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The Invitation Cup was a coronation, the Super Mile a surprise, and the weekend a punters` nightmare as long shots repeatedly stole the limelight at Mysore.
Heavy overnight rain threatened to play spoilsport, but the Mysore Race Club was fortunate to have the weather gods on its side on Sunday. The rain stayed away during racing, though the favourites appeared to have received no such assurance. One by one, the fancied runners were swept aside, leaving punters nursing their wounds and wondering whether the form book had been left out in the rain. With a majority of the 18 races over the weekend going to horses quoted at odds of 10 to 1 or more, the Invitation Cup weekend turned into a festival of surprises, with the betting ring providing more drama than the racecourse itself.
The Zavaray Poonawalla Indian Turf Invitation Cup, the star attraction of Sunday`s Mysore races, was the one contest in which the result offered little suspense. The six-year-old Zuccaro from Pesi Shroff`s stable towered over a patched-up opposition, and the race had virtually ceased to be a contest once the final line-up was announced.
There was a time when the Invitation Cup was a fiercely competitive championship, bringing together the best horses from across the country. In recent years, however, the race has lost some of its old aura. The Indian Derby winner, who ought to be a natural contender for the country`s premier weight-for-age contest, is often missing, frequently because of niggles picked up during a demanding campaign. If memory serves right, Desert God was the last Indian Derby winner to complete the double.
The four-kilogram advantage once enjoyed by four-year-olds has also been done away with, leaving the Grade 1 race without penalties. The change has arguably tilted the balance towards older horses, and proven campaigners such as Adjudicate and Juliet have enjoyed repeated success in the event. The Invitation Cup, which once promised a clash between the country`s emerging champions and established stars, has increasingly become a showcase for the old guard.
This year, Zuccaro ensured there would be no argument about the outcome. The six-year-old, who had clocked an astonishing time in the Maharaja`s Cup at Bangalore, was in a different league from his rivals. Moving with raking strides on turning for home, he overhauled the leaders on the bridle before stretching away to win by a distance. Jockey Vivek G hardly had to move a muscle, making the finish look more like a leisurely exercise than a battle for one of Indian racing`s most coveted prizes.
Zuccaro, a son of Kingda Ka, has been a sensational performer, and Sunday`s victory was another emphatic demonstration of his class. Provided he remains physically sound, there should be more big-race honours in store.
Redefined, the previous year`s Invitation Cup winner, has endured a succession of niggles and could manage only a narrow second, necking out the pace-setting Duke of Tuscany. The effort was hardly reassuring, as Redefined returned lame after the race. For Zuccaro, it was a coronation; for the opposition, it was an uncomfortable reminder of the gulf in class.
Echoes of Time Makes Punters Pay
If the Invitation Cup was a foregone conclusion, the Grade 1 Maj P K Mehra Memorial Super Mile Cup provided a very different spectacle. Aravind Ganapathy-trained Echoes of Time, who had stumbled the previous day in the Sprinters Cup and failed to make an impression, bounced back with a vengeance to deny Pride`s Prince in the closing strides.
Shamrock, the winner of the previous year`s race, was the favourite, with Alfonsine, the champion horse of the Bangalore Summer Season, also attracting substantial support. The race suffered an early setback when Alfonsine was withdrawn at the gates on veterinary grounds.
That did little to improve Shamrock`s prospects. The heavy underfoot conditions appeared to take their toll, and the fancied runner struggled to finish a distant third.
Imtiaz Sait-trained Pride`s Prince, meanwhile, took the race by the scruff of its neck, leading aggressively and fighting for every inch of the journey. He looked capable of carrying his challenge all the way, only for Echoes of Time, ridden with determination by Aashad Asbar, to produce a late burst and snatch victory by a neck.
It was a memorable triumph for former trainer Ganapathy, who had won this prestigious race on several occasions during his training career. This time, however, he celebrated from a different vantage point, as the owner of the winner. Watching his son achieve success in a race that had brought him so much distinction must have made the occasion particularly special.
The Super Mile also captured the mood of the weekend. Two long shots dominated the finish while the horses backed by the punters failed to deliver. The form book was not merely upset; it was given a thorough shaking.
Frederika Defies the Ratings
Jockey Akshay Kumar had a weekend to remember, and his victory aboard Frederika in the Grade 2 Suresh Mahindra Multi Million added another highlight to his impressive tally.
Frederika was required to fend off the well-backed Money Bags, who disappointed his supporters for the second consecutive day after an underwhelming performance in the Sprinters Cup.
Akshay Kumar sent Frederika into the lead and dictated the pace. Money Bags appeared to have the leader in trouble when mounting a strong challenge, but Frederika found more reserves of energy than his rating suggested and fought back gamely to prevail by just under a length.
Money Bags veered out under pressure, losing some of his momentum at a crucial stage. African Gold finished third, while Hyderabad`s favourite Gachchhatu struggled to handle the prevailing conditions and finished fourth.
The ratings made the outcome all the more interesting. Money Bags and African Gold were rated considerably higher than Frederika, whose rating stood at 58. Yet it was Frederika who ran well above his mark, while the more fancied runners failed to justify their standing. His rating will rise substantially by after this performance.
Frederika is by Fiero, the Manjri Stud Farm stallion who also sired Ranquelino, last year`s Indian Derby winner.
The victory was another feather in the cap of jockey S John, who returned to the saddle after securing his licence recently. Having enjoyed a successful career as a jockey in the past, John has now made a promising comeback, riding for his patron P Arun Kumar. The stable`s colours were prominent among the local brigade throughout the weekend, with John`s victories in the Grade 1 Sprinters Cup and the Multi Million providing the standout moments.
The Weather Behaved, the Form Did Not
There had been genuine apprehension about Sunday`s racing after a heavy downpour overnight. The Mysore track is capable of absorbing considerable rainfall and remaining raceable, provided the showers do not continue through the day. Fortunately, the weather cooperated, allowing the Invitation Cup programme to proceed with the pomp and ceremony befitting the occasion.
The form book, however, was another matter. With long shots repeatedly finding their way into the winner`s enclosure, punters who relied on established form had a thoroughly uncomfortable weekend. The favourites were conspicuous more for their failures than their victories, while horses at double-digit odds repeatedly gate-crashed the celebrations.
The Mysore Race Club deserves credit for ensuring that the weekend went ahead despite the threat posed by the weather and for conducting the meeting with the pomp and grandeur befitting the occasion. The Invitation Cup retained its ceremonial splendour, and Zuccaro supplied a champion worthy of the occasion. However, the Mysore Race Club, along with other racing clubs across the country, owes a special word of gratitude to Zavaray Poonawalla for his generous sponsorship and, more importantly, his unflagging enthusiasm and determination to do everything possible to keep Indian racing alive and kicking. At a time when the sport needs committed patrons more than ever, his continued support is a welcome reminder that racing still has champions beyond the racecourse.
For the punters, though, the weekend offered a rather different takeaway. The rain stayed away, the races went off without a hitch, and the champions had their moment. It was only the betting slips that ended up thoroughly soaked.
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