulled out by Hughes to make a strong challenge and it looked as though he would oblige. Bhagirathi pulled out that bit extra to nose out Tomsk while Atlantus finished third ahead of Cruising who packed up too abruptly for comfort.
The Hazara Stud Farm is in the news for the number of mares that it has imported from abroad in recent years as also for the two stallions of great potential standing at its stud farm. The progeny of Rebuttal, Tiberius recorded a very impressive win in the 1400 metres New Year Trophy. At Hyderabad, Zamorin had won the Juvenile Million recently and at Kolkata, on the New Year ’s Day, another progeny of Rebuttal, Dandified won the Kunigal Stud Indian Produce Stakes. Surely the stud farm owned by Nirmal Singh is making all the right moves and getting to see good results already.
Mad About You and Star Marquees were the favourites to begin with but inspired betting on Tiberius was suggestive of the confidence of the connections of the horse trained by Irfan Ghatala. Hughes sat unconcerned at the rear as the front runners led by Current Bay went at a scorching pace. Mad About You was in close proximity. Star Marquees ran into all sorts of problems as jockey Imran Khan tried to improve position on the wide outside and was a beaten cause in the straight. Tiberius came from behind with a blistering run and was sighted a winner even with a furlong left in the race. He won in great style from Mad About Town and Current Ray whose run was suggestive of an early success. Star Marquees made no improvement over his previous essay.
Dominic trained Still Will who had let down as a well fancied runner a couple of times, this time out obliged in the Jaggy Stud Plate (Div I) getting the better of front running Superb Style close home. Colonel Duff ran on to finish third. Alpha Baby ran below expectations and apprentice jockey Vaibhav had a fall soon after the runners crossed the winning post. Jaggy Dhariwal trained Joriki managed to get stronger close home in the lower division of the race at the expense of Hatsuhana who was running after a very long layoff due to setback in training. Silvester De Sousa rode the winner. Romance In The Air and Corleone who were also well supported, packed up after being prominent till the bend and finished disappointingly.
Puttanna trained Amazer attracted a flood of money in the R H Charles Memorial Plate, a six furlong race for horses rated 40 to 65. Jockey Krishnan rode with all the resources at his command but Amazer was caught up by Voice of India virtually in the final stride of the race. Sweet Timer was a close third ahead of Marie Curie. The attempt of jockey John who rode Marie Curie to reverse the placings with Sweet Timer for bumping him in the final stages of the race was overruled as having no substance. In fact, one of the Stewards suggested that jockey John should be pulled up for lodging a frivolous objection but that was an exaggerated opinion because there were grounds for objecting.
Hard To Pin Town looked overwhelmingly superior in the day’s opener, a mile long race for horses rated 20 to 45. After tracking Plaka into the straight, Hard To Pin Down easily cruised past the front runner in the final furlong and won as he pleased. Beautiful Life ran on to be a faraway third.
Though the Sohna Stud Farm produce Balmoral Castle was the highest rated horse in the fray, she was allowed to run at fancy odds, with the bulk of money coming on hat-tricker Sun Control and others who had success in lower category races. In the event, the well-bred Balmoral Castle who was specifically targeted for this race, beat the others who were hurriedly pitched into the fray based on their last start runs and this perhaps put paid to their hopes.
The Bangalore Oaks has almost always favoured an outsider. Sun Control who had won three races over shorter trips was pitchforked into the fray and with Richard Hughes who lends a magic touch to guide her fortunes; she was the obvious public choice. But it was surprising that Balmoral Castle who was an experienced campaigner and won the Mysore Million and had run second in the ill-fated Mysore Derby was totally neglected in the betting ring. Karisini, who had won over nine furlongs in lower class in impressive fashion, had her share of supporters. One Life To Love head the group of lesser fancied runners in the race.
Yas Marina led the field from the start with Matias, Balmoral Castle, Sun Control racing in close proximity while the others were spread out behind with One Life To Love and Spark of Desire gracing the rear. Pesi Shroff’s Scarlette played up violently at the gates but she was still loaded to race and she was never in the reckoning possibly caused by the trauma of getting stuck in the gates for a few seconds. Richard Hughes perhaps had guessed that Balmoral Castle was his only danger as he tracked the daughter of Spartacus and he even tried cleverly to box the horse but his tactics did not succeed as Balmoral Castle showed enough speed to shoot through the gap between Yas Marina and Matias. Sun Control joined issue with Balmoral Castle and the duo fought for a while before the dwindling reserves of the former was evident for all to see. Balmoral Castle battled on resolutely to win by a length from the favourite while One Life To Love who was subjected to veterinary check before being loaded in the gates finished four lengths adrift of the runner up. It looked as though there would be a battle royal as David Allan and Richard Hughes got down to fight the issue in the final furlong but Sun Control appeared like a horse whose petrol tank was leaking and dried up in the final stages of the race. Karisini was out of depth in this company.
