Fortunately, Srinath escaped with minor bruises but the jockey who
caused it was not even shaken up and he was let off with a six-day
suspension for careless riding. Surely such careless and dangerous
riding deserved a stiffer sentence.
While the race goers reposed faith in Romantic Liaison based more
on expectations than on racing form, Caprese was the filly who had
better credentials than the rest. The filly sported bandages which did
not excite her supporters. Romantic Liaison too did not impress and
Silken Star looked a beaten horse in the paddock itself. Since most
could not make a clear choice after the paddock parade, there
was support for even Iberian who had won a sprint in great style but had
not gone further. The Ramaswamy brigade was available at lucrative odds.
Queen of Swords who was rushed into this race though she is far from
ready, hit the front, the blinkers making her keen. Romantic Liaison
raced in close attendance. Glorious Breaker was in mid group along the
rails with Go For Gold and the rest while Ruzzan on Caprese failed
to maneuver into an inside position from an outside draw so much so that
he had had to travel wide all the way and this perhaps affected her
chances.
Queen of Swords led the field into the straight but she was running out
of gas. However C Alford on Romantic Liaison had other ideas. Instead of
keeping a straight course, he shifted in sharply to close the gap that
Gallagher on Scintillating Skill was hoping to take, giving a bump in
the process. Scintillating Skill went on to Queen of Swords who was
squeezed on the rails, forcing Srinath to be unseated. In the meanwhile,
Glorious Breaker who had worked to a favorable position as the runners
straightened out shot through to win quite comfortably from a
late-finishing Integrate who was full of running at the finish. Caprese
came up with a good run and shaped to strike but faded out to finish
third. Glorious Breaker reversed the form on Integrate when ˝ length
separated Finest Moment, Integrate and Glorious Breaker in the Golconda
Juvenile Million. The one reason why there were no optimists on Glorious
Breaker was the poor run of the filly in the Karnataka Juvenile Million where she
had finished a tame sixth. The extended trip seemed to have suited the
rank outsider fine. Go For Gold who has won a bagful races over a sprint
distances
finished fourth and had every chance but she has never been trained
with this race in view and under the circumstances, her performance must
be considered encouraging. Adesina and Yutai are two fillies who have
plenty of scope for moving swiftly on the handicap scale considering the
fact that they are yet to reach their mark. Adesina who returned to the
track after a knee chip operation kept her out of action for about eight
months, was fancied ahead of Yutai though the public favourite continued
to be Galloping Bay who has gulped plenty of public money by raising
false expectations. In the event, Galloping Bay who had the first run on
his opponents fought all the way with Adesina but buckled close home by
a whisker. Yutai was an unexpended third and she is too good to miss if
the connections elect to run her in a handicap race.
Confluence showed good improvement while saving ground along the rails
and then fighting resolutely to stave off the challenge of Awesome Royal
thereby justifying the strong support she received in the ring. There were
plenty of takers for Star Hopeful but the Razeen progeny was never in
the race, plodding home dismally. Tintorino was given a light ride and
dropped back from a prominent position to finish fourth behind Liberal
Dancer. Confluence perhaps would be happier traveling longer trips. In
contrast to the lackadaisical approach, Silva was seen in different
light on failed favourite Flightingale in the 1800 metres Sir Charles
Todhunter Memorial Cup, a race for horses rated 30 to 45. Silva suffered
a minor scare as the filly played up at the start but she did not drop
out and rode in pain. Flightingale went on a successful start to finish
mission and staved off the challenge of Sunlight King, Alannah and Gem
of A Lady, the last named flattering to deceive. Favourite City Zip was
a beaten cause well before the race was on the boil.
Both the divisions of His Majesty Plate saw Ganapathy trained horses
come in for big money. In the upper division, Smarty got so much support
that the price on Cote D’Azur, the ante post favourite, more than
doubled. In the event, Smarty struggled hard to even overtake
first-timer Abraxas and was a tame third. Cote D’Azur who picked up
momentum in the final furlong, won with a great deal of ease, with a
good timing to boot. There was inspired support for Smart N Unique in
the lower division of the race despite the presence of D.Patel in the
saddle. The son of Alnasr Alwasheek had no difficulty in trouncing
ante-post favourite Storm Flag Flying.
Jockey Jagdale lost a certain race on Heekh Heekh Heekh, the Hyderabad
challenger, who was the medium of a big touch. Jagdale failed to take a
good position early on and though the Hyderabad challenger finished with
a flourish, Courtier who had a decisive lead, held on narrowly to win.
Better assistance from the saddle would have seen Heekh Heekh Heekh win
with ease. However, the other gamble of the day came through. Trainer
Puttanna, who has saddled the majority of his winners as well backed
coups, was successful through Star of Excellence who saved the tons of
money wagered on him by just about getting up in time to beat the
front-running Thousand Stars and Star Blue.
