| |
Ganapathy trained Southern Ruler smashed the opposition in the Gr 1 A V R Group and Catalyst Properties Mysore Derby, the star event of the Mysore Racing Season, held on Sunday in front of a packed gathering. While Ganapathy tasted success after a longish gap, the performance of favourite Cosmic Ray raised more questions than answers.
The punters had a miserable day as just one favourite won in a card of nine events, with these people having to endure the additional discomfort of being deprived of all their facilities due to restrictions to make life comfortable for members and their guests. One got a feeling of being locked up with nowhere to go to get even basic amenities.
|
|
| |
Favourite Cosmic Ray who had won the Mysore 1000 Guineas in record time performed miserably. The absence of a single-track work raised questions about the well being of the horse as it reflected in the performance of the strong favourite who failed to hit the board, packing up when the race came to the boil. It is said that the horse had gone completely light after the last run and that the trainer had kept the horse in canters only to keep her fit for the race. One has not come across any horse in the history of racing winning a Derby with such preparation. The public felt that they were being taken for a ride because no information was forthcoming from any quarter.
Cosmic Ray went to the post as a favourite because the others in the fray hadn’t distinguished themselves. Southern Ruler could have been a strong fancy but for the fact, the progeny of Saamid had performed poorly in the Guineas and belied expectations of a good performance after running fourth in the Kingfisher Ultra Derby. One again had to find excuses to back Southern Ruler who was still a maiden though his performance in graded races indicated that he was as good as Class I performer because of his feat in the plum events. But then punters also could not trust on the past record because the current performance of the horse and the stable hadn’t been inspiring. Southern Ruler conjured up a stunning performance and his amazing seven-length plus win brought back memories of the excellent run that the stable had enjoyed in the past decade. For the record, this was said to be Ganapathy’s 97th classic success and 23rd Derby win.
Streaming Gold who was running on the back of an ordinary win in a lower class but carrying the weight of expectations did the pacesetting followed by another pacemaker Star Cavalry. Cosmic Ray, Malwa, Southern Ruler, Alexander Burnes and Square The Circle followed these pacesetters in close proximity. Streaming Gold had the lead entering the homestretch and at this point, Suraj Narredu on Cosmic Ray made his move and the favourite managed to surge ahead before losing steam. Southern Ruler who cantered into the straight overhauled the front-runner when Srinath got busy. In a trice, Southern Ruler had gone away from the field and won by a widening margin of seven lengths despite being eased up a long way from home. Square The Circle ran on from behind to take the second position ahead of Alexander Burnes and Streaming Gold. Cosmic Ray was a miserable fifth.
The victory was a sweet one for veteran jockey Y S Srinath who is known for his big race temperament. The usual confidence and the big race temperament were in evidence the way he guided Southern Ruler to a brilliant win. The trainer Ganapathy was on top of the world especially since success in classics had dried up after a glorious run for a decade. ''I was confident that Southern Ruler had the ability to beat the field especially after a good lung opener and I am thrilled by the win.’’ If one had to spot the reasons for the poor performance of Southern Rule in the Guineas, it could be attributed to lack of a race run and the fact that the horse ran too freely in front which affected his effort in the final furlong.
Sulaiman Attaollahi, the trainer of Cosmic Ray said that the reason for the poor performance of the filly could be attributed to her inability to get the 10 furlongs trip and had nothing to do with the strong workouts. ''Cosmic Ray is a light filly whose loses condition if subjected to extensive gallops. Even when she won the Guineas, she went with just two works. She is a freak filly with enormous talent but some limitations. I believe that the 10-furlong trip was her undoing. That is the way she has raced all through her career. Suraj felt that the horse was travelling well, took the gap along the rails well and shot ahead but had nothing to give when asked for a strong effort at a crucial stage of the race. We scoped her to see to if she had bled but the report has come clean, ''he added.
Suraj also echoed similar sentiments. ''The filly took the gap along the rails and went ahead of Streaming Gold, but she had nothing more to offer. Streaming Gold who had conceded the lead once again beat me at the finish. Southern Ruler had the credentials to win the Derby but my filly ran below expectations as I strongly believed that the filly would get the 10 furlongs trip on class, but it was not to be.’'
*******************
Dallas (Indrajeet Singh up) winner of the Delhi Race Club Trophy (Div-II)
Magnum Opus (K Sai Kiran up) winner of the Royal Western India Turf Club Ltd.,Trophy
Country's Power (Darshan R N up) winner of the Royal Calcutta Turf Club Trophy
Happy Dancing (Nazerul Alam up) winner of the Delhi Race Club Trophy (Div-I)
Tremendous (Ramandeep S Bal up) winner of the Leading Hyderabad Race Club Trophy
Courage (S John up) winner of the Bangalore Turf Club Trophy
Southern Ruler (Y S Srinath up) winner of the Avr Group And Catalyst Properties Mysore Derby 2019 (Gr.1)
Bluejack (V R Jagadeesh up) winner of the Madras Race Club Trophy (Div-I)
Papadokia (Imran Chisty up) winner of the Madras Race Club Trophy (Div-II)
|
|