``This was a welcome relief after the loss on Becket at Mumbai,’ said David Allan heaving a sigh of relief. ``The horse stayed well and I was pretty confident that I would land the spoils,’’ he added.
Jockey Suraj Narredu extracted an exciting win on Bhagirathi over Richard Hughes ridden Tomsk in the Kelachandra New Millennium Cup, a terms race for four year olds and over, the supporting event of the day. Cruising who appeared to have struck great form was the favourite though the odds drift close to race time was cause for concern. Bhagirathi was well backed as almost a joint favourite while Tomsk had his share of supporters along with Atlantus. Jockey Silvester De Sousa surprisingly had Cruising dictating the pace ahead of Magnanimity, Bhagirathi, Atlantus, Tomsk and Firezone who brought the tail end. Cruising faded out from the scene as Atlantus surged ahead inside the final quarter mile but was overwhelmed by Bhagirathi. Tomsk who was lugging in was pulled out by Hughes to make a strong challenge and it looked as though he would oblige. Bhagirathi pulled out that bit extra to nose out Tomsk while Atlantus finished third ahead of Cruising who packed up too abruptly for comfort.
The Hazara Stud Farm is in the news for the number of mares that it has imported from abroad in recent years as also for the two stallions of great potential standing at its stud farm. The progeny of Rebuttal, Tiberius recorded a very impressive win in the 1400 metres New Year Trophy. At Hyderabad, Zamorin had won the Juvenile Million recently and at Kolkata, on the New Year ’s Day, another progeny of Rebuttal, Dandified won the Kunigal Stud Indian Produce Stakes. Surely the stud farm owned by Nirmal Singh is making all the right moves and getting to see good results already.
Mad About You and Star Marquees were the favourites to begin with but inspired betting on Tiberius was suggestive of the confidence of the connections of the horse trained by Irfan Ghatala. Hughes sat unconcerned at the rear as the front runners led by Current Bay went at a scorching pace. Mad About You was in close proximity. Star Marquees ran into all sorts of problems as jockey Imran Khan tried to improve position on the wide outside and was a beaten cause in the straight. Tiberius came from behind with a blistering run and was sighted a winner even with a furlong left in the race. He won in great style from Mad About Town and Current Ray whose run was suggestive of an early success. Star Marquees made no improvement over his previous essay.
Dominic trained Still Will who had let down as a well fancied runner a couple of times, this time out obliged in the Jaggy Stud Plate (Div I) getting the better of front running Superb Style close home. Colonel Duff ran on to finish third. Alpha Baby ran below expectations and apprentice jockey Vaibhav had a fall soon after the runners crossed the winning post. Jaggy Dhariwal trained Joriki managed to get stronger close home in the lower division of the race at the expense of Hatsuhana who was running after a very long layoff due to setback in training. Silvester De Sousa rode the winner. Romance In The Air and Corleone who were also well supported, packed up after being prominent till the bend and finished disappointingly.
Puttanna trained Amazer attracted a flood of money in the R H Charles Memorial Plate, a six furlong race for horses rated 40 to 65. Jockey Krishnan rode with all the resources at his command but Amazer was caught up by Voice of India virtually in the final stride of the race. Sweet Timer was a close third ahead of Marie Curie. The attempt of jockey John who rode Marie Curie to reverse the placings with Sweet Timer for bumping him in the final stages of the race was overruled as having no substance. In fact, one of the Stewards suggested that jockey John should be pulled up for lodging a frivolous objection but that was an exaggerated opinion because there were grounds for objecting.
Hard To Pin Town looked overwhelmingly superior in the day’s opener, a mile long race for horses rated 20 to 45. After tracking Plaka into the straight, Hard To Pin Down easily cruised past the front runner in the final furlong and won as he pleased. Beautiful Life ran on to be a faraway third.
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