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Pesi Shroff-trained Windsor Forest who had come tantalizingly close to winning the Indian 1000 Guineas saw that luck was on her side this time out in the Gr 2 Shapoorji Pallonji Oil And Gas Bangalore 1000 Guineas, the first classic of the winter season as she prevailed by the proverbial whisker over local champion Kangra in the races held at Bangalore on Friday. Kangra had all but stolen the race but the patented late dash did not go in vain this time as she pulled off an exciting victory by the skin of her teeth.
The odds given by the bookmakers did not reflect the closeness of the contest. Kangra was a winner of two Guineas while Windsor Forest had won a classic at Ooty and Kolkata while in the Guineas she had fallen short. As such, the cramped odds quoted on her was not justified as Kangra had improved by leaps and bounds since the two had clashed in summer in June. As Time Goes By set a reasonable pace followed by Turf Magic, Kangra, Sedulous, Windsor Forest, Hot N Fire, Glittering Gold and Australis who was tailed off last.
Rounding the final turn, Pradeep Chouhan made his move on Kangra who showed swiftness of foot to go storming clear. Trevor Patel had to get into an aggressive act to goad Windsor Forest to pick up steam. While Kangra broke ahead and had a useful lead going into the final furlong, Windsor Forest was warming up with a menacing run. Just like the front-runner would cling on for life, Windsor Forest managed to nose out the front-runner. Perhaps a stronger jockey than Chouhan who has seen better days would have made a difference to the outcome of the race. What was surprising was that horses rated far below like Sedulous, Glittering Gold and Hot N Fire were not far behind. The superiority of the first two runners was not as pronounced as was perceived.
Two things went against Ganapathy trained Star Carnation in the 1200 metres Air Force Trophy, a race for horses rated 45 to 65. The fact that he was coming back in distance from mile to sprint and the fact Trevor could not manage a clear run for the favourite. Star Carnation was not positioned well and in the straight, Trevor had to wait to let the hoses in front to move out before getting a clear run on the wide outside. By the time the progeny of Excellent Art came home with a big dash of speed, rank outsider Regal Music who had gone on a start to finish mission, had established a winning lead. The finishing burst only highlighted the possibilities. El Fenix ran on to finish third.
Gregory Sandhu trained Admiral Hatsu had recorded a runaway win in his last run at Mysore. Now backed to defy the stiff penalty, Admiral Hatsu had no issue in doing so in the 1400 metres Kodagu Plate (Div I), a race for horses rated 30 to 45. Admiral Hatsu had the field stranded in the homestretch to win by a margin of over seven lengths. In the form that he is in, he can be expected to defy another strong penalty. There was a cluster finish for the third place with Frenemee getting it by a whisker. Pradeep Annaiah trained Iron Man asserted his supremacy in the lower division of the race. Srinath had Iron Man race in a handy position till turning for home before pushing the progeny of Oath to take charge. Iron Man quickly established his supremacy and won with a measure of comfort over favourite Amazing Skill who struggled to change gears in a crunch situation. Golden Bow was third ahead of Goodwill Warrior.
Satish Narredu trained Lady Majestic was backed to the exclusion of the rest in the 1100 metres Mekedatu Plate (Div I), a race for horses rated 15 to 35 but the four-year-old filly flopped miserably. Rank outsider Lunar Storm came home with a big effort from way off the pace to get the better of Kasauli and Brunesco who were disputing the issue. The lower division of the race proved successful for Narredu ward Paradiso who covered considerable leeway in the final furlong to get the better of Eye Sign who had gone at a scorching pace on a start to finish mission. Apprentice jockey Chetan Gowda could not add punch to the finish which enabled the fancied Paradiso to oblige expectations. The shock performance came from Lokanath trained Oasis Breeze who ran miserably just as Lunar Storm in the upper division who ran above expectations.
The volume of money attracted by Samar Singh trained Game Guy which itself indicated that the nine-year-old gelding would run to potential in the 1200 metres Somanathapura Plate, a race for horses rated 15 to 35. Game Guy simply proved to be too superior to the set, winning by a margin of seven-plus lengths over late-rallying Masters Glory and Happy Hours.
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Game Guy (K Nazil up) winner of the Somanathapura Plate
Paradiso (Arshad Alam up) winner of the Mekedatu Plate (Div-II)
Regal Music (Darshan R N up) winner of the Air Force Trophy
Windsor Forest (Trevor Patel up) winner of the Shapoorji Pallonji Oil And Gas Bangalore 1000 Guineas (Gr.2)
Iron Man (Y S Srinath up) winner of the Kodagu Plate (Div-II)
Lunar Storm (Rayan Ahmed R up) winner of the Mekedatu Plate (Div-I)
Admiral Hatsu (Imran Chisty up) winner of the Kodagu Plate (Div-I)
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