Prakash guides D’Artagnan to victory
Jockey Y S Srinath suffered an unfortunate injury to his knee following a fall astride Preordained on Saturday in pre-race parade in front of Grand Stand and he could not fulfil his engagements on Sunday. The jockeys who replaced him reaped a rich harvest, with four of them being winners including D’Artagnan in the Gr 3 Jayachamaraja Wadiyar Cup, the first of the 14 graded races programmed for the summer season. Sunday’s card was a mixed bag for punters, with Prakash profiting from two chance rides to open his account with a double.
In the absence of any horse which enjoyed clear cut superiority in the 11-horse field in the fray for the feature event, D’Artagnan who hadn’t won for quite some time but had been figuring at the finish in graded races at Mumbai, ended up as the favourite based on blazing workouts. D’Artagnan had initially raised great deal of expectations as a juvenile but had not lived up to that promise unable to carry his front running tactics up to the winning post. Prakash gradually worked his way on D’Artagnan to take charge of the proceedings within the first furlong followed by Cavalry Charge and Mighty Heart, with Spearhead, String Along racing in striking distance while the rest were spaced out behind. D’Artagnan came in to the homestretch with a good break over the rest and he established a winning lead when he spurted clear of the rest with less than two furlongs to go which held him in good stead. String Along threatened his supremacy briefly before fading out while Spearhead finished with a flourish to nose out the former for the runner up berth. The fancied Kyles of Bute and Couleur Rouge made no show.
Classic winner Astounding Gallop who had recently changed stables, won the Usha Stud Plate (Div I) quite easily where the fancied Camorra was not up to the task. Though Astounding Gallop reportedly had only one pace work only, that did not prevent him from asserting himself with aggressive running which saw the Babu Rao trainee take charge of the proceedings after turning for home. Astounding Gallop stretched away to record a facile win in the hands of Prakash, with Camorra finishing second best ahead of Bucephalas. The progeny of Gaswar should improve on this effort though he may be thrown at the deep end in the Karnataka Cup, a mile long Grade II event. The consistent Accurate won the lower division of the race at the expense of favourite Crown Empress. Appu let Saloni dictate the pace well into the straight before asking Accurate to quicken which he did remarkably to go sailing clear. Crown Empress chased him in vain. Saloni held off Native Talent for the third spot.
Darius Byramji trained horses always attract disproportionate attention for the simple reason that they blaze the track in morning workouts though they rarely reproduce that spark on the race track. Ben Ten was spiritedly backed to win the 1400 metres Allaire Plate. African Queen, who had run into some good horses in her first season, came in for support as the odds expanded on Ben Ten. Jockey Noel Callow had African Queen racing in a handy position before asking the progeny of Burden of Proof to quicken at the top of the straight. African Queen sped away from the rest to spare a distance at the finish to Walter and Muqtadir. Ben Ten was not spotted. Royal Fortune whipped around at the start and dropped apprentice jockey Rajesh.
Intrigue who had been showing out in the workouts, duly won the Mount Everest Trophy, a five and furlong race for maiden three year olds, from Unique Show. Unique Show lost a forward position early on as Optimus Zone went on to the filly which caused her to lose ground. She was finishing on strongly but the favourite had reached the safety of the post by that time. Optimus Zone ran on to be third.
Juno was slammed in the betting ring to win the M N Prakash Memorial Trophy (Div I) and the Neil Darashah trainee justified the market expectations with an easy win. Senator dropped back abruptly midway through the race after being clipped by a horse causing all the horses which were racing on his outside to go wide. Juno who had an untroubled passage, brooked no opposition as she won from Foswell by a widening margin of five lengths. Ganapathy’s Mystic Dawn who hadn’t lived up to the promise he showed as a juvenile, was backed strongly to win the lower division of the race. Citrali, who had six placed efforts in winter, came in for spirited support close to race time. Jockey John who replaced Srinath on Citrali was alert to the task though the horse itself was bit sluggish to begin with. John got busy on Citrali from the start and the progeny of Juniper got past the favourite with a furlong out and easily won the race. Ailsa came with a big stretch run to edge out Mystic Dawn for the runner up berth. Oceanic Wind who was squeezed out by Citrali at a crucial stage finished fourth.
Lesser fancied Brilliance from trainer Ganapathy’s yard easily won the day’s opener at the expense of favourite Bounty Hunter. After racing wide till turning for home, Brilliance put in a strong effort in the middle of the course to go clear inside the final 300 metres and win with measure of comfort.
