Black Magic Woman is highest rated
The first classic of the season, traditionally known as the Fillies Trial Stakes, has been re-named as Gr 1 Fillies Championship Stakes, and it will be run on Sunday. There is great enthusiasm in the absence of any clear cut favourite which is evidenced by a record number of 16 runners in the fray. It is in the fitness of things because the runners appear to be well matched.
The Cooji Katrak trained Black Magic Woman who is the highest rated filly in the fray, will obviously be the preferred one though her rating has been achieved significantly by winning a handicap race where there was lack of effective competition. What enhances her value as a top contender is the fact that in her third run at Mumbai, she clocked an outstanding time for a sprint. And if she can extend her superiority over the mile long trip, she can go places.
Black Magic Woman’s dam, One Magic Moment was an outstanding performer up to seven furlongs. She faltered over longer trips. One Magic Moment was second in the Gr 1 Poonawalla Breeders’ Multi-Million despite going miles wide in the straight. She has tons of class. She is going from sprint to a mile without the traditional transition route of running over seven furlongs. Black Magic Woman will enjoy lot of support but until she proves her versatility over the mile long trip, one has keep one’s fingers crossed.
Padmanabhan trained Nearness of You comes into strong contention though she lost her lead up race to Hyderabad’s Auto In Arrow Mode. Nearness of You was rusty and also found the seven furlong trip sharp. By the time she could get into her rhythm, Auto In Arrow Mode had reached the safety of the post. The latter has gone on to win one more race comfortably and is rated at 70. Nearness of You has been working well since then and has shown good improvement. With jockey Srinath guiding her fortunes, Nearness of You should be right there at the finish. The progeny of Diffident will surely enjoy the cut in the ground. The dam of Nearness of You, Forest Fantasy were herself a versatile performer over varying trips and has foaled a Sprinters Cup winner in Spectacular Quest and Leger winner in Leave It To Me.
Samar Singh’s Lovely Kiss has enhanced her reputation with a smashing win over seven furlongs in the early part of the season in an excellent timing of one minute 26.05 seconds, with 5.1 cms penetrometer reading. If the timing is right and the penetrometer reading perfect, then Lovely Kiss will be hard to toss. The light framed daughter of Rebuttal (Mr Greeley) has proved to be a strong performer as she is blessed with a blinding turn of foot. Bred at the up and coming Hazara Stud Farm, Lovely Kiss is a final entry for this race and she may well justify the expectations of her owners which includes breeder Nirmal Singh as well if she has retained her sharpness and withstood the pressure of expectation which is the undoing of many a horse which is traditionally seen in classic league.
Preordained has twice bolted while being led to the starting gates. She has been blazing the track. She had finished a close second to Tiberius in the Winter Million and the latter was the highest rated three year old at this centre at the beginning of the season. The daughter of Choisir who has thrown a number of reputed sprinters, Preordained can be a force to reckon with if she gets the mile long trip effectively.
Celebrity, the daughter of dual Derby winner Littleover, is a temperamental horse. After losing narrowly in her first outing, Celebrity lost all her chances at the gate itself at Hyderabad. She ran a more settled race in the early part of the season, though she was inclined to take a fly jump. If she has sobered down and puts her mind on the race at hand, the light framed horse can do her reputation no harm.
The use of blinkers worked wonders for African Queen who won by a distance in her first start to the season. It remains to be seen whether she belongs to this class of runners. She has been supplemented into the race as a final entry. African Queen is a half-sister to Derby winning Brown Sugar.
Ganapathy’s Magnitude won a race over a mile in winter and has shown her liking for the trip. She is sure to make her presence felt. Stablemate Forever Glory won last week in the manner of a good quality of horse. A great deal is expected of the daughter of Midtown, Showtime who has had the benefit of a mock race as a lead up for this classic. At The Helm who beat Showtime in the mock race, has taken the same route.
