Sun Kingdom regains lost glory through Hughes
Irfan Ghatala trained Sun Kingdom kept his date with destiny when reaching the safety of the winning post ahead of the rest in the Gr 1 VIF Bangalore Derby, the star event of the season, in front of a huge crowd on Republic Day on Wednesday. Jockey Richard Hughes, who rode the winner, thus accomplished yet another mission on the Bangalore track by completing a Derby double having won the Kingfisher Derby in July on Moonlight Romance. The fact that jockey plays a big role in making or unmaking of a champion could not have been better illustrated by Hughes who was a big factor in the success of Sun Kingdom.
Sun Kingdom was the best performed horse in the fray having won two classics over a mile but there was a question mark about the progeny of Royal Kingdom tackling the mile and half trip as effectively as he had done over the shorter trip. Sun Kingdom was no doubt helped by the fact that he was tackling a weak and inexperienced opposition though the extended trip and the fact that the trainer had never won a race over this distance in his decade long career was a leveling factor. Richard Hughes stated later that he had to weigh several options including the looseness of the track on the inside by taking the longest and perhaps the safest route to a narrow success. ``The horse would not have stayed in inch longer,’’ he said when asked whether he felt comfortable when in sight of the winning post. Asked whether he had made up his mind about which horse he was going to ride in the Indian Derby, he said ``One thing is sure. I wont’ be on Sun Kingdom.’’ He said he would make up his mind about riding Ocean And Beyond or Moonlight Romance and he would rather wait than hasten a decision.
Was Richard Hughes apprehensive about the track especially since he had heard reports from other jockeys that the track was loose on the inside and also the fact that some jockeys had a fall only the previous day? Hughes said he was indeed concerned about the inside track which he felt was not comfortable and his first priority was to get off the rails from the inside draw. ``Since the field was big, there was bound to be traffic problems. Considering the fact that the pace was fast and quite a few horses were expected to rapidly drop back, I chose the option of traveling wide though taking the longer route. The strong head wind also had a bearing on the performance of horses in the straight,.’’ he said.
It won’t be a surprise if in racing dictionary in India, the name Richard Hughes spells success considering the ease with which he is delivering the goods. A lesser jockey than him would have found it hard to guide the favourite to victory. Rakesh Kumar Wadhawan was obviously delighted at the spate of success his horses are enjoying in classics and said as much when he said that whichever horse that Hughes choses to ride in the Indian Derby would be the one to win the biggest race in Indian racing calendar.
Spark of Atan took over the job of a pace setter as the 15-horse field set out for the mile and half trip, with Rezzom in second position followed by Braavo. Astounding Gallop raced in fourth position while String Along was in about the fifth position. Sun Kingdom was in the seventh. Kilimanjaro, Unleashed and Sunny’s Secret were in the rear group. Spark of Atan brought the field into the straight but fast faded out fast as String Along showed up strongly. Hughes maneuvered his way on Sun Kingdom on the wide outside and brought his horse into contention with a furlong to go. Sun Kingdom accelerated well to go ahead of String Along and managed to reach the safety of the winning post ahead of Unleashed who made a terrific rally only to by a shy by a length at the finish. Sunny’s Secret too ran on powerfully to neck out String Along for the third spot. The temperamental Kilimanjaro lived up to the belief that he could be unpredictable.
Jaggy Dhariwal trained Couleur Rouge won the day’s supporting event, the Mysore Race Club Trophy, a mile long race for horses rated 80 and above, quite capably. Though Couleur Rouge had lost narrowly to String Along in the Mysore Guineas, her performance in her subsequent outing was below par which she is why she went into the race as a lesser fancied runner. Criminal Lawyer was more fancied than the rest thanks to the presence of Hughes in the saddle. Splendid Surprise led the field ahead of Couleur Rouge into the straight but the latter smoothly cruised into the lead and skipped away from the rest before the others could get into their rhythm. Couleur Rouge won by a margin of three lengths over Criminal Lawyer who was flat footed when the race came to a boil. Spearhead was third ahead of Atlantus while Aboline who graced the wrong end of the field, showed no spark of old and ended up a poor fifth.
Darius Byramji’s Ben Ten won the Ted Fordyce Cup, a six furlong terms race for maiden three year olds, with ease, with a start to finish dash, finishing well clear of favourite Hillsboro. Rhythmic Dancer came up with a big threatening run from behind but drifted out under pressure and lost a possible chance of finishing second best. Arabian Gold ran on from behind to finish fourth and he should be better off for this educative run.
