B R Sharan Kumar

The driving finish of jockey Wayne Smith enabled Mother’s Pride to rally brilliantly from behind and edge past the front running Silken Thomas to land the spoils in the 1600 metres K N Chennabasapa Memorial Cup, a race for horses rated 80 and above, the main event of races held on Thursday. Favourite and top weight Fire Zone was restrained and held too far back to make any impact on the result. Jockey Suraj Narredu took Silken Thomas on a start to finish mission and cleverly dictated the pace followed by Dare Don, Blink, Guided Missile, Star Wave, Fire Zone, Balance De Power and Mother’s Pride who was a tailed off last. Wayne Smith remained unconcerned at the rear position and made his move only after the horses straightened out for the run in for home which is quite uncharacteristic of him as the jockey prefers to ride with the pace. Silken Thomas came into the straight a few lengths clear of Blink and the rest, with Fire Zone making his run on the wide outside. Silken Thomas shaped ...

Friday’s races feature the Bangalore City Gold Cup, a sprint race which is contested by good quality sprinters. Palazzio’s Sun who made a successful switch from longer trips to a sprint with ease, looks all set to repeat his feat. He looks fitter and in better shape than on the previous occasion to win the richly endowed race. The other two horses which I like for purpose of betting consideration are Peacemaker and Spark of Reverence. The last named can win if he shows the same brilliance as he displayed over a shorter trip.

History repeated itself at Bangalore Turf Club in dramatic fashion on Monday when the Extra-Ordinary General Body Meeting voted with a massive majority to direct the Chairman of the Club P V Shetty to resign from the post. The meeting was convened by members who wanted to move a resolution to request the Chairman to step down as they felt that the Chairman was incapable of steering the club in the hour of the crisis in view of the government’s firm resolve not to extend the lease of the premises beyond December 31, 2009. Though the government has recently allotted land at Chikkajala, the crucial question of extension of lease is yet to be addressed. The Chairman had been unable to impress on the members about his ability to guide the club in these critical times in view of his inability to open a communication channel with the members of the club as well those whose livelihood depended on the sport. About two decades back, the then Chairman Venugopal Naidu was replaced as Chairman in t...

Gypsy Magic bounced back to winning ways with an easy win in the Gr 3 Usha Stud Million, the highlight of Sunday’s races. The temperamental daughter of Placerville did not show any of her aggressive qualities which had seen the filly chart her own course in the race as she settled down nicely in the third position and warmed up to the task inside the final 100 metres and stretched away from the rest to win comfortably. She had the weights in her favour but more importantly, Gypsy Magic raced like a normal, talented horse and showed that she can mature into a great performer on a bigger platform. Gypsy Magic was the favourite to win the Kingfisher Bangalore Derby but she ran no sort of a race, being settled in the rear and then finishing on when the cause was lost. She had veered out to the wide outside and had run second in the Poonawalla Million and as such, there was always fear that the head strong filly could not be tamed to put in a normal performance. With jockey Appu being decla...

Alcestis should oblige on the basis of her last run The progeny of Alnasr Alwasheek dragged herself to prominence last time out. If the connections are in earnest, she should easily oblige. Lush Lashes has been consistent and she can benefit incase of any infraction on the part of the favourite. Amazing Queen who is a full brother to Noble Princess, is still being persisted over a five and half furlong trip and one does not understand the logic. Six Shooter who found Forest Flair too hot to handle is another worthy of consideration. The speedy daughter of Six Speed was attemping a quantum jump last time out. Now that she is back in modest company, she can shine. Nox should run prominently though she may find Six Shooter difficult to beat. The Spartan who runs best when the ground is hard, can benefit from the fact that it hasn't rained for quite some time. Gysy Magic is so well placed that she should win the Summer Million. But if she continues with her erratic pattern, D'Artag...

Arjun Mangalorkar trained Tomsk extricated himself from a difficult position and managed to edge past Dare Don to justify favoritism in the 1400 metres J B Mallaradhya Trophy, a race for horses rated 80 and above, the feature event of Saturday’s races. Fancied runners ran true to expectations, bringing delight to the followers of form. Tomsk had lost by a whisker to Royal Ambassador in his last outing and on the basis of that run, the progeny of Gasawar enjoyed the confidence off all and sundry though he was carrying the top weight. The consistent Tomsk was not expected to be hard pressed by any one for the simple reason that most contenders in the fray had dropped form. Bottom weighted Afea had run a fair race over six furlongs and he was expected to pose a stiff challenge because of the feather weight that he was carrying this time over the extra furlong. Milford led the field from the start, with Dare Don in close attendance while the rest were spread out behind. Tomsk did not take ...

Saturday's Bangalore racing affords reasonable opportunities for puntes to make their choices. Criminal Lawyer who ran a noteworthy second in his last outing, shapes as a good betting proposition. The other horse that puntes can hope to encash is Alaric. The horses which also merit consideration are Noble Kingdom, Rugged Beauty and Spark of Marchador.