In the final analysis, Black Magic Woman, Nearness of You, Lovely Kiss and Preordained emerge as the best of the lot though in a race of this nature when horses are at a formative stage, a surprise is a distinct possibility.
The Cooji Katrak trained Black Magic Woman who is the highest rated filly in the fray, will obviously be the preferred one though her rating has been achieved significantly by winning a handicap race where there was lack of effective competition. What enhances her value as a top contender is the fact that in her third run at Mumbai, she clocked an outstanding time for a sprint. And if she can extend her superiority over the mile long trip, she can go places.
Black Magic Woman’s dam, One Magic Moment was an outstanding performer up to seven furlongs. She faltered over longer trips. One Magic Moment was second in the Gr 1 Poonawalla Breeders’ Multi-Million despite going miles wide in the straight. She has tons of class. She is going from sprint to a mile without the traditional transition route of running over seven furlongs. Black Magic Woman will enjoy lot of support but until she proves her versatility over the mile long trip, one has keep one’s fingers crossed.
Padmanabhan trained Nearness of You comes into strong contention though she lost her lead up race to Hyderabad’s Auto In Arrow Mode. Nearness of You was rusty and also found the seven furlong trip sharp. By the time she could get into her rhythm, Auto In Arrow Mode had reached the safety of the post. The latter has gone on to win one more race comfortably and is rated at 70. Nearness of You has been working well since then and has shown good improvement. With jockey Srinath guiding her fortunes, Nearness of You should be right there at the finish. The progeny of Diffident will surely enjoy the cut in the ground. The dam of Nearness of You, Forest Fantasy were herself a versatile performer over varying trips and has foaled a Sprinters Cup winner in Spectacular Quest and Leger winner in Leave It To Me.
Samar Singh’s Lovely Kiss has enhanced her reputation with a smashing win over seven furlongs in the early part of the season in an excellent timing of one minute 26.05 seconds, with 5.1 cms penetrometer reading. If the timing is right and the penetrometer reading perfect, then Lovely Kiss will be hard to toss. The light framed daughter of Rebuttal (Mr Greeley) has proved to be a strong performer as she is blessed with a blinding turn of foot. Bred at the up and coming Hazara Stud Farm, Lovely Kiss is a final entry for this race and she may well justify the expectations of her owners which includes breeder Nirmal Singh as well if she has retained her sharpness and withstood the pressure of expectation which is the undoing of many a horse which is traditionally seen in classic league.
Preordained has twice bolted while being led to the starting gates. She has been blazing the track. She had finished a close second to Tiberius in the Winter Million and the latter was the highest rated three year old at this centre at the beginning of the season. The daughter of Choisir who has thrown a number of reputed sprinters, Preordained can be a force to reckon with if she gets the mile long trip effectively.
Celebrity, the daughter of dual Derby winner Littleover, is a temperamental horse. After losing narrowly in her first outing, Celebrity lost all her chances at the gate itself at Hyderabad. She ran a more settled race in the early part of the season, though she was inclined to take a fly jump. If she has sobered down and puts her mind on the race at hand, the light framed horse can do her reputation no harm.
The use of blinkers worked wonders for African Queen who won by a distance in her first start to the season. It remains to be seen whether she belongs to this class of runners. She has been supplemented into the race as a final entry. African Queen is a half-sister to Derby winning Brown Sugar.
Ganapathy’s Magnitude won a race over a mile in winter and has shown her liking for the trip. She is sure to make her presence felt. Stablemate Forever Glory won last week in the manner of a good quality of horse. A great deal is expected of the daughter of Midtown, Showtime who has had the benefit of a mock race as a lead up for this classic. At The Helm who beat Showtime in the mock race, has taken the same route.
In the final analysis, Black Magic Woman, Nearness of You, Lovely Kiss and Preordained emerge as the best of the lot though in a race of this nature when horses are at a formative stage, a surprise is a distinct possibility.
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