Brunetta had not been unduly extended thus far and he came good in the 1400 metres Vidhana Soudha Cup (Div I), a race for horses rated 40 to 65. After last outing winner and favourite Saddle Queen showed up inside the final furlong, Brunetta surged ahead and held on to win from a fast finishing Sparkling Sapphire. Modern Art played up while being stalled and was withdrawn from the fray. Puttanna trained Kripa had not run true to his potential in his last few runs but he was backed down spiritedly based on his past performance in the lower division of the race. Mr Ambassador had the best credentials having run an eye-catching second behind What A Friend. In the event, Kripa who went into the lead with a furlong out could not sustain his foray in front till the post and was beaten close home with ease by Mr. Ambassador. True Impression showed a big improvement in form while finishing a noteworthy third.
Cavalry Charge was the strong favourite to win the 2000 metres Indian Republic Trophy, a race for horses rated 60 to 85. There was also support for The Last Samurai who after being stranded in the gates for a few seconds, had run a suggestive fourth. Cavalry Charge held fort from the start but inside the final 250 metres, The Last Samurai came up with such an onslaught that the favourite had no answer and surrendered meekly. Sweet Caroline ran on to be third.
Satish Narredu’s Elusive Speed had won so impressively that an encore was on cards in the 1200 metres NRCE Cup. However, Gold Tern who had run suggestively in his last outing was backed down spiritedly and ended up as the favourite. However, this full brother to the well performed Rio Bravo lost all his chances at the gate. Elusive Speed, who ran prominently into the straight, easily sailed ahead and won with ease from Star of Desire and Gold Tern whose third suggested of possibilities if he had not been left in the gates.
Amit Caddy had success coming his way through Dance N Celebrate who was backed strongly to win the Nethravathi Trophy. Sunset Grill was the firm favourite. Athabasca Star and Sukanti were also considered to be in with a chance but both were lethargic at the gates. From a prominent position in front, Dance N Celebrate skipped away from his opponents to win the Nethravathi Cup over seven furlongs. Sunset Grill chased the winner in vein. Bon Giorno showed some improvement when finishing third.
Two horses received solid support in the Swarnamukhi Stakes, a five and half furlong race for maiden three year olds but both found Free Law in no mood to relent as the progeny of Burden of Proof put in a successful start to finish mission to win the race as he pleased.
Sun Kingdom was the best performed horse in the fray having won two classics over a mile but there was a question mark about the progeny of Royal Kingdom tackling the mile and half trip as effectively as he had done over the shorter trip. Sun Kingdom was no doubt helped by the fact that he was tackling a weak and inexperienced opposition though the extended trip and the fact that the trainer had never won a race over this distance in his decade long career was a leveling factor. Richard Hughes stated later that he had to weigh several options including the looseness of the track on the inside by taking the longest and perhaps the safest route to a narrow success. ``The horse would not have stayed in inch longer,’’ he said when asked whether he felt comfortable when in sight of the winning post. Asked whether he had made up his mind about which horse he was going to ride in the Indian Derby, he said ``One thing is sure. I wont’ be on Sun Kingdom.’’ He said he would make up his mind about riding Ocean And Beyond or Moonlight Romance and he would rather wait than hasten a decision.
Was Richard Hughes apprehensive about the track especially since he had heard reports from other jockeys that the track was loose on the inside and also the fact that some jockeys had a fall only the previous day? Hughes said he was indeed concerned about the inside track which he felt was not comfortable and his first priority was to get off the rails from the inside draw. ``Since the field was big, there was bound to be traffic problems. Considering the fact that the pace was fast and quite a few horses were expected to rapidly drop back, I chose the option of traveling wide though taking the longer route. The strong head wind also had a bearing on the performance of horses in the straight,.’’ he said.
It won’t be a surprise if in racing dictionary in India, the name Richard Hughes spells success considering the ease with which he is delivering the goods. A lesser jockey than him would have found it hard to guide the favourite to victory. Rakesh Kumar Wadhawan was obviously delighted at the spate of success his horses are enjoying in classics and said as much when he said that whichever horse that Hughes choses to ride in the Indian Derby would be the one to win the biggest race in Indian racing calendar.