In the day’s concluding race which looked like a minefield, Samar Singh’s Black Beauty finally obliged her supporters by necking out Take My Word and Good Gift. More than half the horses in the fray appeared to be out for an airing.
In the absence of any horse which enjoyed clear cut superiority in the 11-horse field in the fray for the feature event, D’Artagnan who hadn’t won for quite some time but had been figuring at the finish in graded races at Mumbai, ended up as the favourite based on blazing workouts. D’Artagnan had initially raised great deal of expectations as a juvenile but had not lived up to that promise unable to carry his front running tactics up to the winning post. Prakash gradually worked his way on D’Artagnan to take charge of the proceedings within the first furlong followed by Cavalry Charge and Mighty Heart, with Spearhead, String Along racing in striking distance while the rest were spaced out behind. D’Artagnan came in to the homestretch with a good break over the rest and he established a winning lead when he spurted clear of the rest with less than two furlongs to go which held him in good stead. String Along threatened his supremacy briefly before fading out while Spearhead finished with a flourish to nose out the former for the runner up berth. The fancied Kyles of Bute and Couleur Rouge made no show.
Classic winner Astounding Gallop who had recently changed stables, won the Usha Stud Plate (Div I) quite easily where the fancied Camorra was not up to the task. Though Astounding Gallop reportedly had only one pace work only, that did not prevent him from asserting himself with aggressive running which saw the Babu Rao trainee take charge of the proceedings after turning for home. Astounding Gallop stretched away to record a facile win in the hands of Prakash, with Camorra finishing second best ahead of Bucephalas. The progeny of Gaswar should improve on this effort though he may be thrown at the deep end in the Karnataka Cup, a mile long Grade II event. The consistent Accurate won the lower division of the race at the expense of favourite Crown Empress. Appu let Saloni dictate the pace well into the straight before asking Accurate to quicken which he did remarkably to go sailing clear. Crown Empress chased him in vain. Saloni held off Native Talent for the third spot.
Darius Byramji trained horses always attract disproportionate attention for the simple reason that they blaze the track in morning workouts though they rarely reproduce that spark on the race track. Ben Ten was spiritedly backed to win the 1400 metres Allaire Plate. African Queen, who had run into some good horses in her first season, came in for support as the odds expanded on Ben Ten. Jockey Noel Callow had African Queen racing in a handy position before asking the progeny of Burden of Proof to quicken at the top of the straight. African Queen sped away from the rest to spare a distance at the finish to Walter and Muqtadir. Ben Ten was not spotted. Royal Fortune whipped around at the start and dropped apprentice jockey Rajesh.
Intrigue who had been showing out in the workouts, duly won the Mount Everest Trophy, a five and furlong race for maiden three year olds, from Unique Show. Unique Show lost a forward position early on as Optimus Zone went on to the filly which caused her to lose ground. She was finishing on strongly but the favourite had reached the safety of the post by that time. Optimus Zone ran on to be third.
Juno was slammed in the betting ring to win the M N Prakash Memorial Trophy (Div I) and the Neil Darashah trainee justified the market expectations with an easy win. Senator dropped back abruptly midway through the race after being clipped by a horse causing all the horses which were racing on his outside to go wide. Juno who had an untroubled passage, brooked no opposition as she won from Foswell by a widening margin of five lengths. Ganapathy’s Mystic Dawn who hadn’t lived up to the promise he showed as a juvenile, was backed strongly to win the lower division of the race. Citrali, who had six placed efforts in winter, came in for spirited support close to race time. Jockey John who replaced Srinath on Citrali was alert to the task though the horse itself was bit sluggish to begin with. John got busy on Citrali from the start and the progeny of Juniper got past the favourite with a furlong out and easily won the race. Ailsa came with a big stretch run to edge out Mystic Dawn for the runner up berth. Oceanic Wind who was squeezed out by Citrali at a crucial stage finished fourth.
Lesser fancied Brilliance from trainer Ganapathy’s yard easily won the day’s opener at the expense of favourite Bounty Hunter. After racing wide till turning for home, Brilliance put in a strong effort in the middle of the course to go clear inside the final 300 metres and win with measure of comfort.
In the day’s concluding race which looked like a minefield, Samar Singh’s Black Beauty finally obliged her supporters by necking out Take My Word and Good Gift. More than half the horses in the fray appeared to be out for an airing.
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