Arabian Prince looks solid in Stayers Cup

The Gr 1 Stayers Cup has never attracted a big field as Indian breeding is oriented towards producing sprinter milers. However, this year’s running of the Stayers Cup has proved to be an exception with as many as 11 runners in the fray. The race too has a competitive look with about three to four horses going into the race as strong contenders. Spark of Gold who finished third in last year’s edition is the only horse to have gone over the trip among the horses in fray. Jaggy Dhariwal trained Arabian Prince who has won over the Leger trip and done consistently well at Kolkata this season, is stoutly bred to stay and should have a bold show.

For a son of Burden of Proof, Arabian Prince has got the stamina influence from his dam Arabian Rose who was a solid race performer having missed the Indian Derby to Indictment by a narrow margin. Arabian Prince has already foaled a winner of this race through Arabian Knight who won the Stayers Cup at Hyderabad two years ago in record timing. As such, Arabian Prince is not lacking on the stamina aspect as he has won over trips up to 14 furlongs in emphatic fashion. He just has to get the additional furlong in the same fashion as he has done over the Leger trip.
Arabian Prince has been in good shape since the summer season as he won the Maharaja’s Cup and Bangalore St Leger. After being re-located to Kolkata for the plums there, Arabian Prince has proved to be invincible. He beat a quality opposition over a mile and his last win at Kolkata was equally emphatic. There are no issues with his staying the gruelling trip and is in best of shape. Chris Hayes knows the horse pretty well and rides with understanding. As such there is no reason to believe why he cannot win the longest Group I race of the country.

Autonomy is a rousing performer. He won over 2800 metres during the season but then on that occasion, the race was run at such a crawling pace that he could sprint the last part and win. The fact that the other runners were again gaining ground on him towards the finish as he seemed to be tiring is a disconcerting factor. However, if the race turns out to be a crawl and it becomes a question of speed at the finish, Autonomy can pull it off.

Pesi Shroff trained Cabriolet is a formidable contender who again derives stamina from his dam Highland Ghille who is bred as a half-sister to Zurbaran who won the Indian St Leger. Cabriolet has this habit of getting left in the gates, relaxing in the rear group and then unleashing a terrific turn of foot. His last win was emphatic and going by that performance, he will surely go into the race either as a favourite or shares the favouritism with Arabian Prince.

Cooji Katrak trained Sunlight who finished second to Moonlight Romance in the Indian Oaks, is another who is stoutly bred to stay. Though jockey Richard Hughes will be carrying few kgs more than the allotted weight, the connections are pretty hopeful that it will not make a difference. Sunlight has in her to surprise everyone in the fray. The daughter of China Visit has been working well and she gets a chance to win the race after twice being used as a pace maker to her more illustrious owner mates.

Native Knight ran consistently in all the Indian classics last year including the Indian St Leger where he finished third. Unfortunately he has no habit of winning. Spark of Gold has tackled this trip well while there are younger horses like Rezoom who can make their presence felt.

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