Spark of Atan took over the job of a pace setter as the 15-horse field set out for the mile and half trip, with Rezzom in second position followed by Braavo. Astounding Gallop raced in fourth position while String Along was in about the fifth position. Sun Kingdom was in the seventh. Kilimanjaro, Unleashed and Sunny’s Secret were in the rear group. Spark of Atan brought the field into the straight but fast faded out fast as String Along showed up strongly. Hughes maneuvered his way on Sun Kingdom on the wide outside and brought his horse into contention with a furlong to go. Sun Kingdom accelerated well to go ahead of String Along and managed to reach the safety of the winning post ahead of Unleashed who made a terrific rally only to by a shy by a length at the finish. Sunny’s Secret too ran on powerfully to neck out String Along for the third spot. The temperamental Kilimanjaro lived up to the belief that he could be unpredictable.
Jaggy Dhariwal trained Couleur Rouge won the day’s supporting event, the Mysore Race Club Trophy, a mile long race for horses rated 80 and above, quite capably. Though Couleur Rouge had lost narrowly to String Along in the Mysore Guineas, her performance in her subsequent outing was below par which she is why she went into the race as a lesser fancied runner. Criminal Lawyer was more fancied than the rest thanks to the presence of Hughes in the saddle. Splendid Surprise led the field ahead of Couleur Rouge into the straight but the latter smoothly cruised into the lead and skipped away from the rest before the others could get into their rhythm. Couleur Rouge won by a margin of three lengths over Criminal Lawyer who was flat footed when the race came to a boil. Spearhead was third ahead of Atlantus while Aboline who graced the wrong end of the field, showed no spark of old and ended up a poor fifth.
Darius Byramji’s Ben Ten won the Ted Fordyce Cup, a six furlong terms race for maiden three year olds, with ease, with a start to finish dash, finishing well clear of favourite Hillsboro. Rhythmic Dancer came up with a big threatening run from behind but drifted out under pressure and lost a possible chance of finishing second best. Arabian Gold ran on from behind to finish fourth and he should be better off for this educative run.
Brunetta had not been unduly extended thus far and he came good in the 1400 metres Vidhana Soudha Cup (Div I), a race for horses rated 40 to 65. After last outing winner and favourite Saddle Queen showed up inside the final furlong, Brunetta surged ahead and held on to win from a fast finishing Sparkling Sapphire. Modern Art played up while being stalled and was withdrawn from the fray. Puttanna trained Kripa had not run true to his potential in his last few runs but he was backed down spiritedly based on his past performance in the lower division of the race. Mr Ambassador had the best credentials having run an eye-catching second behind What A Friend. In the event, Kripa who went into the lead with a furlong out could not sustain his foray in front till the post and was beaten close home with ease by Mr. Ambassador. True Impression showed a big improvement in form while finishing a noteworthy third.
Cavalry Charge was the strong favourite to win the 2000 metres Indian Republic Trophy, a race for horses rated 60 to 85. There was also support for The Last Samurai who after being stranded in the gates for a few seconds, had run a suggestive fourth. Cavalry Charge held fort from the start but inside the final 250 metres, The Last Samurai came up with such an onslaught that the favourite had no answer and surrendered meekly. Sweet Caroline ran on to be third.
Satish Narredu’s Elusive Speed had won so impressively that an encore was on cards in the 1200 metres NRCE Cup. However, Gold Tern who had run suggestively in his last outing was backed down spiritedly and ended up as the favourite. However, this full brother to the well performed Rio Bravo lost all his chances at the gate. Elusive Speed, who ran prominently into the straight, easily sailed ahead and won with ease from Star of Desire and Gold Tern whose third suggested of possibilities if he had not been left in the gates.
Amit Caddy had success coming his way through Dance N Celebrate who was backed strongly to win the Nethravathi Trophy. Sunset Grill was the firm favourite. Athabasca Star and Sukanti were also considered to be in with a chance but both were lethargic at the gates. From a prominent position in front, Dance N Celebrate skipped away from his opponents to win the Nethravathi Cup over seven furlongs. Sunset Grill chased the winner in vein. Bon Giorno showed some improvement when finishing third.
Two horses received solid support in the Swarnamukhi Stakes, a five and half furlong race for maiden three year olds but both found Free Law in no mood to relent as the progeny of Burden of Proof put in a successful start to finish mission to win the race as he pleased.
Comments
Post a Comment