| |
Prithviraj trained Silver Ikon bounced back to winning form with an aggressive start to finish tactic in the Gr 3 Bangalore Turf Club Trophy, a terms race for four-year-olds and over, the feature event of Saturday`s Bangalore races. The race ran true to expectations with the contest being a stiff one between Silver Ikon and Siobhan with the former maintaining the edge from the start to the finish line.
Silver Ikon had the scales in his favour though he was yet to make a mark in the graded race company. He had performed below par when Siobhan had won at Mysore and as such, it was reckoned that the latter would maintain her supremacy yet again as she hadn`t done anything wrong in the intervening period. Siobhan had travelled to Mumbai and had lost in a tight finish in a sprint to the well performed Holy Smoke. Jockey Suraj Narredu had no hesitation in embarking on gaining the upper hand right from the start. Siobhan who has seen her jockeys change on each of the occasions had Zervan in the saddle this time out. Siobhan gave chase to Silver Ikon and despite an all-out effort in the homestretch, failed to inch closer to the front-runner who held on resolutely to land the spoils. Smile Stone who graced the wrong end of the field till entering the straight rallied well in typical fashion to grab the third place from San Martino.
Lokanath trained Ultimate Warrior made good progress when winning over the extended trip of 2000 metres in the O M Lingappa Silver Bar Trophy and thus completing a hat-trick of wins. Backed to the exclusion of the rest, Srinath had Ultimate Warrior in about the third position as Astrild attempted the hard task of winning from end to end. Saptajit who gave chase to the front-runner abruptly dropped back approaching the final bend and ended up a dismal last. Surely all was not well with Saptajit who ran way below his known potential. Ultimate Warrior cruised past the front-running Astrild in the straight to win as he pleased. It is believed that Ultimate Warrior could be a contender in the Derby. Though he can stay the trip of mile and half, it is doubtful whether he has the class to make the transition. Frenemee held off Fresh Start to get the third place.
The presence of David Allan in the saddle gives a reassuring feeling because the jockey has been at the top of the game and invariably lives up to the expectations. He rode a brilliant race on Into The Spotlight to help the full brother of In The Spotlight to win the 1600 metres Bold Majesty Plate, a race for horses rated 60 and above. Into The Spotlight had to do all the running as he could not get cover and David dictated the pace cleverly before packing punch in his finishing efforts to stave off the strong challenge of Sagrada and late-rallying Super Smart.
The 1200 metres A P Kothavala Memorial Trophy, a race for maiden three-year-olds, saw the progeny of first stallion Air Support namely Areca Legend being backed to the exclusion of the rest. The other two who were in some consideration were also the product of the first season stallion. Suraj Narredu took Air command to the front from the start but he could not sustain the foray right up to the winning post as Areca Legend who was tracking the front-runnr got the upper hand in the final furlong in the hands of jockey Imran Chisty to win the race as per expectations. Peluche served notice of an early success when making a late bid.
First timer Deimus was expected to make a winning debut in the 1200 metres Aihole Plate (Div I), a race for horses rated 15 to 35. Close to race time the sustained support for Irfan Ghatala trained Alberetta was a big give away as the four-year-old was backed with conviction despite the presence of Shamaz Shareef who was a novice to the job of winning races. Alberetta proved too good for the field leading from the start and winning without coming under pressure though he veered out of a straight path in the final furlong. Deimus had to be satisfied with the second position ahead of Haedi`s Folly. The lower division of the race saw Prasanna Kumar trained Kvasir being quoted at cramped odds. This was so because Kvasir had won a race against good company but was subsequently disqualified for testing positive for a Category IV substance. Because of the disqualification, Kvasir was back at the mark at which he had won. It came as no surprise that Kvasir simply decimated the field winning by a margin of seven lengths over Ultimate Legend and Silken Striker.
Narayan Gowda trained Likeaknife came in for big support in the betting ring indicating that the hitherto unexploited five-year-old would be seen in serious business in the 1400 metres Murudeshwara Plate, a race for horses rated 0 to 20. Though Likeaknife graced the wrong end of the field and had to weave his way through the middle, the progeny of Lucifer Sam was so superior to the opposition that he covered the leeway swiftly and was going away from the rest for an emphatic win. Jack of Hearts ran on strongly to get the runner-up berth ahead of Tic Tac Toe and long-time leader Power And Strength. Princess Pride had her share of supporters. The filly was checked by the vets at the starting gates and was certified fit to race. The filly was never in the hunt and in keeping with such horses who are subjected to veterinary check rarely winning, Princess Pride too finished dismally.
Tamara was widely expected to win the 1200 metres Madhugiri Plate but the favourite narrowly failed to get the better of front-running Nagarjuna. Nagarjuna had the first run on his opponents and the seven-year-old held on resolutely despite veering out of a straight course. Apprentice jockey Darshan changed course when Nagarjuna began to drift out and though Tamara finished on strongly, the front-runner managed to stay ahead by a diminishing margin of half a length. Grecian Light and Yellow Zone too charged home with powerful efforts but had to be satisfied with the minor berths behind the battling duo in front.
*******************
Kvasir (Y S Srinath up) winner of the Aihole Plate (Div-II)
Likeaknife (Kiran Rai P up) winner of the Murdeshwar Plate
Areca Legend (Imran Chisty up) winner of the A P Kothavala Memorial Trophy
Silver Ikon (Suraj Narredu up) winner of the Bangalore Turf Club Trophy (Gr.3)
Ultimate Warrior (Y S Srinath up) winner of the O M Lingappa Silver Bar Trophy
Alberetta (Shamaz Shareef up) winner of the Aihole Plate (Div-I)
Nagarjuna (M D Praveen up) winner of the Madhugiri Plate
|
|
Top
