Ponnappa
trained Mr Belvedere shocked the fancied trio of Star Cheiftan,
Arikana and Soviet Ace, with a measure of comfort in the 2000
metres Kunigal Stud Plate, a race for horses rated 30 to 45, the
supporting event of the day. The Twist And Turn progeny Arikana
who was unlucky to lose by a whisker to Refresher in her last
run and Star Chieftan, rated to be a potential Derby contender
and Soviet Ace, with some impressive runs behind him at
Calcutta, were well supported in the betting ring, with Mr
Belvedere, despite his last impressive win, not coming in
race-goers reckoning.
Soviet Ace led the field into the final bend at which time,
Gallagher put Mr Belvedere into the lead. Arikana flattered to
deceive as she came pretty close to overhauling the front-runner
but slackened. Mr Belvedere kicked clear to win quite easily in
the end from Arikana who perhaps had not recovered from a hard
run after a long absence from the track due to a tendon problem.
Star Chieftan who sported blinkers, ran far below
expectations.
Yet another stable mate of Star Chieftan to come up with a
shocking performance was Grand Illusion in the Hampi Cup (Div I)
where top-weighted Kirkcaldy held off a belated challenge of
Ankole. Grand Illusion, who had finished third to Persian Belle
in her last run, ran down the field, much to the chagrin of
those who put faith in this Ooty import. However, punters did
have some relief from the same stable, as jockey Prakash drove
out favourite Crowned to a hard-fought win over a late-finishing
Semoran. Star Pegasus, son of Indian Derby winner Amazing Bay,
was another from the Ganapathy stable who obliged in the
Romantic Dancer with an easy win over Wovoka and Starstruck.
Mangalorkar trained Golden Collection who had run behind Ma
Baker, duly obliged in the M Ali Asker Plate (Div II), staving
off the challenge of Acceptor and Walk In The Clouds. Favourite
Star Liner planted at the gate and lost all her chances. In the
upper division of the race, inept handling by apprentice jockey
Rajesh Singh resulted in the defeat of fancied Butter Sponge.
Lesser-fancied Classic Belle won at nourishing odds. Butter
Sponge would have won with better handling or had the distance
been slightly more. Jockey Rajesh Singh failed to keep Butter
Sponge in a striking position and raced the Portroe gelding in
the rear and made his move on the wide outside but his weak
finish ensured that the front-running Classic Belle held on.
Breaking News who was also strongly fancied to win, was never in
the hunt, giving a poor account of himself.
With Forestry running below expectations and Sriram Komandur's
Money Spinner allowed to run to his potential, an upset result
ensued in the Chamundi Hill Cup. The question that begged to be
answered was: What was Money Spinner doing last time out?
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