Magileto Makes It a One-Horse Parade

 

By Sharan Kumar

 

Favoured runners ruled early at Bangalore, with Magileto turning the feature into a one-horse parade, but the day’s script flipped sharply when Refreshment, served generously to bookmakers while punters went hungry, mugged hot favourite Alfonsine in a dramatic upset. From effortless processions to unexpected twists, the afternoon swung wildly between hope and heartbreak, leaving punters alternately thrilled, deflated, and muttering the occasional well-deserved curse.

 

Aman Altaf Hussain enjoyed what can only be described as a chauffeur-driven outing in the 1200 metres Bangalore Turf Club Trophy, the feature event that promised excitement but delivered something closer to a guided tour. Trevor Patel, riding hot favourite Magileto, kindly informed the rest of the field that he would be leading and, in a touching show of collective courtesy, nobody objected. With an uncontested lead wide enough to host a breakfast buffet, Magileto strode away as the others finally decided to wake up and stretch.

 

Siege Courageous, supposedly the troublemaker in the script, was so far behind early. His late dash fetched him second, while stablemate Knotty Charmer sauntered in another four lengths behind, looking as if he had wandered in from a morning walk. The rest? Decorative extras. Further description is pointless; the favourite led, the favourite won, and the ring readers nodded with the satisfaction.

 

A genuine twist finally arrived in the 1600 metres Y S Surender Memorial Trophy for horses rated 40 to 65. Refreshment, the one drink that seemed to be served exclusively to bookmakers and a few hopefuls while the majority of punters were left starved of their money. Despite two impressive summer wins, he walked into the betting ring wearing a cloak of invisibility. All wallets were glued to Alfonsine, fresh from a Pune win and dispatched at wallet-endangering odds. Sicyon too had a loyal fan club.

 

Suraj Narredu sent Alfonsine to the front, and for most of the way it looked like a routine “collect your winnings and go home” kind of script. But Mukesh Kumar aboard Refreshment had other ideas. From the rear group and with the kind of wide run seen only in racing nightmares, he launched a menacing late assault, mugging the favourite by a neck at the wire. Sicyon, after all the early hype, settled for third.

 

Drama struck mid-race when Live The Dream stumbled or fell, tossing apprentice Abhishek Mhatre. The fall looked nasty. The club’s communication on the injury? Practically non-existent, maintaining their proud tradition of giving updates only when absolutely unnecessary. Reports suggested a broken collar bone.

 

The season’s first test for the babies, the 1100 metres Beginners Plate, went exactly how such races do when one horse is trained, tuned, and actually ready for a race. Quantum, from Michael Eshwer’s yard, took one look at the field, decided they were ornamental, and shot off for an effortless nine-length win under jockey Vivek G. Global Dominance, despite the heavy support, was gasping for breath before the bend. Monumental took second with a late run, but barring the winner, the rest looked like they were still figuring out which end of the track to run toward.

 

The 1300 metres Shivanasamudra Falls Plate (Div I) brought relief to those who enjoy surprises  but not to those who backed Stalingrad, the day’s next popular money magnet. The favourite was settled at the rear by jockey Pavan with an ease better suited to a Sunday brunch outing, and by the home turn, he had more ground to cover than a lost tourist without Google Maps. Contessina briefly threatened to take the race, but Sassy Sarah, the lesser-fancied runner from Prasanna Kumar’s yard, swept past under a tidy ride from apprentice Darshan N. Stalingrad’s late run fetched him third and less sympathy from punters.

 

The lower division served actual excitement. Amalure, backed heavily thanks to her previous late flourish, tried to repeat the trick but forgot the part about taking a position. Struggling for speed, she left her supporters wondering if they should demand a refund on hope itself. Knotty Cruise led bravely, but Exceed  who suddenly found admirers close to race time  delivered a powerful final-furlong punch under J Chinoy to win by a head. Amalure finished a distant and disappointing third.

 

Rieko, trained by Pradeep Annaiah, kept things simple in the 1200 metres Smarty Jones Trophy. Placed comfortably in the front bunch by Suraj Narredu, he skipped away in the final furlong like a horse late for an appointment, sealing another easy win. Regal Reality, who had plenty of supporters but none of the early speed, came flying late only to miss even second place by a neck to Del Aviz.

 

The shortest-priced favourite of the afternoon,  Imperador in the 1100 metres Phar Lap Plate won start to finish, untouched, unbothered, and unchallenged. Aphelion warmed up too late but managed to finish a suggestive second ahead of Zayana.

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The enduring charm of the Bangalore Derby

I never thought that I would become a full-time racing writer when I set out as a journalist in the year 1980. My passion for cricket was what drove me to become a sports journalist. If there are many converts like me in the field of horse racing, you can blame it on the enduring charm of the Derby. Most people come to the Derby because they hear so much about it. Many of them stay back and I was one of them.   The first time I attended any race day was the running of the 1984 Derby. Eddy Cracknell trained Lively Empery was one of the highest priced runners in the fray. The horse reportedly was for sale much before the Derby. Luckily for the trainer it remained unsold and the horse went on to win the Summer Derby as well as the Winter Derby in the hands of Alan Mercer. It won the Derby at odds of 100 to 1.   Legend has it that the current leading trainer Padmanabhan told one of his owners to buy the horse and that he would win the Derby with this horse. The owner was n...
Read more

Rajan Bala, one of a rare kind

Image
One of the finest cricketer writers that India has seen, Rajan Bala, passed away in Bangalore on Friday (October 9) after brief illness. He was truly an inspirational journalist for a generation of sports writers in the country in a career spanning about four decades. I began my career as a sports journalist in Deccan Herald of which he was the Sports Editor. I worked under him later in Indian Express as well though at that time he was stationed in Chennai. He then moved to Mumbai and also had a stint with an eveninger. He returned to Bangalore in the last decade with the intention of retiring from active journalism and keep himself occupied by writing columns for newspapers. But he soon landed another job, this time as the Resident Editor of Bangalore edition of Asian Age and he made me write a column on horse racing. He later became a columnist for Bangalore Mirror and joined a TV company as a consultant editor and yet again, he made me participate in a panel discussion on horse rac...
Read more
Are the British government betting restrictions on the money?   By Rolf Johnson   I’m jumping the gun. The Government’s Gambling Review  might  publish its findings on 17 April but as deadlines for its publication have come and gone over three yawning years, I don’t think there’s need to hold one’s breath long enough to asphyxiate oneself. The delay has nothing to do, we are assured, with the £378,000 that fifty-seven Members of Parliament have received since the last election in hospitality, gifts, donations and wages from bookmakers. The integrity of that largesse has been “checked” though whether as rigorously as it is intended the public’s betting habits are going to be, we’ll have to be patient – until April 17 at least. Theatre audiences continue to attend playwright Samuel Beckett’s 1981 masterpiece ‘Waiting for Godot’ whose message is that repeated nonsensical actions demonstrate man’s inability to give meaning to life. Heavy stuff: but the Gambling Commissio...
Read more