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Sulaiman Attaollahi trained Cosmic Ray was gifted the race on a platter by the opponents in the 1600 metres Bangalore Race Course 158th Year Commemoration Trophy, a terms race for four-year-olds and over, the feature event of Monday`s Bangalore races. The experienced jockeys in the fray let Cosmic Ray enjoy an uncontested lead which enabled Cosmic Ray to record a win after a very long wait.
The prolific performer Prevalent Force was the favourite to win ahead of Northern Alliance who was bidding for a hat-trick. Cosmic Ray had been a smashing winner of the Guineas at Mysore two years ago but had found the winning post elusive. At Mysore, she was allowed to run freely in front and won easily. However, in her subsequent outings, she never enjoyed this privilege. Jockey Suraj knows the capabilities of Cosmic Ray very well having been associated with the classic success of the progeny of Burden of Proof. However, he rode a strange sort of a race on the favourite keeping him last which allowed Cosmic Ray to slip away. Prevalent Race never got a clear run as Suraj kept making his run all the way in the stretch in the narrow gap on the inside of Northern Alliance and eventually finished poorly. Northern Alliance who fought for his head for more than two furlongs could not produce his patented burst of speed and had to settle for the second slot ahead of Shesmyscript. Sandesh rode a confident race on the winner and relied on the liking of the five-year-old mare to run freely in front while the others in the fray preferred to be exploited by letting the opponent slip away. In racing, the experience is not always the best teacher when there are so many other considerations are to be considered.
Arjun Mangalorkar trained Abira had the best credentials to win the 1200 metres Statue of Unity Plate, a race for horses rated 60 and above. The five-year-old mare Abira had recently travelled to Chennai and recorded an impressive win. The only question mark was that apart from the top-weight, whether she could handle effectively a competitive race within two weeks. Abira fared very well but the pull in weights went in favour of Galvarino who led from the start and skipped away in the final furlong beyond the reach of Abira. Expectedly, last start winner Cuban Pete finished in the money.
Another Mangalorkar trained first-timer Winmylove came in for one-sided support to oblige in the 1200 metres A S Ramaiah Winter Million, a race for three-year-olds. The filly was troublesome and dropped her jockey Sandesh en route to the starting gate. The filly was examined at the gates for any lameness but was certified to race. However, the nervous energy spent because of her tantrums had a bearing on her performance as she ran a distracted and was never in the hunt. Last start winner Scruples was up to conceding weight against a backward lot of horses and was hailed a winner well before the final furlong. Spectacular ran on late to advertise her readiness to strike before long. Magellan who led from the start before being overhauled by the eventual winner is another early winner to be noted.
Satish Narredu trained See My Heels had run a fair race in her previous outing and had better credentials to win the 1200 metres Sringeri Plate (Div I), a race for horses rated 15 to 35. However, the direction of the betting went the way of Bloom Buddy who was a winner during the race and had been running onboard without showing any marked improvement. In the event, Akshay Kumar`s persistence along the rails enabled the lesser fancied runner to shoot through inside the final furlong and enabled See My Heel to record an easy win over Country`s Jewel and Ocean Dunes. Bloom Buddy was never in the hunt and was a disappointing fourth. Another Satish Narredu Glenary recorded an easy win the Division II of the race beating the challenge of Griffin with ease. The Division III of the race was won by Pradeep Annaiah trained Limited Source who was seen on the track after a longish break. Pradeep Chouhan brought the filly from way off the race and the filly proved so superior that she spared seven lengths at the finish to Light of Love and Bombix.
Prasanna Kumar trained Ironic Humour showed total reversal of form to win the 1600 metres Bagalkot Plate, a race for horses in the lowest category. Ironic Humour had run 16 days ago over a sprint and had finished abou16 lengths behind the field. The only excuse for the improved performance of Ironic Humour was the fact that the filly was running over a-mile-long trip. Iconic Princess was second ahead of Happy Dancing who managed to save place money.
Asgardia who had found the winning post elusive for more than a year was rewarded for consistency when he went one better in the 1400 metres Sriharikota Plate, a race for horses rated 30 to 50 when winning easily in the hands of jockey Trevor Patel. Tokyo Rose nosed out Cosmic Feeling to get the runner-up berth. The Corporal who had his share of supporters was never in the hunt.
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Limited Source (P S Chouhan up) winner of the Sringeri Plate (Div-III)
Ironic Humour (S John up) winner of the Bagalkot Plate
Glenary (Suraj Narredu up) winner of the Sringeri Plate (Div-II)
Galvarino (Akshay Kumar up) winner of the Statue Of Unity Plate
Scruples (Trevor Patel up) winner of the A.S.Ramaiah Winter Million
Cosmic Ray (A Sandesh up) winner of the Bangalore Race Course 158Th Year Commemoration Trophy
Asgardia (Trevor Patel up) winner of the Sriharikota Plate
See My Heels (Akshay Kumar up) winner of the Sringeri Plate (Div-I)
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